# Electrical Gremlin in my car



## pellfdavis (Oct 2, 2011)

My 2012 Chevy Cruze would not start yesterday morning. I received a service theft deterrent message. I followed the instructions in the owners manual, and the car started with a really significant drag. I also had a red onstar light, so I had sopke with on star and they ran a diagnostic, said my on star wasn't communicatin with the "B" bus. Later that evening, the car started fine, with no problems and ran great. This morning, the car would not start, so I gave it a jump, and it fired right up. I left it running in the drive way for about 45 or so. Then I took ot for a drive, as soon as I put it in reverse, I lost all power to the radio... not turning it off.. no display on it what so ever. Then I started getting service stabilitrak message and the radio kept coming on and off (again complete loss of power to the radio). I dorve it around the neighborhood for about 15 minutes with this going on. When I returned home I turned the car off, I attempted to restart the car and got the familiar dead battery click. I haven't even had this car long enough to make my first car payment...


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## Chevyderek72 (May 16, 2011)

Take it to the dealership. There is definitely something wrong.


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## CHUV (Jun 25, 2011)

Ouch. Sounds like some bad electrical failure. It's probably a short somewhere draining the battery too.


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## ronbo10 (Sep 19, 2011)

I recently had similar symptoms on my 2002 Honda CR-V. Turned out to be the alternator. You can check (if you can get it started again) and while it's running use a multimeter to check for voltage across the battery terminals- if the alternator's working properly it should read at a minimum from the mid-13's to low 14's (volts). If it's less than that (my CR-V read around 11 volts or so), the alternator's not functioning. I talk here like I'm some kind of expert, but I'm not. It's just that an old friend of mine runs a gen/alt rebuild shop, and that's what he told me to do. And sure enough the alternator was shot. Worth a try. Or not- obviously the car's under warranty still so...


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## FieroItaliano85 (Aug 5, 2011)

You are talking about a brand new car!!! It's not the alternator, thats brand new


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

FieroItaliano85 said:


> You are talking about a brand new car!!! It's not the alternator, thats brand new


Brand-new also means untested and liable to immediate failure. I went through a few "brand-new" sensors on my old car before finally finding one that works. 

OP, have it towed to the nearest dealer on GM's dime. You've got complimentary roadside assistance for the next 36k miles, use it.


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## pellfdavis (Oct 2, 2011)

I am taking it to the dealership in the morning... unfortunately this happened on the weekend. Oddly enough, I tried to start her after readin some people had similar starting issues that ended up being a bad battery on 2011 models... the car fired right up no problems... still taking it to the dealership in the morning.. hopefully it won't be one of those things where they can't replicate the problem..


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## horsehaulin (Oct 1, 2011)

Have the dealer keep it over night and try to start it in the morning. Many possibilities, checking the wires at the conectors and making sure the pins are seated might be a good idea.


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## Dale_K (Jul 16, 2011)

The fact that it started with a jump is the biggest clue. Could be as simple as a defective battery, or battery connection.


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## David1 (Sep 16, 2011)

My Cruze was towed back in the first 2 hours of ownership for electrical issues. There are problems in the under hood fuse box where it comes together. some of the wires are to short and they loose contact.


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## pellfdavis (Oct 2, 2011)

So, the service department was able to witness the the "issues" first hand. First test was the battery. 525 CCA is what is supposed to be present, actual was ---CCA as in zero. Also, the battery was only reading 10 volts. That car had been running for over an hour at this point. During that hour, the voltage was reading 14.9 on the dash. Battery replaced and things are fine. It took 28 days for this problem to manifest itself. So we shall see if this is the real fix. My fingers are crossed. Thanks for all the feed back.


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## horsehaulin (Oct 1, 2011)

Gald you were able to get it resolved.


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## JudyB (Nov 3, 2011)

*Worried about my Cruze Eco 2012*

I'm getting worried about my Cruze, folks. I bought my Cruze Sept 24 and phoned the dealership a couple of times the following two weeks about the passenger seat air bag on/of light. It wouldn't go on - then would switch on and then off again. They told me it was the sensitivity of the "bladder" of the seat. My sister needs a cushion but as soon as we'd put one in the air bag light refused to switch to On. Finally found a cushion that it would accept - with some maneuving and shifting to get the light to come on. But sometimes it switches to OFF and then back to ON again. Then this past weekend, the seat belt light disappeared. Nothing shows, whether the passenger puts the seat belt on or not. And the dash board lights! The headlights switch back and forth from running lights to full headlights and the dashboard lights dim when the running lights are on and turn really bright when full lights are on. What is going on! Is it the fuse issue? It starts just fine but I'm getting very nervous. Input welcome!


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

JudyB said:


> I'm getting worried about my Cruze, folks. I bought my Cruze Sept 24 and phoned the dealership a couple of times the following two weeks about the passenger seat air bag on/of light. It wouldn't go on - then would switch on and then off again. They told me it was the sensitivity of the "bladder" of the seat. My sister needs a cushion but as soon as we'd put one in the air bag light refused to switch to On. Finally found a cushion that it would accept - with some maneuving and shifting to get the light to come on. But sometimes it switches to OFF and then back to ON again. Then this past weekend, the seat belt light disappeared. Nothing shows, whether the passenger puts the seat belt on or not. And the dash board lights! The headlights switch back and forth from running lights to full headlights and the dashboard lights dim when the running lights are on and turn really bright when full lights are on. What is going on! Is it the fuse issue? It starts just fine but I'm getting very nervous. Input welcome!


...did you see this earlier posting on the same problem? http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/10-e...-air-bag-detection-passenger-seat-faulty.html


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

JudyB said:


> I'm getting worried about my Cruze, folks. I bought my Cruze Sept 24 and phoned the dealership a couple of times the following two weeks about the passenger seat air bag on/of light. It wouldn't go on - then would switch on and then off again. They told me it was the sensitivity of the "bladder" of the seat. My sister needs a cushion but as soon as we'd put one in the air bag light refused to switch to On. Finally found a cushion that it would accept - with some maneuving and shifting to get the light to come on. But sometimes it switches to OFF and then back to ON again. Then this past weekend, the seat belt light disappeared. Nothing shows, whether the passenger puts the seat belt on or not. And the dash board lights! The headlights switch back and forth from running lights to full headlights and the dashboard lights dim when the running lights are on and turn really bright when full lights are on. What is going on! Is it the fuse issue? It starts just fine but I'm getting very nervous. Input welcome!


JudyB,
I would like to apologize for the issues that you have been experiencing with your vehicle. I would suggest that you take your vehicle into the dealership and explain all the issues you are experiencing. They can run a diagnostics test to see if you have any current issues that may cause the problems that you are having. Please keep me posted on this issue. If you have any other questions comments or concerns please feel free to message me; I am here to help!! 
Thank you,
Stacy Chevrolet Customer Service


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## dawnnab (Jan 13, 2012)

I had (have) the same problem. Mine is in the shop now, for a Pin being cocked to one side in a connector.


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## rmunoz34 (Mar 18, 2013)

hey there i have been having the same problem with my 2012 cruze the last couple weeks. today it was completely dead and it was doing the radio on and off thing and the stabily trak message too. what did the dealer tell you? i bought it from a used car dealership, should i take it back there, or to a chevrolet dealer? thanks.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

rmunoz34 said:


> hey there i have been having the same problem with my 2012 cruze the last couple weeks. today it was completely dead and it was doing the radio on and off thing and the stabily trak message too. what did the dealer tell you? i bought it from a used car dealership, should i take it back there, or to a chevrolet dealer? thanks.


How many miles? Most 2012s are still under the full B2B warranty, which transfers with ownership. If it's less than 36,000 take it to your nearest Chevy dealership. If more than 36K, see if the used car dealer will take it back.


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## NBrehm (Jun 27, 2011)

Does your radio display look like this?


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

NBrehm said:


> Does your radio display look like this?


I had a nest of those on my network last week.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

rmunoz34 said:


> hey there i have been having the same problem with my 2012 cruze the last couple weeks. today it was completely dead and it was doing the radio on and off thing and the stabily trak message too. what did the dealer tell you? i bought it from a used car dealership, should i take it back there, or to a chevrolet dealer? thanks.


We're in agreement with obermd, rmunoz34. If you're still under warranty it would be a great idea to check into this with a GM dealership. If you're not sure if you still fall within warranty, please send us the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage via private message. 
Sarah (Assisting Stacy), Chevrolet Customer Service


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## firehawk618 (Feb 24, 2013)

Does anyone realize this thread is ancient?


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## firehawk618 (Feb 24, 2013)

rmunoz34 said:


> hey there i have been having the same problem with my 2012 cruze the last couple weeks. today it was completely dead and it was doing the radio on and off thing and the stabily trak message too. what did the dealer tell you? i bought it from a used car dealership, should i take it back there, or to a chevrolet dealer? thanks.


The OP reported it was just a bad battery. In my experience GM puts the crappiest batteries in thier cars. 
List of my personal failures:

Brand New 05 Colorado, failed within 6 months
Brand New 08 Express van, failed within 6 months
Brand new 12 Express van, failed within 6 months.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

And I, the inverse.....going back 17 years and the example being 6 currently owned G.M. vehicles each purchassed new from 1995 through 2007...(95 Impala, 96 Impala 96 Blazer, 97 Siverado, 02 B4C Camaro, 08 Malibu)..each original Delco battery exceeded 5 years and each replaced prior to failure (I follow the five year rule....Malibu is close...hate surprises) and each has been replaced with another Delco.
The 95 is on #4, 96 Blazer and 96 Impala on #4, 97 Silverado on #3 (Due this spring) #4, Camaro on #3 (Also due this spring) and the Malibu is still on #1, (due for replacement this fall.)

Thanks for reminding me I get to buy two batteries in the next few weeks.

Aaaaand, I only replace with Delco.....therefore, either I'm real lucky or you're real unlucky.

Rob


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## Breezy1209 (Jul 11, 2013)

Please let me know what was going on here. This is basically what's been going on with mine. (I had like four service messages up and I couldn't remember what the last one was -theft deterrent!) 

Thanks


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

If you read above it was a bad battery. Its always best to replace a battery every 3-5years but in hot environments one might have to get one as soon as every two years. 

Not uncommon for a small precentage of new batteries to be bad within 6 months of replacing. This also means that out of every new car there will be some with bad batteries from the factory.


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## Breezy1209 (Jul 11, 2013)

Yeah, I realized that it was a battery before I posted. I learned that I should read everything before doing so.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Breezy1209 said:


> Yeah, I realized that it was a battery before I posted. I learned that I should read everything before doing so.


No problem, Please post back and let us all know what you find out was wrong with you car.


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