# Radio Controls Stopped Working



## SharkV (Mar 28, 2017)

Hi,

Had some weird issues myself stating last week..Radio screen seems to reset It goes black, then comes back. This morning, itgot worst. Was going black on and on, even when I was able to turn it off. Just like if it was always rebooting. No phone,Onstar avaiable. I stopped the car, then the screen came on. Restarted the car, and all came back to normal. 2012 LT with the 1.4L Turbo.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

deanpearce said:


> I bought my 2012 Cruze new in 2012, and last summer I ran into a strange issue with the radio controls in my vehicle. For a week or so the radio controls would flicker on and off, sometimes staying on for several minutes, others just briefly. After that week the controls completely stopped working (they do not illuminate at night, no response to any buttons). My air conditioning and heat still work, along with traction control and shifter. The radio itself is stuck on, but fortunately the steering wheel controls work so I can mute, adjust the volume, and switch between my presets.
> 
> I checked the fuse in the interior fuse panel, there are no burnt out fuses. I removed the bezel and the control panel and the wires were all in tact (not burned, not obviously frayed). I picked up a new radio control panel from the dealership, but it wasn't being detected either. I traced the connection in the harness back to the radio unit itself and everything was connected properly. I'm not sure what went wrong, but the dealership said it likely isn't covered under my extended warranty and quoted me a minimum of $280 for diagnostics (2 hours minimum at $140/hr shop rate). Has anyone else experienced issues with the radio controls dying out of the blue? I believe all the updates have been applied to the software, and the other controls seem to work just fine.


Do you have side detection sensors (blind spot monitoring)?



SharkV said:


> Hi,
> 
> Had some weird issues myself stating last week..Radio screen seems to reset It goes black, then comes back. This morning, itgot worst. Was going black on and on, even when I was able to turn it off. Just like if it was always rebooting. No phone,Onstar avaiable. I stopped the car, then the screen came on. Restarted the car, and all came back to normal. 2012 LT with the 1.4L Turbo.


Have you had the negative battery cable replaced?


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

I can't say as I've heard of this happening. Since this is a 2012, I assume this is a base radio with green screen, not the color display like you'd find in the Nav units. For the base radio, the controls go though the display. So, you could try replacing the display.

But before you do that, I'd disconnect the battery for several minutes to do a full power-off reset of the radio. The radio system has power all the time and turns itself on/off according to commands.


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## 210761 (Jul 8, 2016)

ChevyGuy said:


> I can't say as I've heard of this happening. Since this is a 2012, I assume this is a base radio with green screen, not the color display like you'd find in the Nav units. For the base radio, the controls go though the display. So, you could try replacing the display.
> 
> But before you do that, I'd disconnect the battery for several minutes to do a full power-off reset of the radio. The radio system has power all the time and turns itself on/off according to commands.


Yes it's the base radio with the green screen. I disconnected the battery and double-checked the fuses (under the hood 30A, and the Infotainment 20A in the interior panel). Reconnected everything and the controls still weren't working. Good to know that the wiring connects through the screen, I'll try taking the dash apart again this weekend and see if I can find anything and if not I'll try and order some replacement components. At least I figured out that I can add/remove Bluetooth devices using the steering wheel alone so I was able to setup my new phone.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

With low voltage starting and power on reset, radio in my 2012 was the very first thing to act up, ain't a radio, but a computer. And why they are using flashram in these things is well beyond my degree of comprehension, but also can be a problem if the code was corrupted. PROM would not have this problem.

If let go, problems increase to getting codes, namely from the BCM, the ECU seems to be the most solid, but if that is left unattended, engine won't start. Ha, when mine got this bad, I did manage to start it, by removing the key, opening the driver's door, did start on the third try, was 40 miles from home, time to do something.

Switched on the blower to full speed, 20 amp load, engine off, got my VOM and checked for voltage drops, both negative and positive battery cables were bad, dropping a total of around 2.1 volts. Drilled out the crimps on the battery terminals, copper on the inside was corroded and bare, soldered those in.

With my scope on the output of the ignition relay, not a clean pulse, jagged, so popper off the cover and cleaned the contacts. This ended all these problems, replaced that made in China ignition relay with a Panasonic. 

We use to make great relays in this country, now we don't make anything.


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## 210761 (Jul 8, 2016)

So I disassembled my centre console today, removing the radio controls, radio display, infotainment unit, heat controls and center shifter cover. Trying to look for any possible damage or corrosion but found nothing. I did a test again with the line tester, can confirm power and ground is present for the radio controls, and the line itself for the network bus (green/blue) cable is complete. This leads me to think it's the display unit that has failed as the radio controls connect into that display unit as I have the non-navigation configuration.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

With the green screen radio, there are only 3 wires on the controls connector. Pin 1 is B+ voltage. Pin 2 is ground. Pin 4 is communication wire that connects to pin 3 on the green screen. The radio communicates with the screen and the screen communicates with the controls. 

I would first test the ground connections
- Connect a meter between terminal 2 and ground. If you get less than 10 Ω then the ground is good. If you get more than 10 ohms, test for less than 2 Ω in the ground circuit end to end. If more than 2, repair the open in the ground circuit. If less the 2, repair the ground connection. 

Next, I would test the B+ circuit. 
You can test for voltage on Pin 1, but the preferred method for doing this is a test lamp. The test lamp will load the circuit (a meter does not load the circuit). Connect the test lamp between pin 1 and ground. If there is any resistance, the lamp will not light. If the lamp doesn't illuminate then there is a short (and a blown fuse) or open in the B+ circuit somewhere or a problem with the BCM, power relays or related circuits. If the lamp illuminates, then the B+ circuit is good. 

Next, I would test the data circuit
Turn the ignition on and test for 2 to 11.5 volts between the data circuit (pin 4) and ground. If there is less than 2 volts then there is either a short to ground in the data circuit, or the screen is bad. If more than 11.5 volts, then there is either a short to the voltage circuit, or the screen is bad. 

If you are going to just swap parts, then I would suggest buying used parts on ebay. It will be much cheaper than buying new parts, and if you find that the part isn't the problem then you didn't spend as much.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Again - do you have side detection sensors. If you do, and they have shorted, they can wreak all kind of weird havoc inside the car.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

MP81 said:


> Again - do you have side detection sensors. If you do, and they have shorted, they can wreak all kind of weird havoc inside the car.


Is it possible to have the side detection system with the green screen radio? I thought that required My Link. I think those were both part of the technology package?


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Can't even bench test these things any more, data link sends a code to the radio to turn it on, very similar to the remote on your garage door opener. Claim they do this for a thief deterrence to protect you from this, only your dealer has the tools to check that code.

Just like the computer you are typing on, can be a software or a hardware problem, so you try to reinstall the software to learn if this solve the problem, again, only your dealer can do this, called a reflash. Luck is have a low voltage or a power on reset problem, this you can doing something about, anything else, take it to your dealer.

Its not a radio, its a computer, with firmware stored in flashram.


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## dhpnet (Mar 2, 2014)

NickD said:


> Can't even bench test these things any more, data link sends a code to the radio to turn it on, very similar to the remote on your garage door opener. Claim they do this for a thief deterrence to protect you from this, only your dealer has the tools to check that code.
> 
> Just like the computer you are typing on, can be a software or a hardware problem, so you try to reinstall the software to learn if this solve the problem, again, only your dealer can do this, called a reflash. Luck is have a low voltage or a power on reset problem, this you can doing something about, anything else, take it to your dealer.
> 
> Its not a radio, its a computer, with firmware stored in flashram.


There are a couple guys on YouTube that setup systems to bench test the OEM radios. One guy setup a ECM, BCM and a bunch of other components to simulate the car's actual working environment. The other guy just connected it to a laptop with a serial connection of some sort. He found out that the BCM needs to send a code to the radio every few seconds to let it know that it should keep working. 

GM should be required (by statute) to make all of the serial data information freely available to anyone who owns a GM car. They are trying to make it impossible to take the car to anyone else for repairs, and that should not be allowed. I should be able to take it to anyone I want, and that person should not have to buy a GM scanner or pay GM for access to the data. The data is not really that complicated, it is just proprietary, and GM is not sharing. Some people have reverse engineered the data. 

Also, there is no reason to include car configurations in the radio. That could all be done through the DIC. If they separated the car configurations from the radio, and had an industry standard for communications with the radio, then people could more easily install aftermarket radios without problems. This too should be regulated in my opinion. Imagine if Apple or Samsung were able to build aftermarket car stereos that could easily plug and play with your car and your phone. You would have something much better than what GM created. But GM doesn't want you to upgrade your stereo. They want to sell you a more expensive car to get better technology, and the car to become old and obsolete so that you buy a new one. 

Aftermarket radios could still have theft deterrent systems that register your VIN from the serial data. That wouldn't be very hard at all if the car manufacturers made the communications standard and shared the information.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

dhpnet said:


> Is it possible to have the side detection system with the green screen radio? I thought that required My Link. I think those were both part of the technology package?


I've honestly got no idea. Knowing how auto manufacturers package options these days, probably not.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

dhpnet said:


> There are a couple guys on YouTube that setup systems to bench test the OEM radios. One guy setup a ECM, BCM and a bunch of other components to simulate the car's actual working environment. The other guy just connected it to a laptop with a serial connection of some sort. He found out that the BCM needs to send a code to the radio every few seconds to let it know that it should keep working.


Link, please.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

dhpnet said:


> Is it possible to have the side detection system with the green screen radio? I thought that required My Link. I think those were both part of the technology package?


I don't know of any technical reasons for a dependency, but there might be a marketing limitation.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Not only GM, dey all do dis. Why are you using all those separate warning beepers, already have a radio with speakers, use this instead. Most expensive thing is the box you put this stuff in, use the same box. Has an audio amplifier and speakers, feed this signals into this.

Only problem with this money saving technology, when you lost your radio, lose everything, OnStar, XM, MP3 player, warning signals, hands free calls, programming, etc., oh, and the radio itself.

Not only the radio, use to have separate modules for cruise, AT control, ignition modules, and even the alternator voltage regulator, now all jammed in that ECU box. Instead of paying a couple bucks for an ignition module, have to replace the entire ECU.

Sure a round about way to find that radio code, breadboard the entire vehicles electronic system, also should have a logic analyzer that cost practically as much as a new vehicle to read those codes. Oh, that breadboard is only good for one radio.

Ha, would be easier to hack into the GM service web site to get that code. Also have to be extremely careful when working with EEPROM, stored in flashram, slightest amount of ESD, will delete it.

Love my wife, but like everybody else, new is better, LOL. Why I like this old stuff, easy to work on and cheap, other three vehicles, any radio will work, hundreds to choose from. Suspecting problems with the fuel regulator on my Supra, 30 bucks for a new one. Easy to replace, with this new stuff, mounted with the fuel pump, have to drop the tank, buy all that other stuff you don't need and lay our around 250 bucks!

All brass cooling system parts, can be cleaned with acid and repaired with a propane torch, new stuff, throw it away and pay $$$$ for new ones. Ha, not only the radio, but just about everything thing.

Ha, lost count on the number of times I was told by my dealers to trade if off for a new one. Would work for a little while, but then told to trade it off again.


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## SharkV (Mar 28, 2017)

MP81 said:


> Have you had the negative battery cable replaced?


Hi,

I cleaned the connectors with a brush, seems it as stop, unti now. Is there a problem with negative battery cable on this car?


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## SharkV (Mar 28, 2017)

Hi,

Found yesterday that there is a Special Coverage #14311: Negative Battery Cable issued in 2014. I have severl symptômes that are described init. Went to the dealer with this info and they will do the change.


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## SharkV (Mar 28, 2017)

Hi,

Here is th link : http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/25-g...al-coverage-14311-negative-battery-cable.html


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## 210761 (Jul 8, 2016)

Hi guys, thanks for all of the help and information. I ended up going to a wrecking yard to find a Cruze with a matching display part number. Found one and swapped it out, the radio controls started working again. For my own curiosity I'm going to disassemble the unit to check for damage. Was very glad that I could just swap the display unit out without reprogramming or any errors. 

To note I did not have blind spot detection or cameras, and I did have the special coverage done regarding the negative battery cable.


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## Pvtblaze (Jan 30, 2021)

The problem is the radio screen. Replace it and everything will work again. I replaced mine in my 2012 cruze and they work now


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## RBalym (Oct 23, 2021)

I have a problem with the 2014 Cruze radio unit , Works fine with the touch screen and steering wheel controls but not with the buttons on the dash and the disc wont eject also 
any help


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