1997 MalibuLS cluster

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

watergateusa - 08 Apr 2005 21:28 GMT

a few weeks ago, out of nowhere, i started up my malibu, and none of
the warning lights came on, and the fuel and temp gauge failed to
work. now, the engine cooling fans do not come on, the fog lights do
not come on, and the AC compressor fails to activate, when before this
problem, everything worked perfectly. this is one of many electrical
problems that have occurred in this car. does anyone here know what
the problem is cause i give up on it?

Reply to this Message

doug - 09 Apr 2005 02:14 GMT

>a few weeks ago, out of nowhere, i started up my malibu, and none of
> the warning lights came on, and the fuel and temp gauge failed to
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> problems that have occurred in this car. does anyone here know what
> the problem is cause i give up on it?

I have a 2000 Malibu V6, which also had started some weird behavior.
The fuel gage and temp indicator wouldn't work after starting the car, as
well as the heater fan, electric windows, rear defroster. After 5-10
minutes, some of them would work again - sometimes all of them. After
compiling a list, I could see that all of the items affected were
accessories that only worked with the ignition key ON. After asking a
neighbor who works at a Honda-GM dealer (he's a Honda guy), he asked a few
of the GM guys if it could be the ignition switch. They all said yes. So I
replaced the switch (list $140, discount $100) and it cured ALL of the
problems.

OK - how does this link to your problem? The ignition switch has five major
sets of
contacts in it - in my case three of them were damaged/corroded from current
arcing to the point where they restricted current flow. It's possible that
the contact(s) in your switch that the affected systems are
also damaged.

Hope this helps.

doug

Reply to this Message

Brad Clarke - 09 Apr 2005 16:08 GMT

>>a few weeks ago, out of nowhere, i started up my malibu, and none of
>>the warning lights came on, and the fuel and temp gauge failed to
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>>problems that have occurred in this car. does anyone here know what
>>the problem is cause i give up on it?

I had something similar to this happen on my 2001 Malibu.

The temperature guage stopped working, but the cooling fans were running
all the time. It turned out to be an instrument cluster failure. The
work was done under warranty, but required regional manager approval for
a new cluster due to the cost of the new unit, and the fact that it had
to be shipped from Detroit (I'm in Candada).

Reply to this Message