06 rainier no dash information center

j-bone

Original poster
Member
May 5, 2014
83
Hi all did and oil change on the rainier this morning and when I went to check oil life / reset oil life the information center is completely dead none of the steering wheel buttons bring it to life cant get mpg odometer nothing . the other buttons on the steering wheel work so I doubt its the clock spring all gauges work correctly nothing weird is going on .
Is this an ignition switch failure ? I tried replacing the ignition switch last year with a standard brand switch and it never worked right so i put the oem one back in .
I did the switch because i kept getting a stabltrak warning but there was never any codes and it worked normal.
 

mrrsm

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Oct 22, 2015
7,639
Tampa Bay Area
After checking your Power Distribution Center for Blown Fuses… You’ll need a High End Scanner to plug into the OBD2 Port and read any Codes as Clues. Check the Power Connection where the Cluster gets plugged in at the very bottom center… meaning perform a “Jiggle Test” and/or pull the connector off and after spraying it out with CRC Electrical Circuit Cleaner and re-install it. Then Turn the Ignition Key ON and see if all the Lights and Gauges come to life… before you re-install the Cluster or the Dashboard Plastic Fascia. As a last ditch effort… you could call these guys and pose your questions to an Expert… This is one of many links available to such services for the repair-exchange:

https://dashboardinstrumentcluster.com/product/2002-2005-buick-rainier/

These are some excerpts from another Link that describes a similar problem experience to yours:

http://www.fixya.com/cars/t8171385-wife_2006_buick_rainier

Wife has 2006 Buick Rainier went to start and it wouldn't crank she noticed the instrument cluster wasn't working and at that time she noticed the check engine light was on. After trying to start several times the engine cranked and started but none of the gauges or drivers information center would work all are dead. the lights in the instrument cluster work fine. I hooked vehicle up to a modis computer to read the BCM code and it shows U1000 Loss of class 2 Serial Comm. I reset the code and replaced the ignition switch, checked fuse, and unhooked the battery for 30 mins but still no gauges or drivers info center. what do you think my next move should be. PLEASE HELP !!!!!!!”


And this came as an observation:

THESE ARE POSSIBLE CAUSES TO YOUR PROBLEM. CLASS 2 CIRCUIT IS OPEN SHORTED TO GROUND OR TO B+. THE PCM IGNITION POWER CIRCUITS HAS A HIGH RESISTANCE CONDITION. THE PCM MAIN GROUND CIRCUITS HAS A HIGH RESISTANCE CONDITION. THE SDM MODULE COULD BE SHORTED PULLING THE VOLTAGE LOW. THIS MORE LIKELY DEALERSHIP FIX.
 

budwich

Member
Jun 16, 2013
2,027
kanata
The possibilities are "endless"... :smile: BUT the chances that all switches are "broke" is slim so its either the common ground (point) which the switches are sending to the instrument panel OR the connector just after the clock spring. It can be checked with a meter to see if a ground shows up with the button depression.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
Hi all did and oil change on the rainier this morning and when I went to check oil life / reset oil life the information center is completely dead

Do you mean that the buttons are just unresponsive or the display is dead/blank/not displaying anything?
 

budwich

Member
Jun 16, 2013
2,027
kanata
X2... also, with just key going on into "bulb check mode", does the display initialize with the bulbs lighting up?
 
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j-bone

Original poster
Member
May 5, 2014
83
Hello again , i never solved the problem but have more information that will hopefully point me in the right direction .
so ill try and answer everything , the dash information center works intermittently when its not displaying anything it seems as though the steering wheel buttons do work because when it comes to life
settings have been changed from just pressing buttons at random :bonk:
X2... also, with just key going on into "bulb check mode", does the display initialize with the bulbs lighting up?
could you elaborate more on this ?

some more problems that i feel are related
i have the range obd plug in to disable AFM and it has a blue light ,
this blue light doesnt always come on or it will come on durring the drive ( indicating no power or no signal )
she would complain of loosing engine power when turning left ( Idont drive it often ) i could not replicate it till one night leaving a driveway turning left and when going over curbing it cut all engine power for a few seconds and abs and traction control light came on.
the traction control light stayed on the rest of the drive home, but never lost engine power again .
the stabiltrak right comes on pretty much every drive as well as traction control disable light .
I am cheching the front abs sensors now , did a scan and no codes but i suspect its not communicating :squint:
I disconnected all main connections under the hood cleaned and reconnected as well .
one more odd problem that has happened once is the car would not start with remote start but starting manually worked but the clock had been reset ( think all this could be related to the remote start system ?)
 
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j-bone

Original poster
Member
May 5, 2014
83
ok so the abs wires all look good ( not ruling the sensors out )
iv'e been going through the TSB post in the sickies , found three that seem to apply checking some connections and wiring harness ( should be fun !) but its pointing to the yaw sensor which may solve some of the problems .
 

budwich

Member
Jun 16, 2013
2,027
kanata
"all bulbs check" is done every time the key is first turned to "on"... all the bulbs light AND including the dic display. Most cars do this to ensure that a burnt bulb is not a "no alarm condition" to the driver at crucial times.
 

j-bone

Original poster
Member
May 5, 2014
83
After doing some more investigating,
As stated the rear tailgate has no life ( no wiper / washer and wont lock ) using tech 2 it says no communication with module check the fuse labeled lift gate module and driver seat module and good ( seat works normal)
checked the boot at rear hatch for broken wires and all is good.
Also some this related , when key is taken out of ignition normally the radio stays on till a door is opened but it turned off as soon as key is turned off ( guessing its related to the tailgate being inoperable)
also some body DCT
History : b2961 key malfunction
u1161 loss of PDM data
u1162 loss of comm. w/ convenience control system
current: u1000 class 2 date link malfunction
so ill have to start chasing the harness unless there is another fuse ?
Went and did special function test on dash and the information center showed no life but the rest of the dash passed , so i'm guessing loose connection or bad dash ( it showed life earlier today i'm told but now is not displaying anything )
 

j-bone

Original poster
Member
May 5, 2014
83
there is a dic fuse but it sounds like you have more problems than posts.... :smile:
you just like saying dic fuse ?:rotfl:
i'm guess is more local to the dash
the other stuff though after digging a little into how the system works looks like the driver door module is the master and the rest are slaves to it so the tailgate might not be getting signal as well as other door modules based on the codes.
also the key fob doesn't do anything ( yes i changed the batteries )
im going to check the driver door harness where it goes in to the body and see if any wires are broken i'm all to familiar to this situation sigh .
 

budwich

Member
Jun 16, 2013
2,027
kanata
there is a fuse for the dic. Did you check it especially now that you have NO activity at any time on the dic.

As others have pointed out, you need to check lift gate module / wiring for the other stuff. As for looking for broken wire... get a meter and check for electrical conditions at known pins.
 

j-bone

Original poster
Member
May 5, 2014
83
The DIC is listed as instrimant pannel / DIC will check.
yes my next step is to start pinning out connections.
just looking for some information how the system operates to get a starting point .
 
Dec 5, 2011
574
Central Pennsylvania
+1 definitely a problem with wiring to tailgate. Your RAP will not work if there's no communication to the tailgate. Receiver for the fobs is in the tailgate too.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
And just "looking" at the wires in the boot is not enough as these wires have a tendency of breaking within the covering/sheathing. Either a continuity test or tug and pulls on each wire is needed.
 
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j-bone

Original poster
Member
May 5, 2014
83
started pinning out connectors today , regarding the tailgate module .
have battery voltage at module checked the data wire and between the module and a splice pack under the rear passenger seat I have no continuity.
this is my first time seeing a " splice pack " looks like all wires get connected together , via the pins?
 

j-bone

Original poster
Member
May 5, 2014
83
pulled back the rubber boot for the tailgate and the wires were broke clean , soldered in new wires for the tailgate and everything works .
on to the dash , found a thread on the old site pulled the dash and removed the back cover plugged it in and it worked snapped the tabs on one by one and it went out looks like I need the dash refurbished.
 
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budwich

Member
Jun 16, 2013
2,027
kanata
good job. depending on your resolve, you might get lucky and find the "weak" tracks.... especially since you know how to get it working and then not. Focusing on the tracks going to the dic should help narrow the search... maybe.
 

j-bone

Original poster
Member
May 5, 2014
83
pulled it apart this morning and there is black soot inside the lcd display , she let the smoke out .
off to a dash repair service .
still having a stabil trak issue but need more time and data to narrow that down.
I suspect a bad steering angle sensor but I can't find steering data with the tech 2 searched all modules .
 

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