'18 Malibu - No Center Display / No Radio - Part I

[@donaldwheeler7448]

Anyone else enjoy double satisfaction in these videos by not only learning from EricO’s diagnostics methodology but also listening to Josh work in the background and trying to decipher what kind of job he’s doing based solely on sound? Just me? Thanks for the video EricO!

[@jeremyhanna3852]

Or fire extinguisher powder

[@joeblow6786]

You know Eric be handing Josh the break and wheel bearing jobs... HAH! :D

[@michaelslee4336]

@@joeblow6786 Hopefully they are not break jobs😉

[@joeblow6786]

Meant brakes but yea..

[@tcpnetworks]

I don't know - but I'm now listening to the Sultans of Swing...

[@ericl452]

The white powder is probably from the passenger side airbag charge that blew during the accident. Edit: embarrassing spelling error.

[@lucidbarrier]

Nice, punched and chalked in the face, I remember it well. I see deer, point finger and go "DUH............" BOOM, wake up in Skyrim. I didn't even get to finish saying deer.

[@leftyo9589]

first you have to ask if hunter biden has ridden in that car at any time!! LOL

[@toddwood1150]

Good call

[@fredmalito9869]

Yeah man, I agree, that was my first thought as well. I remember back in the late 90s at my local Chevy dealer body shop there was a framed airbag on their wall with a perfect impression of a fat woman’s face on the fabric due to the amount of makeup she was wearing at the time of impact! Always made me chuckle.

[@DVNelson]

My thoughts exactly...

[@garyharms8466]

Nice diagnostics as usual. I did a VIN search on that car, it was totaled in a rollover. It was originally auctioned with a Pa salvage certificate. Someone "repaired" it and got a clear Pennsylvania title. Powder is from the airbag, the rust is from sitting outside with a broken windshield. All the modules under the dash probably got wet.

[@donsurlylyte]

nice detective work gary

[@dddevildogg]

Some shop took a beating on that lump, the air bags alone probably totaled it

[@glassvial]

Unlikely it got a clean title from PA, likely an R title vehicle now.

[@tomtke7351]

​@@donsurlylyteyeah... really nice detective work! There are some really sharp people on these sites! Thanx to all of you guys....

[@braaapattack2937]

amazing when you google search the vin and find the pre and post "fix" auction pictures

[@joecoleman3069]

I was hoping that this one would include a trip to Wilbert's. BTW, I was in your neck of the woods last month, but did not stop. Last time I was up there you had 40K subscribers. With almost 850K now, I decided that you were tired of KZbinrs interrupting your work. Here's hoping you get a million. Thanks for sharing, Eric!

[@miketeeveedub5779]

I'm relieved Eric didn't ended the video with his customary "If I can fix it you can fix it!" tag line, because...no. Eric's diagnostic skills and specialized detective work came from years of experience. Most people can't change a tire. Looking forward to part 2!

[@tomtke7351]

oh chsnging a tire's easy but todays cars with 40 or 50 computer driven modules ARE NOT ! But I get your point!

[@davidpederson2905]

I am Principal Engineer with a fair amount of experience designing non-auto products with the CAN bus. I am amazed at your knowledge of the workings of car data buses ! I am amazed how auto makers manage to use the most complicated solutions to their electronics products. After I heard you say "I'll see if we are right" I had to play the Billy Joel "You may be right" You may be right I may be crazy Oh, but it just may be a lunatic You're looking for ...

[@donsurlylyte]

rant on mate, we are with you on that.

[@MikeBrown-ii3pt]

I remember when "info-tainment systems" had 2 knobs, 4 or 5 buttons under an analog face the "communication line" was a coax cable (from the antenna to the radio itself) AND, they worked forever!

[@glenjamindle]

Googled the VIN. This car has been in and out of the auction yard a few times. Looks like it was a pretty bad rollover, someone bought it, fixed it up, put 4000 miles on it and sent it back to auction where it sold again.

[@2nickles647]

Always a sucker on the end. Buying a crash car from a dealer.

[@John-dp3ln]

I’m impressed. Nice sleuthing!

[@digitalrailroader]

Looked at the pictures myself and it looks like the accident it was in was severe enough to compromise the windshield to where the interior was exposed to the elements.

[@glenjamindle]

@@digitalrailroader I don't understand how they repaired it. Body swap?

[@digitalrailroader]

@@glenjamindle no, a full body swap is not possible with a unibodied car, and it is quite illegal; they likely repaired or replaced parts of the roof and made sure that the windshield didn’t leak; but judging on how the SIR module still had the deployment codes from the original rollover, I bet this car was doctored several times and probably doesn’t have a fully functioning SIR system.

[@dav1dsm1th]

"I'm not a big electronics guy" You're not fooling anyone, you know that right? Thanks for the videos Mr O. Stay safe out there.

[@donaldmarty8445]

Another excellent diagnosis, Eric! The white powder is likely talc from the airbag deployment as others have stated. Looking forward to part 2, but with a repaired module and proper fuse, I bet it will work as it should.

[@georgemaccrone6147]

Eric, you have convinced me to repair my little '94 Ranger till I die.

[@gadasavideos8564]

That's what I'm trying t explain to my wife why I'm spending money on my 02 s10

[@tomd5010]

I miss my 97 Ranger. Handy little bugger and easy to fix.

[@glassvial]

If you don't live in the rust belt like SMA does, you can probably get away with it until you can't find parts anymore!

[@xnewguyx2738]

Saturday morning coffee and a new SMA video, life is good.

[@farmcentralohio]

I learned about the mini pocket pry bar from this channel, I bought a handful and have them everywhere and use them often. Very handy. Thanks Eric

[@roy9816]

"If I can do this, you can do this" No way on earth fella.

[@hotflashfoto]

Mr. O, I love your videos better than any other fix-it videos out there. You have a style that is respectful of all, even those who are more challenged in their abilities to fix things before you get their vehicles, and you make the effort to share your knowledge and hard-earned skills with us. Keep up the good work! The only tiny, teeny-weeny fault I found with your wiring diagram comment was around the 7:00 mark. The UQF power comes in on connector X3, pin 8, not X1 pin 1, if I understand it right. The folks who drew the wiring diagram have the power and grounds above and below each other, but they are not directly across from each other. They need to go back to school! Regardless, you still found the right wires, and I will remain subscribed to your content and watch every video. I also look forward to the next episode of this vehicle's repair so we can all tie up the loose ends. Enjoy your weekend as I'm sure it's well-deserved.

[@jimr549]

He'll be relieved you're staying.

[@jimholahan8250]

Hilarious at 15:11 “tough-actin’ Tinachton”! Should you have added “not a sponsor “?! Great video Eric.

[@MrGardman]

You mentioned something about the cost of repairing car today. When I was still in the business many years ago, I was always saying that the manufacturers were going to price themselves out of the market for repairs. It looks like this is coming true. Great video Eric. Glad someone is still out there doing these types of repairs. I can't imagine taking an issue like this to a dealership. I bet it would end up being out of sight as far as the charge.

[@DavidD-qr2vn]

They are pricing themselves out of the market for repairs on purpose. They can't sell you a new car at a very bloated price if you can repair it.

[@Leon-qc7fe]

Back in 2008 I was picking up my new car from GM dealer service when I overheard a service rep talking to a customer about an estimate to diagnose an engine problem. The initial est fee was $75 at the time. The rep was telling the customer that they suspected the camshaft was worn causing the problem BUT they needed to take apart the engine to verify that. The dealer wanted $700 dollars more to do that to provide an estimate for replacing the camshaft and the rep said if they declined the estimate at that point the car would not be put back together unless more labor was paid to do that. All for a rough idle. The customer paid $75 for the camshaft guess to be told another $700 for an estimate. I'll never go to a dealership for service again unless the car is under warranty.

[@amplituhedron5582]

They aren't dubbed stealerships for nothing

[@mph5896]

@@Leon-qc7feI have had to do visuals on the camshaft lobe for a diagnosis in the past. The initial $75 ruled everything else out and got them to the suggestion. Today, could dish with a pressure transducer if you can find a person to run that test.

[@DavidD-qr2vn]

@mph5896 You can be pretty confident in a diag of a worn cam lobe with a trusty old compression gauge and a vacuum gauge if there are no other major symptoms.

[@robertlacob8831]

Another SMA piece of excellence! I would of gone for the radio module after seeing all that air bag powder and checking the VIN for accidents! Waiting on part 2.

[@boggy7665]

"Status: Passed and Failed" .... that's really helpful

[@markm0000]

“GM, our cars pass and fail every time.”

[@KillaninjaFC]

In other words, Failed to Pass

[@kevinoscarson2941]

Wonder if the hvac was leaking at some time. As for the hvac talking to the radio module, you can thank the handsfree phone connection. When a phone call is made the blower fan speed is reduced.

[@KillaninjaFC]

Is that a GM specific-behavior or standard practice? Wouldn't it make more sense to simply reposition the microphone away from the blower motor, rather than inconvenience the user with reduced HVAC on a hot/cold day?

[@digitalrailroader]

@@KillaninjaFCusually the hands free microphone is located in the headliner above the driver; either in a dedicated position or in the overhead console.

[@stephenw2992]

I was wondering if it was something to do with which one was in control of the display, but that that is an even better explanation.

[@BucksRuckus]

OMG I love the GUNS AND BACON sticker on your tool stack…what else would a guy need? Love it!

[@nokoman85]

Eric O, you are, undoubtedly, the trouble shooting and electron king! I have been watching your channel for years, and you gave me the confidence to keep my 05 Hyundai Sonata rolling down the road, here in the rust belt of the Peoples Republic of Minnesota. Money light came on last week, trouble shot it down to the engine coolant sensor, good power and ground, let's get after it!

[@richtfox]

Good show Eric. I'm an old guy now but here's what I think about vehicles, what was wrong with the older cars without all this new electronic crap, I think that electronic engine management was a true useful advancement. the rest of the stuff we don't need.

[@jeremyah78]

Fortunately or unfortunately, humans can’t help themselves from creating new things over and over… sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. Change is one thing that will never change!

[@stephencurry8552]

LOL. My thoughts exactly. Which is why I refuse to buy a newer car. All my older cars are in tip top shape, In fact improved

[@paulbrancato8262]

Right. A radio needs +12V, a ground and an antenna. If at any point it needs talking to I can do that myself. 😀

[@jeremyah78]

Love the pull down technique for the network! It’s quick! I would have unplugged it and made sure I still had network activity to check circuit integrity, but that requires fiddling with those dang connectors again! Nice trick Eric.

[@stephenw2992]

Power was on the other connector so I would have pulled it to be sure its not an output from the radio, or could have pulled the connector with the coms on it, but a lamp to ground really proves its working at the other end.

[@beaverc2884]

Breakfast and SMA, sweet way to start my day. 😊😊

[@nathanbeach3399]

Um pulling the network to ground, to set a code in another module to test network integrity never would have thought to do that. Going to stick that one in the old memory bank. Thanks Eric, learn something everyday.

[@johnhenry5197]

One heck of a core charge there! I do hope you have a part 2 so we can see if it is more than a plug and play. I'm guessing there is more to it than that. I enjoy your videos.

[@NikMitchell]

"Sultans of Swing" in the background really brought me back to the days when i was working with my dad in the cabinet shop. I know the YT will come after ya for the copyright if it ever was prominent, but it made my night just ever so slightly in the background behind your voice during diagnosis. Good memories. Thanks dude.

[@int53185]

Lesson of the day. If you've got an older reliable car.... keep it 😊.

[@hokie9910]

48k miles…unbelievable.I do not understand why people keep buying these GM cars.

[@int53185]

@@hokie9910 The serviceability of these cars is terrible.

[@Blazer02LS]

It isn't just GM that are this way...

[@hokie9910]

@@Blazer02LS GM and Dodge are the worst from what I am seeing. Engines, trannys, electrical, just a mess.

[@paradislarry]

1500 Core for an electronic control board, My first car was a used 1967 Ford Mustang, the Big Straight Six, 3 speed on the floor, red with black vinyl bucket seats, Zero to 60 in 2 minutes, 1000 bucks ... in 1973

[@Dirtyharry70585]

In ‘72 mine was a ‘65 blue lasabre 4dr 350 wildcat with different color fenders and tires. Smoked like a chimney. Cost me $25 lasted the summer-sold to junk yard for $25 with a broken timing chain.

[@lukestcg6912]

I've been listening to the sultans of swing by the dire straights every day for the last week. A new SMA video drops with none other than the sultans of swing playing in the background. Love it, this song always reminds me of road trips with my dad and brother growing up, he loved that song.

[@tomhughes4980]

Coffee an SMA, nothing could be better

[@Mk-oy9ns]

With a $1500 core charge,that white powder must be coke!😂

[@THEDRAGONBOOSTER8]

Nice one..

[@Garth2011]

Yes and likely laced with Fentanyl

[@fernando13e]

Perfect Sunday description.. SMA + Dire Straits Sultans of Swing = Awesome!

[@lo1234-w9r]

This bus, that bus, if that was me they would be sending out the short bus. Great diag noseing work.

[@loogue]

I'm guessing that white stuff is from fire extinguisher or airbag.

[@davidkane4300]

That was my guess... Airbag inflator dust

[@jimpantherdrivervickers5439]

Or a big brick of cocaine

[@LTVoyager]

@@jimpantherdrivervickers5439If Eric starts acting weird, we will know.

[@PatMcAndrew]

Bodyfiller dust is my guess if it is indeed a collision vehicle.

[@michaelpendarvis7814]

Yeah, I was thinking airbag because he said earlier it was a collision vehicle.

[@vicferrarisgarage]

SMA always outdoing the ASE trained mechanics. 😊

[@2nickles647]

There is no training that I am aware of. It's only testing you do to get a fancy patch

[@ericstepans3742]

ASE certifications are specific to different aspects of vehicles. The ASE L1 certification (Advanced Engine Performance) test requires understanding many of the principles of electrical system operation and diagnosis Mr. O has mastered and shows us in his videos. Of course, knowing how to interpret a wiring diagram and knowing how to deploy various tools to make diagnoses in the real world can be two different things, which is why some "ASE-certified" mechanics are not all that and a bag of potato chips.

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

Great diagnostic, Eric! Curious to see what happens with the new radio module 🙂

[@andrewsutton7727]

A lot of good detective work in the comments. Unrelated, my wife's '22 Equinox was getting a morning OTA update a few months ago. Well, there was an issue with the connection, and the radio was bricked in the process. She was heading out of town that morning! We were able to get it replaced under warranty.

[@mike_dodane]

Mystery white powdery is the passenger airbag and the rust is from the broken windshield it made letting in the water

[@keithbednar6814]

Boy I wish these cars had more stuff to fix. Ya, I am old. Great work from Eric.

[@jatco84]

Can't overly stress how awesome your work is..especially when diagnosing a problem.. So often a lengthily process, but you Always come up with a solution. Bogles my mind. And no, I you can do it, I can do it....Don't think so.....(Im colour deficient...lol ). Kudos to you Eric

[@LesReeves]

If it is a vehicle that has been in an accident most of the modules do not like the shock of a heavy collision & most likely damaged the board or other micro chip components that is why can be repaired.Cheers Mr O.

[@johndesaavedra1040]

This sat open in a salvage auction yard for some time. Great parts car.

[@richardsmith2721]

Please let this video turn into a trip to Wilbert's. Please let this video turn into a trio to Wilbert's.

[@edwardkopp1367]

Thanks Eric!

[@aussiebloke609]

15:23 If I had to guess, I'd say that white powder is cornstarch. It's used in airbags to reduce the friction between folds of plastic bag as it inflates. Since the car had inflatable restraint codes, that would make sense.

[@Dustin_the_wind]

Breathin' heavy boss. You go on n' breathe heavy, Mr. O.

[@jimburgess9205]

Good morning, Eric. Excellent as always.

[@dudekbubek7914]

Josh is going after that brake disc "dead or alive you're coming off" 😂😂😂

[@goodcitizen64]

Another great diagnosis Eric!

[@ChrisVargasrpht2000chris]

I am super excited for the part 2.

[@jamesbruno5896]

Nice diagnosis thanks Eric!

[@freakyflow]

Eric i'm about 10 hours north of you ...Too dam cold out You must have the java juice going this morning ...cheers as i head out to the painter booth : ) with the thermos on

[@donaldburton7150]

Thanks for the tips on how to do electrical trouble shooting!

[@paulfiebke3909]

At hospital and you popped up, don't have much say don't know much about GM. Keep up the good work

[@spike7442]

What a clever idea to test for the integrity of the data bus!!!

[@appalachianwoman561]

Great job Eric, the reason you're the last resort is they don't understand some things take patience and knowledge and you have that. This type of situation this 2018 Malibu is going thru won't be funny when it's people's dashboard gauges. It'll go blank and it'll be no idea how fast you're going, no idea if you're over heating, no warning lights, no knowing what gear you're in in some cars; it'll be just black blank. The worst thing they ever did was put screens in in place of gauges. We all know how long cheap Chinese tablets last and that automakers aren't going to last very long, they want the car/truck to tear up and you keep trading in for NEW NEW NEW as you bankrupt yourself. On a side note, if someone could figure out how to get these newer cars to work with the old dashboard gauges they'll become wealthy. Just measure and make one that fits that has real gauges. The automakers went with screens because they are cheaper for them to get than old school real gauges, so their greed told them buy the cheap screens and then tell car buyers that it's and upgrade and charge them more. I look forward, especially now with the push for EVs to see the big three finally bite the dust.

[@jasonnunya5036]

With the rust under that passenger side dash and the white powder on the back of the radio control module, I say flood car unless the powder they use in the airbag charges causes metal to rust...

[@maryangozdziewski8129]

Like Joss Stone sang, " I've got a right to be wrong ".... Good going guy, Happy Holidays.....M.J.G.

[@joekuehl2604]

I am having the same problem with a Chev impala. Thanks for the video!

[@bluejayoutpost9170]

The 20 amp will be replaced with a 15 amp i in the circuit right~another great visit here..Thanks Eric

[@stephenerickson2514]

Fabulous diagnosis learned a great deal

[@andrewhigdon8346]

That dust on the module might have been that fire extinguisher residue?

[@ericpaul4575]

Or dust from the airbag.

[@danmoran3318]

That's exactly what it is.

[@vehcor]

You got to watch those rebuilt cars. I know "experts" that say they are never the same. All those rebuilders are scammers!!! 🤣🤣

[@ShainAndrews]

Some even build curb jumping death traps...

[@lotsoffish]

Great video and I like the way you posted it before the replacement part arrives and you find out if you nailed it or not. That takes confidence along with some actual guts!

[@spelunkerd]

Ha ha ha, drama at the end. Was Eric right? It's so nice to see that even a seasoned pro will wonder. Too much confidence can be a sign of inexperience.

[@jovangrbic97]

White powder on the radio module must be the packing talcum powder from the airbag (deployment)?

[@mrkttrdr2919]

hopefully u keep churning out one great vid after another, eye no u will, thanks for posting

[@gcrauwels941]

Funny that a GM radio issue shows up on your channel. Just yesterday I was setting the clock on my '15 Silverado and I accidentally switched the language setting to Spanish, then the touch screen wouldn't let me go back to English. Disconnected the battery for a couple of minutes, pressed the brakes a couple of times thinking it would drain any residual voltage. Reconnected and it still won't let me change it. Going to try it again with a longer wait time. Guess I'm going to have to learn Spanish.😂

[@ripsrt6822]

I believe the radio and hvac talk together just for temp display.

[@scotts6503]

Per your comment at 12:57 you should change the name of your shop to Avocas Shop of Last Resort

[@hotflashfoto]

Love it! Hilarious... 😂

[@carlosanzola2938]

Repair and despair under one roof!

[@billburkart9087]

@7:00 you said UQF then went to the diagram and pointed at uqf and then went straight up and said it was on pin one. UQA was on pin 1 and uqf on pin 8.

[@ib516]

The white powder is from the airbag that deployed in the crash

[@pjimmbojimmbo1990]

Must be solid Gold with that kind of Core Charge

[@TIREDOFEVIL]

Damn Eric, you have outstanding diag skills, but I still long for the simple days of me being a mechanic, mush easier to diag problems.

[@alward9901]

Hi Eric . The white dust could be corn starch or talcum powder. From the air bags.

[@rkschloithe]

Nice hearing “Sultans of Swing “ by Dire Straits in the background.

[@JohnDarwin7]

Thanks 👍

[@brianfitzgerald6142]

Mr. O, it could be that the mysterious network comms between the radio and HVAC modules is to instruct the cabin air fan to slow down and shut up while using the phone. I've noticed that many cars do this these days.

[@plonkster]

For someone who is not into electronics much, you have the "let's cause a fault and see if it complains!" technique down pat! Software people do that all the time. Sometimes we get very excited about getting a DIFFERENT error message.

[@mikechiodetti4482]

Hopefully the repair will work. Good one Mr. O.

[@Sandbag1300]

Nice logical diagnosis. I do not have the cajones to short the digital com line to ground. I would have been okay just confirming that the module connector was receiving communication.

[@jeffreyzajicek1295]

Radio talks to the HVAC to decrease the fan when on a call using bluetooth I believe.

[@sfbfriend]

You had mentioned that it might be a collision vehicle, perhaps that tough actin tinactin is residue from an airbag going off?

[@mikeberger3066]

u r awsome wish i would of had u to teach me years ago. if u ever meet up with ivan at his place i would love to meet u. u are a great insperation. thank u so much for all u do.

[@chrisbeall9098]

been a few years but IIRC, the airbag module and such talk to the radio for On-Star purposes. I wonder if that's possibly a flood recovery car. Wet SDM will eventually set off an SRS. That rust is a signal...

[@stevenp4821]

Did you try Wilberts 1st❓

[@scowell]

Glad to see repair/reuse going on... was that fire extinguisher dust? Corrosive... I'm guessing that vehicle is for a dealer that bought it off auction. Also, looks like it's got a lot more broken stuff going on. Will enjoy seeing this get repaired, maybe they'll turn you loose on it. At least it wasn't a 30A fuse!

[@charliekeene2003]

As far as the HVAC trying to communicate with the radio, I have a 2016 Malibu, and when you turn the AC on, or turn the blower up or down, it displays it on the HMI.

[@rkschloithe]

I have an Australian Holden version of the Malibu and HVAC info does display on the screen.

[@jussikuusela7345]

Last evening I went shopping to a local "Walmart" substitute, and Sultans Of Swing played on the radio there too....

[@fatcat-hc4pj]

Good morning

[@paulirvine6336]

good job as always fella

[@rick601a]

Had a similar white powder inside a late 90’s GM radio that was eating away at the traces. Like an acid. Was told it was a powder that formed from the deployment of the airbags. Not seen this before other than that one radio. Wonder if that powder is from airbags and it’s eating away at the traces on that radio module as well.

[@MudFlap62]

1 Million subs coming soon. I always seem to learn something. ☮️

[@paulheitkemper1559]

the HVAC talks to the radio so that the radio volume can auto-adjust to a higher volume when the blower is on high. Similarly, Pontiacs had the transmission talk to the radio for a louder volume when you were traveling at higher speed.

[@gregorythomas333]

The white powder was most likely from the airbag being deployed.

[@johnnymcdowell9110]

for those of us that cant afford all those scanners you have what would you recommend for us part timers your channel is great

[@electronictech1970]

white dust=airbag deployment dust?

[@mikeL5183]

That's what I thought as soon as I saw it

[@ericpaul4575]

Same

[@themalewhale59]

Really interesting diag. 👌