3 Broken Chevys? (Part 2 - 2018 Silverado: BRAKE & REVERSE Lights Stuck ON??)

2 Chevys Down, ONE TO GO!
CRAZY Chevy #3:
2018 Silverado 5.3 V8: BRAKE and REVERSE Lights stuck ON??
WEIRD!!!
You'll never guess what's wrong with this newer truck...it's too new to have any green crusties!
Not sure we can fix this one No-Parts-Required...
THINKTOOL PROS:
www.amazon.com/dp/B08XXWHQVJ?...
Enjoy!
Ivan

[@Cowboy_Ash]

Ivan responding to viewers comments without getting irritated shows he’s got class.

[@amtpdb1]

Since he did buy a new fuse box, it would have been nice to see you take apart the one that shorted to find out what's truly in there ensuring. Thanks for the video

[@grudd61]

OEM fusebox for only $200 dollars? Now that is truly a miracle!

[@masseymm]

and not on galaxy wide back order

[@johnlarkin549]

They don’t last long wouldn’t want to pay much more, it does seem cheap though Ivan’s diag would have been more. 🤪🤪😊

[@Michael-yi4mc]

Ivan is so good with the electrical circuits that he can see the electricity moving within the wire.

[@calholli]

At least they made the fuse box easy to unplug from the wires... It's almost like they planned on selling a lot of these. :)

[@htownblue11]

Pretty crazy that the fuse box failed and didn’t have a ton of the green crusties. Text book example of use of the test light to diagnose wiring. Always appreciate you teaching us Ivan.

[@bills6093]

GM's brilliant idea to use the reverse lights for "area lighting", so you can't tell if the vehicle is parked or backing out.

[@paulhenryxray]

I HATE THIS in parking lots. All I see are reverse lights with no brake lights on and react accordingly.

[@greggc8088]

I also hate the way GM won't let their reverse lights come on unless the engine is running. Makes it tricky to check lights with just one person.

[@nevillegoddard4966]

Hey I forgot to say that was an awesome trick you pulled with the '5 amp test light', using it to power up the tail lights directly, proving the wiring & lamps! Brilliant mate!

[@jeffmiller6100]

Ah.. that great G.M feeling 😂

[@janpur1417]

The reason why Ivan keeping his XL-7 (Suzuki Vitara) tells me he knew about the future.

[@joeandgod1]

I'm glad you gave me closure on those trucks, otherwise I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

[@robertsmith2956]

opening pt1 I thought customer won't learn. 3 of the same trucks down LOL

[@10100rsn]

You can absolutely replace the fuse box with your own wiring, but who wants to do that and it is probably an all day job. Likely you wouldn't need to rewire the entire thing, just the parts that have shorted together but nobody should have to, they should last longer than the vehicle. It looks to me like they are using non-insulated bus bars inside the fuse box and the plastic holding them in place is either too soft, too thin or both and that, as well as temperature and vibration, is causing some of the bus bars inside to eventually short together. This fuse box is something that can be refurbished to working order by fixing the broken or shorted bus bars, the plastic holding them in place and then insulating the bus bars properly, but it would be really nice if they could just make them to last like they used to. If I were designing one of these I would not use just plastic to hold the bus bars in place. I would put the lower amperage circuits on a PCB and the higher amperage circuits on bus bars that are held together by blank areas of the fiberglass PCB. Bam! Easy, cheap to produce and assemble and the bus bars aren't going to short through the PCB.

[@DependableAutoTruck]

i know the new stuff is nice but i have been driving for 50 years without a backup camera and done well. have never had a vehicle with a body control module and never had any lighting problems. don't have drive by wire so never any tbody problems life is so good

[@tedmoss]

But you are missing out on all the fun!

[@mph5896]

Thank the government for the backup camera requirement.

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

You were right, Ivan! It was much weirder than I suggested 🙂Great diagnostic, that blew my mind! And it's a concerning sign, that OEM automotive parts are getting less and less reliable, in shorter periods of time - we are heading for an age of disposable vehicles!

[@arnoldm889]

Less reliable at a higher prices.

[@tedmoss]

I will keep my 2000 Chevy Silverado 1500 5.3L forever! (Well I probably won't because I am waiting for my Cybertruck, but it will be a while yet).

[@johnmccallum8512]

@@tedmoss Don't forget to put that "truck" into carwash mode if you ever do get it 'cos if you forget it will take 5 hours to reset the computers on wheels not joking.

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

@@tedmoss 👍

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

@@arnoldm889 100% true!

[@dharley189]

Great diag Ivan. Here’s my dilemma. You said that OE GM fuse box was junk. You’ve said that about plenty of aftermarket brands. And I agree. What is the answer for all these parts failing so early ? My bought new 99 Accord had one power window and door lock motor fail in 24 yrs/245k miles. Where has reliability gone and who makes it ? I’m so glad to be retired after 50 yrs of fighting broken cars. And you have unbelievable patience my friend.

[@stevenhovinga6584]

Ivan would it be possible for you to get the bad fuse box or one that had the same issue and tear it apart to see what internally is wrong with them. I really like when you dig into the " unrepairable" electronics. I'm guessing its something that is repairable and you might be able to get some bad ones and repair them, then offer remaned fuse boxes. Like you said at some point they will become obsolete making them valuable. ✌

[@hungryhungryhummer]

As cool as that would be I don’t think he’s interested in remanufacturing small electronics. Not nearly enough hourly pay as automotive diagnostics!😂

[@ats9682]

This is just like the chrysler TIPM's. Put electronics under the hood with no protection from the elements. I didn't install a Weather Resistant gfci outlet and burned two of them up in the matter of a year before I realized they make WR units. Diagnosticians love closure just so we can feed our brains with more knowledge, sorry we had to ruffle your feathers but amazing content. I've been bugging a coworker about his mom's dodge ram randomly crank and no start. It happens rarely but she was stranded in a major city an hour away and he had to leave work early to go get her. Half way there her truck started up and she drove it home. I was telling him about it could be power issues with the TIPM, ASD relay, but the shop she took it to thinks its the fuel pump starting to seize and he scheduled to have it in the shop so he can monitor fuel pressure. It could be common but without knowing the pump can be intermittently loosing power from a green crusty connection. I think he's gonna throw a fuel pump in there and I've seen you test both power, ground, and amp the pump out seeing if it is the pump motor itself or a bad wire. Seen too many times the parts cannon fired on something just to find it has green crusty's in a connector somewhere.

[@jeffco908]

I probably have 15 fuse blocks under my bench at work from 07 new body to about 2020 MY with various odd faults. I mark them all with the failure. When i get something like this now i start by swapping in a compatible fuse block with a different failure. Becoming common and probably why the part is so inexpensive. Whats really strange is we are starting to see repeat failures in a specific circuit where it has a corroded and broken wire. Same spot, same circuit on multiple vehicles. Had 3 different trucks with RKE system in-op and all 3 had a broken wire just rearward of right side b-pillar in harness. Harness has prob 15 or more wires in it but same one on each unit was broken. Appears to have had a pinhole in the insulation and then corroded the wire. Nothing in the area that could have caused this so very strange. Another strange one is 2020 an up trucks with left front wheel speed open circuit. It seems rabbits like to sit up near the left exhaust manifold and the harness for the sensor must be right in their face so they decide to eat it. Probably seen this 6 times myself at least and about 40 or more for sure through our shop. Some were brand new units waiting to be sold. Always the same place.

[@TheStwat]

The rust on that chassis is shocking. It's only six years old ffs! What do they put down on the roads there in winter? Pure acid? I thought we had it bad here in the UK with gritted roads causing premature corrosion but that is on another scale of bad.

[@mistsmogguru8378]

I am shocked by the amount of corrosion on the chassis. Terrible

[@blueskiesmobileauto4253]

Great teaching man those was super efficient diags especially the confirmation of wire integrity back to the tail lights without even touching the bulbs!

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Yup gotta confirm that everything else works as designed to prevent comebacks 😁

[@lvsqcsl]

You know, Ivan, we have 30-year-old Mercurys that we can still get parts for and I noticed you drove yours on this trip. It is bad that these trucks are already degrading with such low miles, but, they are all that way now it appears. Seems like Eric with SMA has done a few of these since I have been following him. Of course, he just goes to Wilbert's. GREAT VIDEO!

[@aurthorthing7403]

I want to see the inside of that "SmArT" fuse box...

[@DAVIDBrown-zp8sz]

Ivan's a slow learner, he should have requested the old box or lied to us and said he did if he didn't want to deep dive.

[@matthewmcmaster2731]

​@@DAVIDBrown-zp8sz Those were road trip repairs. He doesn't stick around for the repair if parts are required. He tells them what they need to fix it then leaves. What, do you expect him to drive back to that shop just to pick up a dead part to tear down on his own dime? That's dumb. When these cars are at his shop he always does a deep dive on things if they're interesting.

[@lvsqcsl]

He's just giving the customer a diagnosis.

[@davebigdog]

I would definitely like to see an autopsy on that fuse box

[@tedmoss]

There isn't really much inside except wiring and plastic and a smattering of computers in some.

[@robavis4906]

Hey Ivan. I just found your channel a few weeks ago and i must say you are very impressive how u go about finding the problems. Cant get enough of your vids. Great job

[@_RiseAgainst]

Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye. P.s. first

[@SuperDave71176k]

Singing this will be the day that it dies Must have been a Friday or Monday assembly.

[@russellhltn1396]

Fusebox "not serviceable"? Ivan just needs a little more motivation. ;) I accidently screwed up my fusebox trying to troubleshoot a washer pump. (For some reason, GM grounds the pump when it's not supplying power to it. I didn't fuse/current limit the supply when trying to test. Burned some traces.) It's not designed to be opened, but it can. As long as it's not needed for a core return, there's no harm in trying.

[@RussellBooth1977]

Out of all of the GM cars the Holdens never had a problem with the wiring looms rubbing through & Eric O tends to bypass the fuse box in any car which has a faulty circuit in one of those fuse boxes,TIPMs, etc !

[@carlosmoreira779]

Nothing better than a PHAD Chevy video!

[@richhelm21]

Chevy Thunder! Eric O's favourite!

[@paulhenryxray]

I agree, but at the top of my PHAD wish list: a Stellantis product NO BUS going bats**** crazy light show repair

[@Jazc-mp889]

Look how fast that truck rusted, wow!

[@bills6093]

Everything rusts quickly in the rust belt. They use so much salt on the roads up here that your frame has no chance.

[@Jazc-mp889]

@@bills6093 I live in Massachusetts, I know. But some vehicles here don’t rust that fast if they’re coated correctly at the factory. My mother’s Fusion didn’t rust and rot till it was 9 years old.

[@RJon2006]

Everything about these newer cars suck.

[@ats9682]

I noticed that too, she's gonna be a rott box soon.

[@tedmoss]

My 2000 shows no sign of rust. And I mean no sign, but I live in Arizona and bought it new.

[@additudeobx]

The fuse box was probably part of a cost cutting measure by the manufacturer which resulted in a few underrated current spade lugs being used and caused an overcurrent condition with heat.

[@xboxbml]

Didn’t think we’d see this till tomorrow!

[@aranhaydar9195]

I miss the days when Ivan was disassembling almost every failed thing 😢 Thanks for the vids thought 🙃 great content as always. And you're right Ivan current vehicles are kinda worthless after a particular point in their age

[@ianhellyer1473]

Something similar to a brake light problem with my car, although they stopped working. Brake light switch melted, so I thought new switch, but it failed maybe 6 or 7 months later; melted again. The brake switch was connected directly to the brake lights. 3 x 21 watt lamps = 5 amps but the inrush current is 10 to 15 times. Measured current was 5 amps so it wasn't overloaded. 50 amp relay fixed the problem and it's been working trouble free for several years. It's a pity you weren't able check out the failed fusebox. If the owner wants to keep the truck for a long time, buy a spare fusebox.

[@major__kong]

What inrush current? That really only happens with inductive loads. Brake lights are resistive.

[@milantrcka121]

@@major__kong Incandescent lights resistance increases with temperature (positive tempco). Inrush current is higher than operating current. That is why incandescents more than likely fail just at turn-on.

[@MikeSmith-hx5xw]

I know everyone get's different ad's but if you have seen the one for the Gear Wrench tool box my OCD kicks in with all the wasted space by the tool organizer insert things.

[@Z-Ack]

Yea i agree with the pack, you shoulda took the fuse box apart and looked where the short was and what failed to make it short.. i didnt think there were boards in them.. had to be a driver fett that failed closed circuit.. which is odd for newer electronics.. designers usually make them in ways they mostly fail open so they dont kill a bunch of other stuff when they do..

[@rihovaher]

Have a nice day everyone! The fault may be a blown transistor that controls the 12v behind the module to the light bulb. There are so many fuses that the factory original fuses burn out at the specified amperes. But cheap fuses made in China, for example 10 amperes, have been tested and only burn 20.. .through at 30 amperes.This means that in case of a short circuit, the transistor burns out and starts to continuously conduct 12 v through itself.

[@SHSPVR]

It sounds like to me on that last truck you did with the fuse box it may be underrated perhaps think the less power hungry LED bulb will help

[@ardie4542]

just replaced a driver door harness on a '14 Sierra, some wire inside is broken sounds like its a common thing on the forums (radio stays on, entry lights dont turn on, window switches not working)

[@dhaggy1980]

Possible when the trailer controller got installed, maybe a short to the fuse box that cooked some stuff. Supposed to blow a fuse but, since there are an abundance of cheap components being made.

[@russellhltn1396]

"Fuse is supposed to blow", but then there's those cheap ones that don't blow when they should.

[@LesReeves]

As I said recently newer vehicles seem to have built in obsolescence as Ivan has shown in a lot of recent videos.I am glad my vehicles are pre 05 as I can still get /fix them & hopefully see me out (age 66).

[@PandaMan02]

the corrosion is inside the fuse block, someone probably used a pressure washer on it.

[@major__kong]

When those become hard to find, you could probably find a way to open that open and jump the trace or bad spot. Had to do that on a board for my clothes dryer. The relay had a thermal event and took out a trace. Found the relay on digikey, found a jumper wire in my garage :-) If you have time and skills, open it up and use it to sketch a replacement board and have it printed. Or just start bypassing the board with direct connections and inline fuses.

[@mikechiodetti4482]

I wonder how much salt and water got inside that fuse box on #3. Triple Truck Repair. It's a great video Ivan!

[@billsmith5166]

I thought for sure he'd done a DIY trailer harness when I saw that brake controller.

[@monkeywentbananas]

Awesome diagnosis as usual! Thanks for the continued electrical trouble shooting information!

[@CedroCron]

60,000 miles of GM Quality! Love it!

[@Sandmansa]

You're right about all of that Ivan. For starters, I do like to see closure on just about anything I can. But sadly, I know that's not always possible. Now GM's (or any other American made vehicle really) have always had electrical issues for as long as I can remember. But all of the manufactures don't really do anything to address these problems until they become serious problems in the form of recalls and revisions.

[@robertoruiz7069]

Great vids IVAN,looks like a good time to buy a 3d printer.With a little CAD learning you should be making those in-house custom fit.haha You know just thinking about that in that way,200 bucks for a factory now doesn't sound so expensive!!!but seriously i don't think the plastics now available are high enough temp rated.just a guess.thanks man

[@tomsawyer4776]

Thanks for the effort on the follow up. It helps every one to know what the problem really was and if it is fixed for good.

[@JPPerez-tn8xe]

LOVE the follow-ups!!!!!

[@tomsawyer4776]

Chevy has had fuse box problems for decades now.....your own channel has a video for a 2004 Chevy Silverado fuse box problem.

[@yourgirlssidenigga6758]

Good ole Delphi electronics unfortunately almost all of the oems are all using Delphi electronics with angel hair spaghetti wiring now even some Asian manufacturers are doing it they all have fallen into the lowest bidder when they are designing electrical systems Chevy fuse boxes after like mid late 90s are designed like a scotch lock for trailer wiring absolutely the worst way to make a connection ever on a 12v system all the circuits are pretty much pinched together I dare anyone to take one apart and see if they find anything of quality in there

[@brianw8963]

Very cool GM trilogy Ivan. Nice. Sometimes the olfactory sensors come in handy!👍👍🇺🇸

[@ItllBurnOff]

that was awesome Ivan !! thank you again for a great video

[@hpelisr]

Great job Ivan, yes having a fuse box shorting on newer years is not good. Maybe one of the after market companies will dive into a remake.

[@rickcoleman8903]

Always an excellent job.

[@badgerdave22]

Thanks, Ivan... Master tech and master teacher... 😁👍

[@michaelmclaughlin1804]

Awesome diag as usual Ivan. I've replaced several fuse boxes in these newer Chevy here in eastern Canada due to corrosion.

[@mistsmogguru8378]

Was waiting for pt2 brilliant

[@glenharper3136]

Thanks for the video Ivan.

[@senanfoutchedjev2401]

Great job Ivan. Thanks.

[@aleskyfinis1025]

Wow man 🧍‍♂️ That’s crazy

[@michelbrown1060]

Did you open the electrical box to see what provoqued the short circuit. . ? ?

[@robbflynn4325]

Great job Ivan!

[@berrywin]

On my 25 year old Toyota Camry I've had two electrical problems. The drivers heated seat went bad so I bought an aftermarket seat for $15. Also the electric radio antenn rod went bad. I bought an original rod by the dealer for $30. Everyting else is original and I live in the Swedish rust belt. I live that car, so dependable! and no rust since I had it treated with a rust protection the first year I had it.

[@Notsostuck]

Number three I would suspect an incorrectly wired trailer was plugged in and and that caused the burning some trailers do carry break away batteries and I have seen some freak DIY trailer wiring that really messes with the internals on the tow vehicle. Good work on all three.

[@xanderlander8989]

GM saw the Chrysler TIPM and said "Hold my beer"

[@albutterfield5965]

The price of vehicles keeps going up yet the quality and reliability seems to keep dropping

[@chekelley6861]

There are millions of computerized vehicles on the road worldwide that don’t have any problems. We are watching a vehicle repair channel, so of course they have issues.

[@albutterfield5965]

@@chekelley6861 I would also assume that we have millions of cars driving around with the check engine lite on that never get resolved.

[@adotintheshark4848]

FWIW on Chrysler minivans from the late 90s to mid 2000s, the backup lamps are duel filament but only one filament gets used.

[@jimburgess9205]

Chevy’s version of a TIPM? Yikes!!!

[@GeneG-wk2mz]

Fresh cut Ivan the msn tanks for the knowledge once again

[@AP9311]

I've seen those burned up fuse boxes in my area, as of the overload issue. That gets fried in the process, new box is required. Nice fix on all three!! Nice video Ivan!!

[@dassme1]

every time I had this type of issue it was always something to do with the body ground in the back by the lights . however I did have a customer almost fry 2 bcms in 2 chevys. by him installing C B instead of fuses . I did have a light control module back by bumper .

[@paulhenryxray]

Sometimes you can tell that some parts are made to be disposable, like this fuse box. If it was designed and built to last, it wouldn't be $200 to replace. Side note - totally agree with cars becoming "disposable"

[@baxrok2.]

Thanks Ivan!

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

Yes, agree, even a junkyard OEM is better. I got a used OEM MAF for a 2003 Focus 2.3 I had, fixed it. My current 2002 still have a used OEM DPFE and a purge solenoid, 4 years later still working. Pennies on the dollar, and got a spare too, for a rainy day. I think, for a few dollars, I got the 90 day warranty on the purge, just in case it didn't work. It lets you return for refund or pull another like it.

[@davidrmcmahon]

I see a future market for stand alone Wiring looms to keep "old" vehicles on the road.

[@dnlmachine4287]

The tuner community is a great help with things like this. They custom build harnesses, adapt & program ECMs, re-wire connectors etc. The ones who know their stuff are a great resource. One thing we need to keep alive is access to information, like wiring diagrams, operating descriptions and similar. Louis Rossmans channel is a great advocate for Right to Repair, in case it is of interest. Stay gold.

[@alexanderzubar9593]

Ivan thanks for the closure. Sad for GM owners. Opportunities for reman fuse boxes!

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

Good question about in a few more years when GM stops making these fuse boxes! If the trucks were super high mileage, you might say it’s not worth fixing, but if it starts to be a problem with lower mileage or all the 7 year old trucks, yikes!

[@major__kong]

If you have time and skills and really want to save the vehicle, open it up and 1) jump the bad traces or 2) Use the old board to design a new board and have it printed. Or just make direct connections through an inline fuse. Where there's a will there's a way.

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

@@major__kong The average customer will not be able to do this, and most shops won’t want anything to do with that either! Heck, they don’t rebuild engines or trans, and most won’t do valves or anything. They just replace with new. (You or I would try your option though!)

[@simonaldridge82]

Good job it was shorted though the bulbs, I think anything bigger would have set the fuse box alight. No more truck, thanks for the videos

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Yes the bulbs acted like a fuse in this case 😄

[@dewaynek8591]

Considering the price of some parts, that’s actually a pretty reasonable price for the fuse box, they usually come with all the fuses and relays which would probably be over $100 from the dealer.

[@billylongley9580]

I just replaced a under hood fuse box on a 2007 new style Silverado . The abs light came on and checked the fuse and the prongs from the fuse stayed In .. total corrosion.. dealership wanted 500 bucks for new one . I got one at a salvage yard for 60 .. gm quality isn’t what it used to be ..

[@arcadeuk]

I really wanted to see inside the fusebox 😉

[@theblackhand6485]

The third Chevy with the bad fuse box, we still do not know how come the contacts had a bad ground??? Was the print inside heavily corroded? And can this be avoided by waxing the PCB???

[@nickchannel5364]

All very interesting.

[@robertsmith2956]

I hope he keeps the receipts for you and the part so in 15 years when the lawsuit is finally settled over the defective part he gets his money back.

[@greggc8088]

It's a shame how so many manufacturers are having issues with fuse boxes lately. At one time about a decade or so ago, it was just Chrysler having problems. Maybe they farm their box design/production out to Dorman?

[@100SteveB]

A shame the one with the fusebox was not one you were doing at your own shop. Would loved to have seen what shorted out in it. Gone are the days of a fusebox just being a fusebox. And no doubt give it another year or so the manufacturers will stop making replacements.

[@jackp8363]

freightliner columbia and century have similar type of fuse box it's the auxiliary box by the driver seat, they go bad often, moisture get into them many years ago vw had them, the construction metal blades with layer of plastic separating like a sandwich, them when water infiltrate them slowly melting the insolation even making that plastic conductor, worst in northern states

[@boogerhead0]

I would surmise poor contact inside the fusebox led to heated bus bar which melted plastic, shorting sub-circuit to power. Could have been any sub-circuit, happened to be backup/tail lights.

[@jackiemay9471]

with the fusebox failing on a number of new trucks there should be a recall or at least replaced under a extended warranty a friend had a 06 vw golf in 2019 had a problem with abs it was a known issue the local vw dealer repaired it free of charge kudos to the dealer

[@Sixta16]

Show us pls the inside of the burnt up fusebox insides. If possible to disassemble. Interested to see what has gone wrong in there.

[@jerryking2418]

Government Motors Corporation. Well done.

[@robertsmith2956]

Even more interesting is it can cook the pins and not blow the fuse. Is GM buying their fuses from amazon now?

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

If short to B+ is after the fuse, then something else will melt 😅

[@earlribaudo4807]

What about the back up camera? Was that part of the back up lights staying on?

[@tedmoss]

Without even watching the video, I would say don't let your mechanic work on your car on a Monday morning after being on a bender all weekend.

[@craigescapeddetroit5198]

Time for me to spray some dielectric grease spray onto my fuse boxes to prevent problems, if that's possible.

[@LethalMercury]

After part 1 I looked on Rock Auto for that throttle actuator. They have a GM Delphi new, not reman for $155. Wouldn’t that be the best option?

[@richardnilsen8950]

Investigate the factory defect start collecting them from the salvage yards correct the defect And put them on the PHAD Store for sale supply and demand 🤣👍💲💲💲💲💲💲💲💲

[@cullenmiller8170]

I guess that’s electrical stuff for you. It either works fine or it’s broken. Not being able to service components anymore makes it tricky. The good thing we are all being forced to get electric vehicles. 🤣🤣

[@charliemagoo7943]

You've got to be kidding!!!. Wiring issues.??? Electrical issues??? That must have changed overnight because Brandon and Mary Barra claim gm is the world's leader in electric cars.