Chevy HHR Network - Dash light and Gauges not working

Chevy HHR Network (https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/)

- Problems/Service/Repairs (https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/problems-service-repairs-42/)

- - Dash light and Gauges not working (https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/problems-service-repairs-42/dash-light-gauges-not-working-33835/)

Dash light and Gauges not working

Hello All!! This is my first post and I was looking for help. We have a Red 2009 SS Five Speed that has been great, until today. At first start up of the day the Gauges in the dash did not work at all. After 30 seconds I turned the SS off, waited a short time and when I restarted the SS the gauges started working. The gauges worked for about 30 seconds and have not worked since this morning. I have been in and out of the SS running errands all day with about ten stop and restarts during the day. Also Since I drove the SS in the dark I noticed the dash lights do not work either. Everything else in fine. Radio, heat/ac controls all the other lights work fine. I can also hear the turn signal clicking away when I turn but cannot see the green arrows ij the dash/ gauge area. Any help would be very much appreciated
Thanks
Rick:twothumbs:

Well first off, welcome to the group, glad to have you here! First I'd check all the fuses both under hood and in the panel located on the passenger side of the center waterfall. You may have a fuse blown or a relay that came unseated. Its important to press down on each fuse and relay in the under hood fuse block as they can work loose and cause issues, its one of those HHR things. Keep us posted.

We had a similar problem with our 2008 HHR and took it back to the dealer. They reprogrammed the computer (apparently there was some type of service bulletin on it) and we haven't had it reoccur since. May want to inquire with them.

My mom had a similar problem with her Saturn VUE, she had to go to the dealer and have the computer reprogrammed. Even if you are past your 36k, I believe that there is a service bulletin on it so chevy should cover it.

Update : I checked the fuses and also made sure the fuses and the releys we seated firmly.
Went to the Chevy dealer today to have the computer reprogrammed. The tech said that the computer was not able to talk with the dash lights or gauges. Tech said he felt that the dash pod w/ gauges needed to be replaced.
Anyone here have experience removing the gauges? I would like to tackle this myself. Thanks in advance!:twothumbs:

Quote:

Originally Posted by hhrssz (Post 529900)

Hello! I am having a similar problem now, wondering what resolution was on yours...

Thanks!!

Unfortunately an answer may not be forthcoming very soon, the OP's last forum activity was on 8/12/2013.

I'd suggest starting a fresh thread describing your specific issues, that way more input is possible on solutions.

Front Side Marker Lights Caused This Issue for Me

Do a lot of lurking on these forums but don’t often have something of value to contribute. This time I may…

Had a headlight go out and decided to change it. Fun process as I’m sure many of you know. While I was changing the headlight, I realize that the connections to the front side marker lights were disconnected. Figured while I was there, I’d reconnect them. Did that and the lights (side marker and headlights) worked. But when I went to drive the car again I was having the above described issues with my instrument panel intermittently turning on and off. I’ll also note that my radio was not working. Besides instrument panel and radio, however, everything else that was electronic seemed to be working fine.

After thinking about it, I started to wonder if there was a reason why the front side marker lights were disconnected. So I decided to disconnect them again. This didn’t solve the issue though… But I figured I should disconnect the battery to maybe let the system do a hard reset. So I did that, and voila!

So my thinking is that there is somehow a short or something in those side marker lights that is throwing off the instrument panel. Not sure if this is an issue isolated only to my vehicle or a broader HHR issue, but figured I’d post it in case it helps someone else.

Other than some of these quirky issues, I do love my HHR!

Have the battery load tested , sounds more like a dying battery

It could be a PO disconnected the marker lights by removing resistors for LED lights, or dealing with the DRL