So they found 4 wires that had burned from a bad ground. They are repairing the wires and I'll be all set. $393.00 to repair 4 wires.

 

Burnt wires at what ground and why did they not find it before? Was it the ground in the back by the battery or under the hood at the rad cradle as Donbrew asked be checked back on page one of the thread?
Just wondering as this information can help others later!

 

I was told 4 ground wires off of the ECU

 

They said they all 4 were because of a bad ground. I don't know where they ground to....probably where someone suggested earlier in this thread. Radiator or tranny?

 

Seems logical to check wires before ordering expensive parts. I repair appliances for a living, and ordering a computer board of any sort is only done when all possibilities are eliminated. Pinched and burned wires are an obvious last check BEFORE ordering a computer board

 

I went to the same school , when I was in grade 12, I was invited to a Chrysler test for the top high school auto class marks, I had 60 minutes to find out why my car a new Chrysler Newport wouldn't start , after 12 minutes of testing , I found a ground wire was burnt.
The Chrysler tech coach said it can't be that we wouldnt burn a wire a purpose.
I cut and repaired the ground , turned it over it back fired, I reset the distributor, turned the key and it fired up, 21 minutes to diagnose and repair the car!

 

4 ground wires huh. I pulled this part of a wiring diagram from a 2008 SS repair manual.
The bottom part of the picture (that's cut off) says "right front corner of transmission". The other part is labeled "right front corner of engine compartment."
This could be the 4 ground wires they are repairing.

 

you're dead on fireman...here is the receipt from the dealer $393 after taxes

 

Wow, at least it is repaired now, Don mentions the rad cradle ground in post #5
These ground burnt due to high resistance from the eyelet loose on the stud at the transmission end, so just to tighten the nut on your ground would not have resolved the ground wire problem , you would have had to test the impedence of easy wire and spliced in fresh 12 gauge wires.
Maybe now your dealer tech will test this area first before he orders a new ECM on the next HHR he works on

 

Don't you love paying for a professional's education?

I guess jiggling wires was not included in vocational studies. I know my first impulse after an obvious electrical problem is to jiggle wires, especially at the connection ends. That would have saved 2 hours troubleshooting labor.