What Did You Do To Your HHR Today?
Platinum Member
Joined: 04-09-2006
Posts: 7,043
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada
After charging the battery overnight, spent a couple hours today troubleshooting the cause of a dead battery causing a no-start condition.
Pulled the fuse for the interior lights (fuse 27) to remove them from the system, then using a multi-meter between the Neg battery post and the ground cable, found a parasitic drain of around 2 amps. Not quite trusting the multi-meter I found a 2amp fuse would not blow when put into the circuit, but a 1amp would.
Pulling a few fuses in the BCM fuse box in the passengers foot well, narrowed it down to fuse 23 - 15amp RDO. With that fuse pulled the drain was negligible (multi-meter is pretty old and would not work below 500ma).
So now the radio, chimes and Remote Door Locks are out of commission with that fuse pulled. Will spend some time on it tomorrow to see if I can narrow it down further, to either the stereo or the RDL circuit.
Update: Pulled out the radio and disconnected it, put Fuse 23 back in, and ran a few more tests. The best measurement of the parasitic draw with the radio out of the circuit using my newer multimeter was in the neighbourhood of 11.5Ma. And that, according to what I have researched seems well within specs.
And now that fuse 23 is back in place, with the radio removed, the door locks and security system all work just fine. Of course with the radio removed the turn signal alert does not work, so have to keep that in mind.
Now to figure out what to do about the radio - either get another identical replacement, or go with an aftermarket installation.
Tore the radio apart - but nothing obviously wrong/broken visually.
Pulled the fuse for the interior lights (fuse 27) to remove them from the system, then using a multi-meter between the Neg battery post and the ground cable, found a parasitic drain of around 2 amps. Not quite trusting the multi-meter I found a 2amp fuse would not blow when put into the circuit, but a 1amp would.
Pulling a few fuses in the BCM fuse box in the passengers foot well, narrowed it down to fuse 23 - 15amp RDO. With that fuse pulled the drain was negligible (multi-meter is pretty old and would not work below 500ma).
So now the radio, chimes and Remote Door Locks are out of commission with that fuse pulled. Will spend some time on it tomorrow to see if I can narrow it down further, to either the stereo or the RDL circuit.
Update: Pulled out the radio and disconnected it, put Fuse 23 back in, and ran a few more tests. The best measurement of the parasitic draw with the radio out of the circuit using my newer multimeter was in the neighbourhood of 11.5Ma. And that, according to what I have researched seems well within specs.
And now that fuse 23 is back in place, with the radio removed, the door locks and security system all work just fine. Of course with the radio removed the turn signal alert does not work, so have to keep that in mind.
Now to figure out what to do about the radio - either get another identical replacement, or go with an aftermarket installation.
Tore the radio apart - but nothing obviously wrong/broken visually.
Last edited by whopper; Dec 15, 2016 at 03:50 PM.
Senior Member
Joined: 01-14-2014
Posts: 144
From: Switzerland
Drove along a German Autobahn (highway) yesterday and reached up to 100 mph / 160 kmh. HHR felt remarkably steady and stable when changing lanes at those speeds. Steering also felt tight (I wish it felt a bit more like this at city speeds).
Deceased
Joined: 06-30-2010
Posts: 25,739
From: Kannapolis NC
If you're feeling adventuresome whopper, you could disassemble the Head Unit for a looksee.
It could be a cold solder joint, or a blob of solder shorting out two traces on the PCB.
Here's an "Oldie but a Goodie" that you might remember, it's not specifically aimed at your problem, but it's still a good reference for Cleaning and Gutting a Head Unit
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/how-...w-radio-49106/
My did was ordering up some bits and bobs for routine maintenance, like new Raybestos HD Rotors and Pads for Paddy, along with two sets of Wheel Cylinders and Shoes for the non-pointy end.
I have a blown wheel cylinder on the left rear that soaked the shoes, so might as well do everything up fresh, and be done with it.
And it's time for an oil change too, so I'll get some quality garage time in on Saturday.
It could be a cold solder joint, or a blob of solder shorting out two traces on the PCB.
Here's an "Oldie but a Goodie" that you might remember, it's not specifically aimed at your problem, but it's still a good reference for Cleaning and Gutting a Head Unit
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/how-...w-radio-49106/
My did was ordering up some bits and bobs for routine maintenance, like new Raybestos HD Rotors and Pads for Paddy, along with two sets of Wheel Cylinders and Shoes for the non-pointy end.
I have a blown wheel cylinder on the left rear that soaked the shoes, so might as well do everything up fresh, and be done with it.
And it's time for an oil change too, so I'll get some quality garage time in on Saturday.
