A little background. I have a 2007 HHR LT. Everything has worked on the car until recently and I've been pulling my hair out trying to solve a few problems. I won't get into gritty specifics of why I had to fix this stuff except for calling them a jackass.
Common problem was water leaking on the blower motor. Solved that with a new motor and resistor, and generous amounts of rtv sealant. So now the fan worked again. Then the radio just straight died quickly followed by the climate control switch. Replaced the blend door motors since I was poking around the area. No luck. I checked all the fuses and relays with my multimeter, disconnected the battery for a little while, and still nothing. The radio might as well be a brick. There are no lights or sounds from it at all. We know the a/c and heat worked just fine before this, we even drove it to the beach and mountains before this. I looked into a new climate control switch and was slapped in the face with a price tag of 300 bucks. So background aside, here are my questions:

1- could the radio have killed the switch, I know radios are common issues with these cars
2-would a new switch fix the heating and air or is there a way I can fix the old one or check some obscure relay I missed
3-would any of this affect the console lights? Says there is a code but the Check Engine light isn't on.

The car runs and drives just fine. Plenty of power, no other issues. We just have a new car and are wanting to sell this one and be done with it. But it being summer, the buyer will obviously want the ac to work. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

 

Welcome.

The radio is NOT a common problem, the speakers ARE.

On a 2007 where was the water coming in from? 2006 has the butyl patch .

I suspect that the water is the problem with the radio and the switches. Have you checked the fuses and wiring to the BCM?

I think you said there is a code, but no CEL. What is the code number?

 

Welcome to the site.

"Says there is a code but the Check Engine light isn't on." Not really sure what you mean here. What says there is a code ?
Fwiw. All codes don't necessarily illuminate the CEL. Some codes can just be stored in the computer. You could try pulling the codes and see if any are pending.
From your description of your problem, there may not be a code or CEL that is associated with your issue.

You said you checked with a multi-meter put didn't say what results you got.
Based on your post and the info above, it sounds like you may have knocked some wiring loose under there doing the previous work.
I would check all the wiring and plug-ins in that area. AND, check the grounding harness points.

 

Welcome to the site :)
Tim

 

The code was for an o2 sensor that never got cleared and a failure to communicate with the computer one time. Water was coming in on the passenger side through the cabin air. But that was solved. The lights, switch, and dead radio are the issue atm. I've fine toothed every fuse and relay I could find. I'm wondering if maybe some water shorted something I can't reach.

 

All the wiring was sound when I put everything back in. And the radio and switch had stopped working long before I replaced the blend door motors. When I say code and no light, the scanner said there was a failure to connect and that the engine light was on, but not illuminated on the console. As far as the ultimate meter, I just checked circuit, making sure things were supposed to have power that did and things that shouldn't dont. It came up clear on the fuses and relays. I was thinking of unplugging the radio and plugging it back in just to see if I got any sort of result.

 

On a side note, I'm going to give the BCM a good once over. Since water was involved, I'm going to take some cleaner in there and just give it a solid once over. Maybe cross my fingers and pit a circle of salt around the car. Don't know where I can get a chicken or a skull at this time of day, but wish me luck

 

O2 sensor codes clear themselves after several clear drive cycles. Which type of code; stored, confirmed or historical?
I still don't know how water got into the cabin air filter, unless You have one of the few 2007 cars that got a butly patch.

Somebody was recently having problems with the A/C switch and lights. I don't recall the resolution. The ground point is on the driver side under the dash. There is a fuse. IIRC there is a fusible link.

I'm starting to think you didn't disconnect the battery while messing with the wiring?

 

Yeah, it had that patch. I just tarted it up with a good portion of rtv. It had come up in a spot or 2, otherwise it was intact. The code was for an o2 sensor that I replaced but hadn't cleared, and it was saying it wasn't connecting to the computer after that. And I always disconnect the battery before tinkering with any of these modern cars. And even when I had my beater. You weld a wrench or ratchet to the frame a few times, you learn. I was a tech for Uhaul for a while and diesels were hell on the electrical there. I'll double check grounding, and clean up anything that looks out of the way. I didn't really give the BCM a proper eyeballing. I was more interested in the fuses. I start with the simple stuff first and the progress. I'm fixing to get out of work and head home. I'll do some quick checks and post back with the results. Thanks again to everyone for your help.

 

check you PM.

You are missing a lot. I'll give it all to you.