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Problems/Service/RepairsIf you have a problem with your HHR, want a tip on repairing or performing a particular service to you HHR here is the place to post!
Batteries can go bad very quickly. It's not common but some will short internally in just months. You know they are not all made as well as they should be.
Oil pressure is not an indicator of oil level. I drove with no oil and good pressure on the pressure gauge once a long time ago, the light never came on. Thankfully it was a hard to kill slant six.
...and then one day I was following my wife in the highway and she said everything turned off, engine cut off, all electronics flashed off and back on, she put her hazards on (couldn’t be seen from the outside, the blinkers weren’t blinking), I got it towed home, started messing with it and noticed the gauges don’t come on, but the display does, power locks don’t work, power windows don’t work, rear hatch outdoor handle doesn’t work (it did on the side of the highway, weird.) hooked up a snap-on solid and got no communication to BCM or ECU,...
How long ago did this happen? Before or after the new battery? Because this behavior is classic loss of power, whether due to a bad battery, loss of charging, or a bad terminal.
You really need to evaluate the battery, regardless of how new it is. Load test at the parts store, then fully change and let it sit for a few days and see if it's holding at 12.6V or better. Also, go find the receipt. More than once the battery I "just bought last year" turned out to be 3-4 years old. And Walmart Everstart "Value" batteries are warrantied for 1 year.
We're just dropping a brand new battery and eliminate all doubt. Pretty pointless chasing electrical problems with an iffy battery.
got a chance to work on the HHR, I did as suggested and loosened, checked, and re tightened all fuse box bolts/connectors, inside and out (all looked clean), I also checked the battery and as expected it was dead, so I got another battery that had 12.5v, and when changing the batteries I noticed a connector was unplugged, it’s a flat connector coming off the positive terminal, there’s the main large wire and a little bit smaller one, the smaller one has this connector on it, no idea what it does, but it made things start working again… but not it’ll start and run for a few seconds, start sputtering, then die. Going to check fuel pressure tomorrow to make sure my fuel pump isn’t going bad again, any more ideas for this? Has a full tank of gas from a very reliable gas station I and my family have used for years. I still have the original BCM in so that wasn’t the issue (yet) Thanks for any new suggestions.
also, it did read the computers now and I have a code “crankshaft position system not learned” which is related to the previous computer problem I had I believe, but could it cause this?
How long ago did this happen? Before or after the new battery? Because this behavior is classic loss of power, whether due to a bad battery, loss of charging, or a bad terminal.
You really need to evaluate the battery, regardless of how new it is. Load test at the parts store, then fully change and let it sit for a few days and see if it's holding at 12.6V or better. Also, go find the receipt. More than once the battery I "just bought last year" turned out to be 3-4 years old. And Walmart Everstart "Value" batteries are warrantied for 1 year.
We're just dropping a brand new battery and eliminate all doubt. Pretty pointless chasing electrical problems with an iffy battery.
I understand all the concern around the battery, I’ll make sure to adequately charge it and get it load tested, but I did only replace it last year and I know this because I’ve had the car I. My name since last may. And it was expensive and says “3 year warranty” on the side, so if need be I can just swap it out!
also, it did read the computers now and I have a code “crankshaft position system not learned” which is related to the previous computer problem I had I believe, but could it cause this?
That is from replacing the ECM
it’s a flat connector coming off the positive terminal
That is after market. Somebody added something that might be the problem. Find out where that wire goes.
Your HHR does not use VATS, it has PK3. Relearning the key was not needed on mine but relearning the crank sensor was.
Did you check the connections to the under hood fuse box? Should be 2 wires on forward post and 1 smaller wire on the post near the firewall.
This:
NOT this:
That is after market. Somebody added something that might be the problem. Find out where that wire goes.
Your HHR does not use VATS, it has PK3. Relearning the key was not needed on mine but relearning the crank sensor was.
Did you check the connections to the under hood fuse box? Should be 2 wires on forward post and 1 smaller wire on the post near the firewall.
This:
NOT this:
as far as it being a new ECM, it’s not, the company sent my old one back it had tested good on their test vehicle.
ill find out where the wire goes.
yes I have 2 wires in the forward post and one on the one near the firewall.
That is after market. Somebody added something that might be the problem. Find out where that wire goes.
Your HHR does not use VATS, it has PK3. Relearning the key was not needed on mine but relearning the crank sensor was.
Did you check the connections to the under hood fuse box? Should be 2 wires on forward post and 1 smaller wire on the post near the firewall.
This:
NOT this:
I did a quick search, and it looks like the connector isn’t aftermarket, maybe I described it poorly… here’s an image of it
