My landlord’s daughter is having some electrical problems with her car, and we’re trying to troubleshoot it ourselves.
It’s a 2006 chevy cobalt with 66,000 miles on it. Here are the issues:
1) The radio’s display does not work (you can’t see the time or the station). The radio’s volume, on/off switch, AM/FM control, and tuner don’t work. So, basically, it’s stuck on one AM station and she can’t do anything about it.
2) Her power locks occasionally lock / unlock themselves when the vehicle is running.
3) This is the most important safety issue right now - there’s no power to the pump for her windshield washing fluid.
What could it be? Fuses? Wiring? Something else?
Always start with the fuses, it’s the easiest.
You can check each one visually. Pull one out, look at it, if it’s good put it back in.
Replace a blown fuse and if it blows again…stop. There’s a problem on that circuit.
How did you come to the conclusion that there is no power to the washer pump? I ask because if you knew how to do this you would know how to move on in his diagnosis.
It was a guess on my part because I had her turn the ignition to the “on” position and press the button for her windshield washing fluid. When she pressed the button, the wipers moved, but fluid didn’t come out, and I didn’t hear the humming from the pump’s motor.
On most cars that I’ve owned, you can hear the windshield washer pump make a little electric hum with you turn it on. So, my guess was that the pump wasn’t getting power, as I didn’t hear it running.
The radio issue may be due to a problem with a loose connector for the front panel controls inside the radio. It might also be due to damage of the control circuit. It might be easiest to get a used replacement radio from a sale on Ebay.
The lock issue may be due to dirty switch contacts in the door lock switch.
For the washer pump problem, check to see if voltage is getting to the pump motor using a test light probe or meter. That will show which direction to go and find the trouble.