Radio, Auto dimming mirror and Key fob not working.

[RedLineVue05]

I just purchased an 05 Vue RedLine from a dealer and the radio, auto dimming mirror and key fob don't work. I only paid $8k for the Vue, so I was willing to deal with these issues. I took it to a Saturn dealer and their tech guy said that the problems are all related, but he's not sure exactly what the problem is. They'll need to check out all the wiring in the dash to diagnose (with a two hour labor minimum).

I've checked the Prem Audio fuse and the Radio fuse (both good)
I've taken the radio out and inspected the wires. I can tell that there was an aftermarket radio of some kind installed by the previous owner as there are three spliced wires off the original wiring harness and some wires hanging out in the back end of the vehicle. I suspect that the previous owner just threw the original radio back in prior to trading it in and didn't realize or care that something got screwed up.

Another weird thing is that at first the CD player (6 disc) was accepting CDs (though wouldn't play them) and now the radio is completely dead.

Any ideas?

[guitar_stitch]

The stock radios are usually junk, even in the premium package.

Spliced wires, however, could be the root of the problem. I would try to isolate each wire and see if it is mated to the proper counterpart. If you have a wire that is spliced to another wire of a different color, then something's not right. I would also check all the fuses. If someone had an aftermarket radio in there, they could've tried to pull power from anywhere they could find it, rendering other features inactive.

[RedLineVue05]

I should have said the wires from the radio were "crimped on to" and not "spliced", so all the original wires are intact.

After more searching around the vehicle, I found a power source connected to the battery going to the back of he vehicle (I'm guessing for an amplifier and/or subwoofer). I also checked nearly every fuse on the car and they're all fine.

I searched the forums and now think the problem is with the Body Control Module (BCM). I'm hoping that a reprogram of the BCM by the dealer will fix all my problems, although I may also need a whole new BCM. From the forums it sounds like replacing the BCM myself is not a viable option.

Another problem I just found is that my Hazard lights aren't working. The turn signals work, but not the hazards. Perhaps this is yet another function of the BCM or maybe I just need another switch.

I'll try taking my car to the dealer next weekend to diagnose everything, and I'll report back after that.

[chillin05VUE]

This is not of any help to you now, but I hate when people splice, tap or just plain cut off the radio harness when putting in an aftermarket stereo. Of all the radios that I've installed, I always used adapters. The very first radio I replaced, I did cut the wires because GM used one ground wire and no constant 12+ volt wire in the '81 Malibu, so i had to run new speaker wires and add a constant hot wire. Just too many problems arise when you cut off the harness. I installed a Lo-Jack in '99 Trans Am and the people had an aftermarket stereo. When I removed it to install the Lo-Jack, who ever installed in the stereo had wires everywhere, so I just put it all back and went somewhere else. I then installed one in a Nissan and the owner had ran a wire from the battery through the door jam (bad idea) into the vehicle to an amp. This time,as a courtesy, I just put tape on a bare spot that I saw, made note of it and then went somewhere else on the vehicle.

Now, to your problem, I'm thinking somone shorted something out, then "fixed" the wire not knowing that they caused a problem somewhere else. But I've seen some used car dealers get cars from repo auctions that may have a nice stereo in them. They then remove the stereo not knowing how it went in, and throw a factory radio for cosmetics looks. Getting a '05 RL for $8000 is pretty cheap and I'm thinking the lot knew something was wrong with the car and didn't want to pay to get it fixed.

[RedLineVue05]

Well the problem turned out being a short in the fuse box located in the passenger footwell. I had the fuse box replaced and now everything works. All good...