2004 Pontiac Grand Am GT Logo
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Jared Posted on Jul 28, 2015
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Radio and Instrument Panel do not turn off!

(Nothing has changed in the car to trigger this either, no recent work on the car)Ok. This just started happening yesterday after my lunch break from work. I was driving back from my house to work and my security light came on. I thought to myself. I knew something was going to happen I wouldn't like. Pontiacs are well-known for electrical problems. I get to work, turn the car off and open my door.At this time the radio and instrument panel including speedometer are still on I have car off door open which would ordinarily shut down the radio and keys out of ignition in general turn the instrument panel off. It did not, I can't understand why this is even possible. I started the car back upNote: from here on the security like NEVER came back on and turn off again tried opening and closing the door and it wouldn't shutdown like normal. I had to disconnect my negative battery lead. So in the morning as soon as I reconnected the battery guess what turned on..... The radio and instrument panel. It is completely bypassing the entire ignition switchCan it be the ignition switch itself????? None of that should even have power supplied to in until keys go into the ignition. Anyone with ideas or information on what it may be? Thanks. If you need anymore info, just lmk I'll comment it below

2 Answers

Randy Ohler

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  • Pontiac Master 14,585 Answers
  • Posted on Jul 29, 2015
Randy Ohler
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It's the body control module(BCM). It's on the passenger side under the dash kick panel. Three plugs going to it(one is pink). Look at the plugs, look for corrosion. White to greenish color. Clean them with battery cleaner. Then use brake clean to get the cleaner out. Then pull the BCM out. Cut the tape and open it up. Use the brake clean and a soft/tooth brush to clean any corrosion in it. When you install the BCM, plug it in and wrap a bag around it, shove it in place. Pull the wires down some, with the bag( this will keep water from getting to it.). I have fixed many of them this way. Just a note. Be careful with the BCM board.

Testimonial: "I really hope it isn't because I just replaced the BCM with a brand new one about 4-5 months ago. It was all corroded from water contact and it was corroded all the way into the circuit board. I replaced it with a new one so it self programs to my car and shrink wrapped it completely. If I unplug it, it will need to be reprogrammed again and my abs light will all come on"

  • 1 more comment 
  • Randy Ohler Jul 29, 2015

    No it doesn't need reprogrammed if it is unplugged. I haven't heard of a self program one. All new ones come blank on the soft ware, all. They have to be programmed in the car. No other way.

  • Jared
    Jared Aug 02, 2015

    Yeah. When a brand new one is hooked up to the car with that blank software, it synchronizes to the very first ignition start up. And sets the resistance levels. Before I got a brand new one i unplugged it to check the contacts(the original wasn't wrapped) alllllllll corroded and burned out parts on the board itself. But b/c i unplugged it my abs, no trac, security, and some other lights came on, including the inability to unpower those lights without disconnecting battery. My current problem went away for now. It was a water problem. Something did get wet b/c the day this happened it rained that morning. 3 days later it fully dried up, hasn't done anything wrong since. I am going to reseal my firewall and around my fuse panels so nothing can penetrate them

  • Randy Ohler Aug 02, 2015

    Water gets in it from under the windshield wipers. Remove them and pull the panel under them. On the passenger side there is a small grill by the fender. I cap/silicone them off. This is the only way I found to keep rain from getting to the BCM.

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Claude Kayser

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  • Pontiac Master 9,098 Answers
  • Posted on Jul 29, 2015
Claude Kayser
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Look for frayed wiring.

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