gmc canyon / chevrolet colorado quick fix info
I'm not smart about cars because I want to be. I'm smart about cars because I have to be.
This is especially true if you drive a GM vehicle.
I know just about all there is to know when it comes to common issues with the GMC Canyon, a.k.a. Chevrolet Colorado, a.k.a. GMT355 pickup truck.
Driver's door popping sound when opening or closing
Tighten two nuts on very long bolts that are in open view on the inside front of the door. Can't miss 'em. Tighten by hand, because they're going to become loose again anyway.
Cruise control stops working
Brake light assembly recall (does affect cruise for whatever reason). Fixed at GMC dealership at no charge.
Hard shift from first to second gear in auto transmission
Fixed with PCM software upgrade at GMC dealership. Haven't done this yet. It's about $100 to have the work done even though it takes the dealership only five minutes to do it.
Slight booming sound at idle
Idle on these trucks is set too low, causing a slight booming noise. Also fixed with PCM software upgrade.
Gas gauge isn't as accurate as you'd like
Once again, fixed with the same PCM software upgrade.
Fan settings 1, 2 and 3 don't work, but 4 does
Blown blower resistor. This part, specifically, located under the passenger side footwell. Look for the white connector held in by two gold screws. Unscrew, pull out carefully and you'll see this big green thing attached to it.
The money you save by doing it yourself: About $275.
That's what you need to replace, IF the connector pins on the white part aren't fried, in which case you'll need the whole wiring harness kit (wire with connector + resistor).
To replace the harness, you have to take off the glove box and the right side panel which is seen when the passenger door is open. Glove box is held on by three screws in plain sight at the bottom. Take off the screws, open glove box slowly, push in either side so the plastic flaps clear, and pull straight out. After that, reach in and pop out the right side panel. You'll now have a clear view of the connector right in front of you. Since the harness is a complete kit there's no tools involved as it's all snap in/out connectors.
But even if you perform this fix, the problem will come back if you don't fix the ground, which leads me to...
All interior cabin fans shut off for absolutely no reason while switch is on
This problem really ticked me off. You're driving along with the fans on, and then the fans die completely. Truck is still running fine and everything works - except the fans. Switch off, switch on.. nothing. All four fan speeds are dead. Then, by what seems like **magic**, the fans turn back on again.
The root cause of this problem is so unbelievably stupid that it just boggles the mind. And in addition, if you don't fix this yourself, your resistor (and most likely connector as well) will keep frying/blowing out unless you do this stuff.
Okay, here we go.
The problem is at the splice block. This is where a bunch of ground wires go. It is a small black box mounted on the passenger side fender. You'll see it in plain sight. Open the hood, look where your air filter is and just to the left of that mounted to the fender is the splice block. It is held in place by an attached metal strap with a 10mm bolt.
The block itself is not the problem. It's the way the bolt was installed.
With the truck off, pull off the air filter cover so you can get to the bolt with a ratchet. Then pull the bolt out and take the splice block along with it.
What's under that metal strap you just took off? Probably a small bit of corrosion, maybe a little gunk, and the biggest offender, paint.
What does this mean?
It means the strap was not technically touching bare metal. And that means you've got a crappy ground.
Unbelievable.
The fix? So easy it's not funny.
Take a Dremel or sandpaper and take off the paint where the strap connects to the fender. Then use a metal brush to clean the bolt (there's probably rust on it). Then sandpaper both sides of the strap where the bolt is until you see brass. Clean up, screw the bolt back in, seal it up proper so it doesn't rust on you (use RTV silicone for that), done.
What did you do here? You fixed a GM design flaw. You made the ground actually work like it's supposed to, and guess what? That stupid fan shutoff problem disappears - assuming your resistor and white connector under the footwell aren't burnt and in good shape. If not, pony up the $37 and have at it. Cheap fix for properly working fans as far as I'm concerned.
Whenever anybody calls GM vehicles junk, I never argue. For whatever boneheaded reason, I just like GM cars and trucks. Yes, stupid stuff on them breaks that simply doesn't happen on other cars. The only exception to the rule are most Buicks. Not all, but most. Buick is one of the few GM divisions that knows how to construct a car correctly. It's the reason I have an '89 LeSabre now.
Anyway, if you happen to own a GMT355, now you know the more common problems and their solutions.
The people I feel most sorry for are owners of GMT355's that are early 5-cylinder crew cab models. Most of those trucks are an absolute nightmare, such as the HVAC leaking water on the floor, the rear glass falling out of their tracks, and well.. let's just say the list is really frickin' long for annoyances with those trucks. :)
gps perks
There are times when I'm driving around that I discover unintentional perks by using GPS. One of them happens to be that GPS can act as a cheap replacement speedometer. It is never cheap if one of those breaks. But due to GPS, now it is.
Another perk that dawned on me today is the fact you get extra help during construction situations.
A few streets away from where I live there's some construction going on. When that happens, street signs get dirtied up, bent, knocked over, moved, etc. It happens no matter where the construction is.
Another thing that happens is that familiarity is taken away. When all you see are orange barrels, barriers and flashing yellow lights, it all looks the same. Especially at night.
GPS basically saved my ass once again when traveling through this construction zone. I was looking for a specific road to make a left, but darned if I could see the sign until I was literally on top of it. And by that time it was too late; I needed more notice. I looked at my GPS screen to locate it, found it and went to make the turn, but the road had been blocked off. So I looked at the screen again for where I could take another turn, found it and used that one instead.
Were it not for GPS, I would have been forced to drive way up the road, take a right, backtrack and have to do a circle just to get where I wanted to go.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, GPS is the best automotive accessory you could ever have - period.
don't use the big goodbye
The Big Goodbye is something stupid people use in a seriously lame attempt to make themselves look smart when in fact it makes them look dumb.
In other words, TBGs are used by attention whores.
TBGs are best shown by example, so here's a few.
1. "..and I will never return to this site again!"
Foul! You're lying.
The use of the word never means the exact opposite. Not only will you return but do so several times to make darn sure your stupid comment/post is there and seen.
See, here's the thing. If you truly did not want to visit a particular web site ever again, you'd simply stop and would never announce it. When you announce, you're an attention whore. You are that whiny little four-year-old brat waving his or her arms for attention and might as well be screaming "LOOKIT ME! LOOKIT ME!"
2. "I'm unsubscribing!"
Foul! Nobody cares, and what you're doing has the exact opposite effect of what you think it has.
The "I'M UNSUBSCRIBING" b.s. happens on YouTube and for other sites that use a subscription-based medium, such as newsletters.
What the mouth breather doesn't realize is that whenever they do this they're attracting *more* subscribers. They think that they're pulling some grand maneuver and that it's TOTALLY INSULTING to say "I'M UNSUBBING nanna-nanna boo-boo!". Um, no. You just attracted more subs, so you're nothing but a big pile of fail.
3. "X was better the way it used to be"
Foul! You like things to be old, crusty and predictable while everyone else doesn't.
X can mean anything, be it a web site, forum, YouTube channel, author's content or whatever. The idiot blurts out that X was better Y time ago and that everything should go back to the way things were. This type of idiot is a back seat driver, and sincerely believes they speak for everyone. Um.. nope. Nobody cares.
This maneuver technically isn't a TBG, but it usually precedes one.
4. "I don't think people appreciate your.."
Foul! No one elected you leader, jackass.
Your mention of people (and/or community) means you honestly think that you speak for everyone. Maybe in your own little world you do, but only there. Nobody asked you to speak for everybody, nor do they want you to. Nobody cares what you think, so shut your face.
5. "I'm going to tell everybody about [insert TBG user's inane bile here] and to NEVER to go to your site!"
Foul! You're lying. Again.
"Everybody" means nobody. Nobody cares about what you think about a certain web site or person. Repeat: They don't care. Why? Because "everybody" doesn't want to hear you complain about something you saw on the internet.
But let's say for the moment you do know people. Guess what happens? The exact opposite. You telling your friends about a web site you hate will prompt them to go to it.
Thanks for the free publicity! I should piss you off more often.
6. "A truly smart person would have.." / "Someone didn't do their research.."
Foul! Attempting to hide an insult makes you even more of an asshat.
Something like this usually precedes a TBG.
So you thought you'd be all smooth 'n' smarmy by indirectly taking a jab at the author's intelligence. What you're trying (and failing) to do is hide a direct insult. The reason you're doing this is because if the author replies and says you're launching a personal attack, you'll reply and say, "I was never talking about you... it could have been anybody!" Wrong, jackass. You were talking about the author and everybody knows it. Stop being a douche nugget, because everybody can see right through that.
So kids, the lesson is this: Don't use a TBG unless you want to be instantly pegged as an attention whore with an IQ of a caveman.
solid gold
I ran across a YouTube video concerning the oft-forgotten show of the 80s, Solid Gold, so I figured I'd say a few words about it.
Solid Gold was a television show that ran for eight years from 1980 to 1988. And yes, I watched it. Anybody who's in my generation has watched that show at least a handful of times. Maybe not as much as Star Search (which I know everybody watched), but it was there in the fray.
What was the reason to watch Solid Gold? The dancers, of course. The girl dancers sometimes wore outfits that were so skimpy that I'm surprised it made it to television. On one particular episode they decided to wear fringe-style skirts with "nude" colored underwear. It made me do a double-take as a kid. "HOLY CRAP THEY'RE NOT WEARING UNDERWEAR!" Obviously that wasn't true, but wow it sure looked like it. If I had a photo of it I'd show you. Remember, this was the 80s. No internet. This was as hot as it got.
The only thing besides the dancers on the show were the performing acts. Everything was lip synced, of course. And sometimes the artist would perform with the dancers, even if only in a limited way.
Where did the Solid Gold countdown list come from?
The entire point of the show was to have a weekly list of the most popular songs and count them down to #1 for whatever week it aired. Obviously, to make that happen, they needed a list of current songs that was updated week-to-week.
Where did this list come from? Radio & Records magazine and NOT Billboard. Did this mean the list was accurate? Not in the slightest. It accounted for airplay and not actual record sales.
Also, given that television shows are recorded in advance, this show was never completely current with its top lists. It just wasn't possible.
Was Solid Gold soft adult video?
Just about. Some of the dance routines were nothing but stripteases except the clothes stayed on.
Of course, this was the reason why you watched the show to begin with. :)
Why were some of the outfits so unbelievably tacky?
Solid Gold started in 1980. During that time there was still a lot of 1970s style floating around and that carried all the way up until around 1984. And then of course there was the 80s that was tacky-extreme. But that was the style then.
In the earlier episodes of the show you will see a disco ball. Watch for it.
What was the point of Solid Gold when there was MTV?
MTV first went on-air in August 1981 roughly one year after Solid Gold debuted. Did everybody run out and get cable TV so they could watch MTV? No. In fact, most people didn't bother to get cable television until the very-late 80s, and it wasn't until well into the 90s that just about everybody had it.
Do I miss Solid Gold?
Nope. The show was just a neat little quirk of that which is the 80s that most people forgot about. And to be honest it is a very forgettable show. You've seen one episode, you've seen them all.
But those lady dancers.. mm.. HOT. :)
aim chat rooms
For grins last night I decided to check out AIM chat rooms. The last time I used one of these was.. well.. I don't even remember the last time I used one.
AIM chat, formerly AOL chat, has always been something of an oddity. For a ton of people out there it was the very first live-chat environment they ever used. The only chat older than AIM chat that still exists is IRC - and IRC sucks.
There is a Tampa Bay specific chat room on AIM, so naturally that's where I went. I was happy to see one there. In fact I think AIM is one of the very few chats left that actually has truly local rooms.
What happened when I chatted was typical whenever I get involved in one of these things. Most liked me, a few tolerated me, one outright couldn't stand my presence and blocked me (heh). Par for the course. :)
Here's the crazy thing: I actually liked AIM chat. So weird to even say that. It is oh-so rare for me to like chat at all. The only other chat I like is when I do the live tech show I do. Even though that's IRC and IRC is crappy, it's still cool regardless.
The cool part about AIM now is that you can embed chat right on your web site, so I did for the Tampa Bay room. Who knows, you may catch me in there every so often.