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2006 LS Eletrical Issues

58K views 74 replies 9 participants last post by  Coby7 
#1 ·
Hey everyone, i'm new to the forums though i've been a lurker on here for quite sometime. I've been having issues with my GF's 06 LS. I've read on here a couple of times now that others have had the issue and there was even a recall on it. But here's my story and thank you to anyone and everyone who responds.

Her 06 has the typical power-steering issues. It loses the power steering gauge cluster goes crazy and her tranny goes into limp-mode.

I was thinking we could have it fix with the recall and here is where it gets interesting. Her vin doesn't fall under the recall of the 1.3 million cobalts that were included. Weird, but okay so I paid the $1,100 to have both the EPS motor and module fix.

It worked for a bout 3 weeks and the issue came back.

I left it with the shop so they could try to replicate it. Weird thing is, the issue only happens when she hits a pot hole or a bump in the street. Other than that it runs smooth.

They sat there and drove it for about 3 days no issue. On the 4th and last day they finally got the issue to arise. Downfall is when they ran a scan there was no codes that were being thrown.

That being said, they did the "wiggle test" and found that the ground wire behind the firewall was a little loose. They use an eletrical impact to re-ground the wire. I'm not saying this will fix the issue as we've only had this done in the last couple of days but i'm hoping it will.

Does anyone else have any other input/suggestions that I should look into?

Thanks all!
 
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#2 ·
There are a couple ground wires that can get gunked up with road grime/ or come loose. Hopefully Coby can post the image of it since I dont have it, but cleaning and tightening these typically solve the problem.
 
#3 ·
Black Balts... I appreciate the response! I was hoping it would be a ground somewhere which is why i'm glad they re-impacted the one by the firewall. If I can snag those images that would be amazing! Thanks again for the help! I'm really hoping that is the fix.
 
#4 ·
I did a quick google search and couldn't find it. I know Coby has it so you might have to wait a bit until he gets on.
 
#7 ·
Ha! I'll hold off and wait for Coby to jump on to confirm before I go around making more of a mess than what has already been done to it. I just can't believe how I can't find the fix. Been going at it for months now, and i'm on my last leg. I really don't want to get rid of the car and just snag her a new one.
 
#11 ·
This probably isnt relevant to your situation but you mentioned you seemed to have problem when hitting pot holes. I had an issue with mine but it was like the car was stalling. Turned out that my ignition switch was actually turning due to all the keys I had hanging. When I would hit a bump the keys would jar up and down with enough force to turn it. This also explained why the shop had a hard time replicating it because I only gave them the keys for the car. Just something to think about
 
#12 ·
Don't know how I missed this thread seems like it would have been fun.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I wish I was as optimistic about it. Last time we had a wiggle test done and it worked fine for about 3 weeks before it started again.

I had them use an impact driver to attach the ground to the firewall a little firmer. I truly hope this fixes it. If it does, I will be more than happy to share the news to those who have had the same issue that we have had.

Thanks for the comment Jmesl8er, it's appreciated.

COBY, I heard you were the guru regarding this issue. Any input from what you can tell?

Biniecki, I don't know if it has played a role in it or not. I appreciate your input though as I am taking anything and everything into consideration at this point.
 
#14 ·
The ground tab they tighten, was it the one on the drivers side strut tower or the one under the dash above the steering colomn?
 
#15 · (Edited)
COBY,

Good question. They didn't go into detail of which it was. All they told me is that it felt loose but not completely loose (if that makes sense) and they pulled it off and re-attached it to make it stronger.

I'm assuming whichever is attached to the firewall or closest to it.
 
#16 ·
The one on the strut tower affects steering motor control and the one under the dash affects power steering motor power.
 
#17 ·
Good to know. Thanks for the heads up. Like I stated earlier I had both the EPS and The module replaced on this thing and it didn't work. $1,100 down the drain.

Do you know which ground tab usually is the culprit out of the two mentioned?
 
#18 ·
The one on the strut tower tends to corroded before the one inside the car.
 
#20 ·
Just a quick update for anyone who cares to listen to the progress. It's been another week in a row no issues thus far (Hoping the issue has been fixed). Then again, we've gone 3 weeks with no issues just for it to come back again. Not outta the woods yet, but I wanted to keep everyone posted on this.

Cheers!
 
#21 ·
dont ever think no one cares theres always people that like to see the outcome
 
#23 ·
Just a quick update for everyone. The issue still hasn't come back since our last "fix" attempt. So far it's looking good "Fingers Crossed". I'll still update everyone on here atleast weekly to give them an update. Thanks again for those who pitched in with advice. I appreciate it!

I just want others who have this annoying issue to have a place to go for answers. So knock on wood we're still running strong!
 
#24 · (Edited)
Heads Up: The issue came back this morning. The power steering warning came up on the dashboard and the tranny went into limp mode Weird thing is we pulled it into the shop which happened to be up the street from where we were. Once we pulled into the parking spot to get out, the issue went away completely. I'm very confused by this. Any input from anyone?

I am going to have them take it tomorrow and I wanted a few ideas/options for them to look at based off everyone's advice. Should I have them look at that strut tower ground?

All help is welcomed and appreciated! (Also I forgot to add that when we pulled the car into the parking spot. We did NOT turn off the car in hopes of pulling a code). No success. The car went back to "normal" once we pulled in. Thanks again everyone!
 
#26 · (Edited)
There are 9 major grounding points.
 
#28 ·
I will try to enumerate them on here with pictures when possible but I will need time so keep and eye on this post.
 
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