Just acquired a 2000 Silhouette ..loaded, leather, etc. Really nice vehicle, with high kms (375,000)(233,000 miles) but still runs and drives very nicely. Couple of issues that I'd like some advice on from the "pros" here on the forum ...and excuse me if these questions have been answered previously: I'm new this forum stuff ...and don't quite know my way around yet.

1. Parking brake cable(s) appear to be seized up. Do I have to replace them, or can they be removed and lubed up to un-seize them??
2. Power passenger side sliding door system is inoperative, but I can hear the mechanism operating after I push the button. I can open the door manually, but the power system seems to have slipped a cog or something ...simple fix??
3. Original cd/cassette stereo system works fine, except for the front speakers. Is this a problem with the head unit, or a wiring issue??
4. The power rear quarter vent windows don't operate. I checked the driver side motor, and it works; and I checked and cleaned the switch in the overhead console. Fuses are good. Is this a wiring issue??
5. Both front fog lamp lenses are broken. These are the long, flat shaped fog lights, not the round ones. Are the glass replacement lenses still available? Source??

That's all for now, as I have just begun to explore this beast. Any help / advice would be greatly appreciated!!

 

First, welcome to OF!
I'm not a Silhouette expert but heres my 2 cents:
1. The seized spot is most likely in the rear, pull it off as close to the back brakes as possible and be generous with the penetrating oil. If that doesn't work, you are probably looking at getting a new cable.
2, 3. Sorry, I don't know much about these.
4. How did you check the motor? Do you have power to the motor when the switch is pressed? Is the window itself free?
5. I would try a junkyard first. After that, you are probably stuck going to a dealer, as I don't know of an aftermarket source for these lenses.

 

Hey ...there is life on this forum!!! Thanks for the response!! 1. yeah, I suspect you're right about the brake cable. The pedal up front is seized in the "non-depressed" position, so its a good bet that the cable just seized up from not being used. I'll check there first. 4. I pull the window motor off and applied 12 volts to it from a rechargeable drill battery. I don't have a meter to check to see if there's power getting to motor ..but afterwards I was thinking that maybe the OTHER motor is shot ...and if they're running in series, perhaps that's preventing power from getting to this motor. I can to that brillian conclusion because both motors are supposed to operate at the same time off the same switch. 5. I've snooped around a bit, but with no luck ...guess I 'll keep trying, or perhaps switch to round ones.

Thanks again for responding!

 

The motors won't be wired in series because that would make one motor run much slower than the other one.
If you are going to be doing much work on your vehicles, I suggest you buy a meter. A decent one can be had for under $50.
You might try removing a tail light bulb and making a little harness to check if there is power at the motor. If the bulb lights, you have power.

 

So ...went out and bought a meter. Checked the wiring at the motor end ..no power. Checked the wiring at the switch end ...no power. Checked the 10a fuse in the fusebox ...fuse is good, but no power at that location in the fuse box. I'm thinking broken, or corroded wiring somewhere, so I pulled the *** box out of its holder to look at the wires in the back, so I could figure out which colour broken wires to look for. SURPRISE! there are no wires connected to that fuse location! The metal sockets are there, but there's absolutely no evidence that wires have ever been connected to them!!! I'm thinking now that these rear vent windows have never worked, because they were never connected at the factory when the van was built!! Is that really possible???

 

Certainly possible. I would next make sure that the fuse location the book says is for the windows is actually the correct one. Can you physically trace the wires leaving the switch going toward the fuse box?

 

Yeah ..checked at the fuse box. There's no wires there the same colour as the ones at the switch! So ...I ran a wire from the hot side of the cigarette lighter socket to the largest wire at the window switch, and PRESTO the window motors work! So now I just have to run a permanent new wire from the fuse box, or perhaps find a power wire inside the switch box and tap into it. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, after reading about all the electrical gremlins these particular vans were "equipped" with . Now ...I have a new problem: while checking the fuses, I unplugged the radio fuse which has caused 2 new problems: I've disabled the power sliding door, and "locked" the radio, which I don't have an unlock code for!! The owner's manual describes how to re-program the power door, but there's no record of the radio code in the manual ...can I still get it from a GM dealer? And what kind of strange electrical engineering process would have them make the radio fuse control the power sliding door???

 

I think the dealer will have to use a scan tool to unlock the radio. I don't know of a way to access the code without a high-end scanner.

 

Well, this radio code thing is getting a bit bizarre! I left my van parked for the last 4 months, with the battery removed. I figured it wouldn't matter anyway, as the electronics were already powered down and the radio wouldn't work anyway. So, I put the battery back in ..had to connect and reconnect it a couple of times while I was doing this ...and when I went to start the van (it fired right up) ...lo and behold the radio came on!!!! So ..I didn't have to get the code reset ...it apparently re-set itself, or set itself back to the previous code. I don't know whether is was the long-term no power, or the multiple connects and reconnects that re-set the code.

Now, the question is: how can I figure out what the current code is, so I can use the instructions in the manual to completely CANCEL the security code and not have a problem in the future? Any takers on that question??

 

I'll update my own post on the radio code issue: after disconnecting, and re-connecting the battery several times, as mentioned above, the radio began to work. I have since disconnected and re-connected the battery several times since, and the radio has not gone into LOCK mode again ....so, I fugure I must have permanently cancelled the radio security code!!! Good news, eh?