Hi Scotty,
First off, big fan of your videos and content. Keep it coming! I'm writing to you from Markham, Ontario, Canada, a suburb or Toronto. I've always been able to find some content on your channel to assist me with my vehicle woes, but this one is stumping me. Thanks a bunch for your insights and dedication to your followers.
I own a 2011 CHEVROLET MALIBU LS SEDAN 2.4L ECOTEC FLEX A/T. It has 145,000 kilometers (90,000 miles for our friends to the south), on the odometer.
a little history,... I took this vehicle over from my parents two years ago (2019), who maintained it well. They have Krown'd the car each year to prevent rust and there have been no accidents.
The only issue is the rear defroster does not work. It hasn't worked in approximately 4 years. I decided to take a stab at diagnosing and fixing the problem.
The rear defrost button on the dash board illuminates when depressed, but no heat/defrosting action takes place.
I did some digging on YouTube and found numerous videos of Chevy Impala's of same generation years (approx 2008-2013) with similar issues, but no videos of Malibu. There's been a suggestion in the Impala videos that the wiring harness connector blocks overheat causing the rear defroster wires to arc and burn. In those video they simply cut the rear defroster wires from both sides of the 2 harness blocks and simply connect them together using a jumper piece of wire. I do not have 2 harnesses connected together in my scenario/issue. In my case the wiring harness block is connected directly to the back of the fuse box.
The fuse box is located in the trunk (drivers side) where the 30A rear defroster fuse is located. When viewed, the 30A fuse in slot # 23 was half melted and charred. I was only able to pull out the top end of the fuse spade. The bottom spade of the fuse was melted into the box.
I have since purchased a new fuse box from GM to replace this one entirely, but before swapping them out, I would like some guidance on how to properly check the circuit before replacing the fuse box and having the same issue happen again, as has been reported in some on-line blogs to some other Malibu owners.
I look forward to your advice!
Regards,
Duane
(PS, photos included in the attached link)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NhuYZNX_ulnfpA2XePsudcOZXXp8Haru/view?usp=sharing
Install a 30A breaker instead of a fuse.
Hi MountainManJoe, can you elaborate on how to do this?
Basically just substitute breaker for fuse. Unfortunately I can't give you a detailed step-by-step without your car in front of me. If you're not comfortable then you may want an electrical guy to do it for you.
However, a quick web search shows that there MAY exist drop-in replacements, i.e. a breaker that plugs directly into the fuse socket. But I can't comment on their compatibility with your particular vehicle, or how well they work.
Is the breaker the same shape/type as the current spade fuse?...essentially just a plug-in to the same fuse slot?
I've found an Automotive 30A Mini PAL Fuse: Female on-line (link below), however I am assuming that I would need a 30A Male PAL fuse?
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/littelfuse-automotive-30a-mini-pal-fuse-female-0201639p.html#srp
Hi MountainManJoe,
Would a mini 30a Circuit breaker such as this be what you were suggesting?
Hi MountainManJoe,
Would a mini 30a Circuit breaker such as this be what you were suggesting?
that's a 30A breaker alright. It looks pretty tall though... make sure it fits in your fuse box.
Thank-you MountainManJoe, appreciated.
I'll be sure to let you know how things progress after I have made the fuse box swap and used the circuit breaker in place of fuse.
Regards,
Duane