Onstar question

[wtd]

Does anyone who has an active Onstar account ever have an issue with their Onstar status light turning red?

Back in July of last year I had the Onstar in my 2004 Monte Carlo upgraded to digital. I bought this car used in Dec 2009 and it did not have working Onstar.

Since the upgrade, the light on the rear view mirror for Onstar occasionally turns red from green. Supposedly this means something in the system is not working correctly. The dealer who did the upgrade has never been able to find anything wrong. Initially it did it all of the time but after I made the cable connector at the antenna connection on the rear window tighter, it doesn't do it as often.

I was wondering if anyone else has their Onstar light sometimes go to red? Thanks.

Wayne

 

[Joseph_S37]

I know this won't be of much help, but in the time I've had my truck for (about 3.5 months now) I can't say I have ever seen the light turn red. Even driving through the mountains where I had little to no signal, the light always remained green for me.

 

[otis24]

It happened on the OnStar FMV that I had installed on my Dodge Grand Caravan. The OnStar continued to function normally. I contacted an OnStar advisor. They said that I needed to take it in to where I had it installed. My wife took it to the shop, 120 miles away. They contacted OnStar and performed a little five minute test that I could have performed myself. Ultimatley, it just stated that, "yeah, there's a glitch that will correct itself via satellite in a couple of days". Thanks alot OnStar! Could have done without the 240 mile round trip drive for the five minute fix I could have performed myself.

 

[GMBoy]

There is a problem with your ONSTAR module. That is why it is red. There will be codes set on units factory installed - not sure about your upgraded unit. GM had a large recall a few years back (my 2008 CTS was affected) where they replaced the module. The main complaint was the red light and lost communication. Have your dealer check the module.

The main point is the RED light indicates a stored trouble code.

 

[wtd]

My unit is factory installed but it has a new digital module and upgraded antenna. The light does not stay red and the last time I took it to the dealer, there were no codes stored. They replaced the antenna with another new one just to see if that would fix the problem which it did not.

I've always thought it was an issue with the antenna or the cable connection to the antenna because back when the light was turning red all of the time, If I would disconnect the antenna cable and plug it back in, the light would go back to green. The cable is a push on type of connection instead of threaded even though the end of the antenna connection is threaded.

I squeezed the little ears together on the cable end a little tighter and that seemed to fix the problem until Sat. night. I checked the connection and it is still tight.

The last time the light turned red until Sat. night was at the end of September.

Even when the red light was on I could still talk to an Onstar advisor so I'm not for sure what it was showing bad.

I have until July 1st until the year warranty on the upgrade is gone but it seems like the dealer could never figure out what the problem was. I hate seeing that red light and it drives me crazy.

Wayne

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: wtd
My unit is factory installed but it has a new digital module and upgraded antenna. The light does not stay red and the last time I took it to the dealer, there were no codes stored. They replaced the antenna with another new one just to see if that would fix the problem which it did not.

I've always thought it was an issue with the antenna or the cable connection to the antenna because back when the light was turning red all of the time, If I would disconnect the antenna cable and plug it back in, the light would go back to green. The cable is a push on type of connection instead of threaded even though the end of the antenna connection is threaded.

I squeezed the little ears together on the cable end a little tighter and that seemed to fix the problem until Sat. night. I checked the connection and it is still tight.

The last time the light turned red until Sat. night was at the end of September.

Even when the red light was on I could still talk to an Onstar advisor so I'm not for sure what it was showing bad.

I have until July 1st until the year warranty on the upgrade is gone but it seems like the dealer could never figure out what the problem was. I hate seeing that red light and it drives me crazy.

Wayne



Again, it is your Onstar VTD module. The red light indicates an issue and it is an intermittent issue as the red light won't stay on all the time....mine only went red maybe once in a couple weeks...but the module was bad and replaced. I deal with these everyday at work - we replace an average of 1 to 3 a week in new vehicles right off the line here at the plant. The onstar modules are my biggest headache.

 

[wtd]

GMBoy,
Thanks for the info. How do I get the dealer to replace the module when there are no codes being stored?. The last time I brought the car in to the dealer back in late summer, the light was red. I left the car running while one of the techs brought out the Tech II scanner and they plugged it in. It did not point to what the problem was. They said they would have to get with Onstar and see what they could figure out. Shortly after that is when I messed around with the antenna connection and had no more problems until Sat.

Like you mentioned, the problem is random and trying to get the car to the dealer when the light is red is kind of difficult. I just got lucky the day it was red when I had an appoinment. Thanks again.

Wayne

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: wtd
GMBoy,
Thanks for the info. How do I get the dealer to replace the module when there are no codes being stored?. The last time I brought the car in to the dealer back in late summer, the light was red. I left the car running while one of the techs brought out the Tech II scanner and they plugged it in. It did not point to what the problem was. They said they would have to get with Onstar and see what they could figure out. Shortly after that is when I messed around with the antenna connection and had no more problems until Sat.

Like you mentioned, the problem is random and trying to get the car to the dealer when the light is red is kind of difficult. I just got lucky the day it was red when I had an appoinment. Thanks again.

Wayne


I hear you - that you have to catch the issue live is harder to do than fixing it, lol.

I am only guessing here, but since your car was upgraded to the newer system - the car may not be able to access the new module anymore for codes since it was not originally built with it...modules are designed together when built. I would think that Onstar would be able to get something out of it though.

 

[wtd]

I do remember though that if the light was green and I unplugged either the connector at the antenna or unplugged the plug to the rear view mirror, the light would turn red so I'm going to assume that if you have a connection problem at these two points and probably the module itself, then it would not always mean that the module is bad.

Right before I took the car in for the upgrade, I discovered that all of the plug ins to the original module were unplugged. I plugged them in and is when I first noticed that there was a green light on the rear view mirror. I never knew before that there was supposed to be a light there.

I drove the car about 60 miles today and the light never turned red. I even drove over some rough roads so I don't know what the deal was. Maybe it is like what the poster above stated that a satellite issue caused his red light to show.

Wayne

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: wtd
I do remember though that if the light was green and I unplugged either the connector at the antenna or unplugged the plug to the rear view mirror, the light would turn red so I'm going to assume that if you have a connection problem at these two points and probably the module itself, then it would not always mean that the module is bad.

Right before I took the car in for the upgrade, I discovered that all of the plug ins to the original module were unplugged. I plugged them in and is when I first noticed that there was a green light on the rear view mirror. I never knew before that there was supposed to be a light there.

I drove the car about 60 miles today and the light never turned red. I even drove over some rough roads so I don't know what the deal was. Maybe it is like what the poster above stated that a satellite issue caused his red light to show.

Wayne



Could be. In any case - I am surprised the dealer can't figure this out. But then again, dealerships, lol.

 

[wtd]

Well, I had to fight this dealership to even do the upgrade for the $215 they were supposed to charge instead of the over $600 they wanted to charge. I ended up writing an email to the general manager of the dealership telling them how I didn't appreciate their service dept. staff of trying to rip me off and told them I had just talked to someone who had just had their Monte Carlo updated for the $215 price so I knew what his staff was telling me was [censored]. Onstar had even told me they were supposed to do the upgrade for the $215.

Long story short, I got a call from the service manager appologizing for the misunderstanding and that they would be glad to perform the upgrade for the $215. They actually only charged me $199 when it was all said and done. So I don't have much trust for dealerships.

Wayne