In 2015 I was looking for a Monte Carlo, it was one of the few cars that was the right size that I didn’t need a shoehorn to get into. I paid a local dealer to hunt me down a Monte Carlo from 2001 to 2005 under 70,000 miles on it.. A few months later He found me one. It turned out to be a 2004 Monte Carlo SS Intimidator. It had 66,000 miles and I paid around $10,000 for it. All it needed was a AC compressor which the dealer replaced for me. All was fine with the car until the next winter when I found the car had a dead battery. I replaced the battery however I started noticing things not working right. Fast forward…while the engine is strong and runs good, there are a lot of small problems that have cropped up over the last few year. I came here so maybe somebody can point me in the right direction to getting some of these things fixed. Here is a list…

#1-Dash cluster stopped working. The dash interments would stop working right then they eventually stopped. It started with my Tach and moved to my speedometer then gas gauge. Today only the PSI Boost is the only gauge working and I’m not really sure it actually works right. I was told only a dealer can fix this. Is that true?

#2-Radio. While the factory radio and speakers all work, you can barley hear it. It’s like there is a booster or equalizer that stopped working. I tried ever setting I can think of and nothing helps. Any Ideas?

#3-CD Player- The CD player did work but stopped accepting the CD as some point. I can hear the eject button working but it won’t take in any CD’s. Any Ideas?

Is there anything I can check with these issues? Anything I can do that won’t cost and arm and a leg to fix? Any opinions are welcome.

 

1 - GM clusters from this era are known for issues with their motors. The dealer isn't the only option (and honestly is the most expensive as all they can do is a complete swap). If you Google 'gm dash cluster repair', at least a dozen companies will pop up that repair the actual problem. I can't give specific advice on company, but just do your research on reputation before picking one.

2 - perhaps the factory amp (under the rear deck) is bad? Id try checking for power + ground to make sure everything external to it is ok before trying to swap it out.

3 - no clue. Im sure theres places out there that will fix broken players, but Id imagine the number of places that do is getting smaller by the day as cds fade away.

 

Welcome.. Well, I cannot help with the stereo. If it were me, I would toss it and throw in an aftermarket unit but again thats just me. It may be a simple repair and others here probably know a lot more about them than I do.

As for the gauges. They used faulty stepper motors that are known very well to go out. There are a couple options. You can replace the motors yourself which is a hassle. You can find someone that can swap the motors for you. There used to be (probably still are) Ebay sellers that offered this service. You send in your cluster, they replace the motors or lights or whatever. Or- you can buy a used cluster and swap the entire thing out. Thats what I did, someone here sold me one. The downside to that is the odometer changes to the mileage of the new cluster. Any cluster from 2000-2005 will work but some have different gauges depending on the engine.

Whatever you choose tho, be gentile with that dash bezel because they crack very easily and the prices for them are just getting higher.

 

Thanks for the replies. Now for the second part of this issue. In 2016 I had to stop working do to medical issues. Currently I have no income which stops me from making any major repairs. I was hoping there was something I could check on to see if there are any easy fixes to these problems. At this point I would be happy just to get the radio and the gas indicator working. I can live without the other things for right now. A few years back I did stop at my local Chevrolet Dealer and was told it would be about $400 to fix the dash cluster. It's probably a lot more now. I also found it odd that everything worked until I had a dead battery incident, however I don't really know if there is a real connection there, that was just the point where I started noticing things not working right. Another problem that I never thought of before is the black on black paint scheme. This is a horrible combination that creates a oven like interior. Even for my Pennsylvania's northeast summers the interior heat is brutal. The dash pad is warping up and the windshield developed a crack that is running down about 2 3rd down on the passenger side. I often wondered if that heat has something to do with the other problems. I kind of feel bad, this car should be garaged instead of being my daily driver. The car was hit twice, both hit and runs. Once in a parking lot and once sitting in front of my house. Both are minimal damage but those repairs will also have to wait for now. The car was obviously garage kept at one point as there is no undercoating on the chassis which I didn't realize at the time that this was a rust magnet. Two brake line repairs later I had the chassis painted with an black undercoating. I realize that used cars all have there problems, but I wasn't expecting this many problems on a car with 71,000 miles on it that I barely drive.

 

The only cheap way of getting out of this one is if youre good with electronics. All 3 should be relatively easy fixes for someone who knows how to work on and troubleshoot circuits (or maybe if you have friends / family that do?).

Next cheapest route would be junkyard diving, but theres certianly some time / labor involved in that path.

The other thing people are running into now due to age is parts being completely discontinued. So not only do the remaining NOS parts go up in value, but are starting to disappear completely.


Probably too late now, but tint can help a lot with that. The cars interior is like a greenhouse, and the dark colors don't help with keeping things cool. There is tint (even very light stuff that isn't drastically darkened) that can substantially reduce the amount of light energy that makes it into the car. Living in the desert, that's my first mod to every car we get nowadays - tint all the way around.

IMO age is nearly as bad as mileage when you start getting up there. There are a lot of plastics and rubbers used in modern cars and that stuff breaks down over time, even without use.

TBH those gauges and amp (assuming thats the problem) are both just common to these cars in general- regardless how much they're used.

I'd bet youd hear more about CD player issues too if aftermarket radios weren't such a big thing as whtmonte had mentioned. From my experience (especially on these older cars where its much easier to do), people just seem to swap to an aftermarket radio if the OEM starts acting up. Its pretty rare to hear about anyone trying to repair one.

 

I didn't know there was anything under the rear deck...well except for the rear speakers. What does this unit look like?

 

old thread and most of the links are broken, but there is one pic of it installed halfway down:

https://montecarloforum.com/forum/ge...diagram-56292/

And a generic ebay ad showing what it looks like out of the car:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/40402342282...BoC92cQAvD_BwE

not sure what the output of the head unit alone is, but perhaps an amp bypass harness would give you some sound?

 

Thanks, I will look into this.

 

I will kinda repeat/echo some comments....

#1-Dash cluster stopped working. The dash interments would stop working right then they eventually stopped. It started with my Tach and moved to my speedometer then gas gauge. Today only the PSI Boost is the only gauge working and I’m not really sure it actually works right. I was told only a dealer can fix this. Is that true?
-- Probably stepper motors in the cluster. Common problem. There is a write up here about changing them if you are handy with a soldering iron. Pretty easy. I have yet to do this with either of my Montes, but I have done it on other GM vehicles.

#2-Radio. While the factory radio and speakers all work, you can barley hear it. It’s like there is a booster or equalizer that stopped working. I tried ever setting I can think of and nothing helps. Any Ideas?
-- I believe this was mentioned, possible amp problem. Before replacing the Amp, I would check that you have power and ground getting to it. There is a factory splice for the power to the amp in a wiring harness under the carpet and I have heard once in a while it has corroded and needed repaired.

#3-CD Player- The CD player did work but stopped accepting the CD as some point. I can hear the eject button working but it won’t take in any CD’s. Any Ideas?
-- Another sad issue with GM. I recently learned, the most common issue is a small crack in a nylon gear. Turns out GM and a lot of manufacturers use CD players built by Clarion. If you decide to fix it, you can order the gears from AliExpress.

 

I did watch the video. One thing to mention here is that the eject button works. I hit the button and I can hear it working. When I push in a CD I hear nothing. This is assuming that it runs off the same motor, the motor is working and it wouldn't be the same issue that is in the video.