[Hobstar]

Alright, this is my first post but an important post. I have a 2004 trailblazer EXT which is pretty much loaded (which may be the first problem). My current issue is that over the holiday break (2009) the overhead DVD stopped working...now for the long part of the story.

SIMPLE...So I went into the fuse box (under the backseat) and replaced the 10amp fuse...pop, it blew right away. I disconnected the battery and replaced the fuse (this is the Onstar fuse which controls the DVD) and hooked the battery back up...pop, it blew right away. Took it to the service station, paid $100 for some guy to replace the fuse and it worked.....for 10 hours then it popped.

Took it back and they said the whole unit needed to be replaced ($1500) and that this "should fix the problem". Now I am not a betting man but I am thinking it is not the unit but possibly the wiring. I of course can tell this and the service guys are not willing to check the wiring as it could take a long time. BUT of course if the new unit doesn't work I would have to pay more for them to check the wiring.

I am looking for any input from any of you out there. I am not willing to look at headrest units etc but I am looking for a cheaper way to fix this thing, other than replacing the fuse every 10 hours. I am more than happy to start pulling the unit down and checking wires myself but I am not sure how to attempt this without busting the casing or a clip that holds the whole thing together.

Would love your feedback.

Thanking you in advance....Hobstar

 

[RayVoy]

Well, I've never had one down; but if your willing, remove enough to get at the plug.
Unplug it and try the fuse. If the fuse holds, it's inside the unit.
If the fuse pops (you said it also runs On-star), disconnect the On-star unit.
Still popping, the problem is (as you think) in the wiring.

 

[rjaggers40]

have you tried disconnecting the unit(power to the unit) and then replacing the fuse? if anything it should tell you where to start looking.
have you added any accessories(amps,subs,etc.) that would reqiure mounting screws?

 

[Hobstar]

DVD Fuse Update

Well with the good weather I decided to rip apart the DVD unit and figure out what the issue was.

I took the DVD unit off the roof (4 bolts and some plastic holders) unhooked the DVD player from the controls and pulled it off. Once I had it down I saw that the cable which went from the DVD player to the screen was majorly frayed to a point where it wore through the insulation, metal protection and 3 small wires (green, pink and purple) which were totally severed.

The area where it was frayed was contacting metal on the unit and I THINK shorting it out. I had to rip apart the screen casing to get into the screen connector to disconnect it. After I pulled it out the cable is in pretty bad shape and it looks like it is due to the constant moving up and down of the screen. It looks as if the cable is about 1 inch too short as there is a lot of tension on the cable when in the screen is in the closed position.

So...now what? Well I figure I can buy some wire that is the same and reuse the ends (harness). After using some in house strings it seems that this is not possible so off to a specialist. I now have given the model number to unit to a guy and hopefully next week he can tell me if he can get the part.

So...long ways from the $1500 replacement that GM wanted me to do, just because they wouldn't take the time to pull the unit off the roof to see this, as it was quite obvious.

If I can't get the part and there is no way of rewiring the harnesses I am going to just replace them with some headrest units (GM has some really nice ones which are the same cost as a new single replacement dvd unit).

Here are some pictures of the pulled out unit (I will add some others of the removal and reinstall next time I take it apart - I forgot my camera last time).