2001 Deville DHS rear door wire harness

[rcboneyard]

2001 Deville DHS both rear doors have wiring harness problems. Sixty days ago, the vehicle would NOT start. Open the left rear door and the car would start. Diagnosis and repair: The left rear door wiring harness had been "stressed" and FOUR of the wires have been cut/worn from opening and closing the door. We are a senior couple with limited use of the rear doors - this should NOT fail within 6 years and 60,000 miles. NEW PROBLEM: The right rear door lock will not operate unless the door is opened. Yep, same problem! The wire harness is stressed with one wire cut.

Cadillac customer service response for the first problem: Wear Tear and Age!!! Sorry, customer pays! Response for the second problem: Cadillac will pay 50/50 BUT they still consider the issue as wear and tear.

My comment: Both cables appear to be too short and are stressed due opening and closing the door. The DHS has 15 wires going through the door post. The wires are being cut 2 inches from the door post connector.

HELP! Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any solutions for dealing with Cadillac? I would expect 100% reimbursement for the repairs.

Thanks!!!

[bphill]

I have almost the same problem with my left rear door. But on mine the door is just dead. I have a post with some pics, here is the URL. (you may have to copy and paste if it is too long).

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...-problems.html (2000 DeVille door problems)

I was going to try to re-solder mine but some of the wires were broken off at the pins in the connector. I could not find these pins so they must be proprietary. Also some of the wires are broken in the tube so they are all suspect of breaking soon, I guess. I have been looking for a new harness. How did you get the dealer to pay half of yours? Have you had any progress on the project since your post?

Originally Posted by rcboneyard

2001 Deville DHS both rear doors have wiring harness problems. Sixty days ago, the vehicle would NOT start. Open the left rear door and the car would start. Diagnosis and repair: The left rear door wiring harness had been "stressed" and FOUR of the wires have been cut/worn from opening and closing the door. We are a senior couple with limited use of the rear doors - this should NOT fail within 6 years and 60,000 miles. NEW PROBLEM: The right rear door lock will not operate unless the door is opened. Yep, same problem! The wire harness is stressed with one wire cut.

Cadillac customer service response for the first problem: Wear Tear and Age!!! Sorry, customer pays! Response for the second problem: Cadillac will pay 50/50 BUT they still consider the issue as wear and tear.

My comment: Both cables appear to be too short and are stressed due opening and closing the door. The DHS has 15 wires going through the door post. The wires are being cut 2 inches from the door post connector.

HELP! Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any solutions for dealing with Cadillac? I would expect 100% reimbursement for the repairs.

Thanks!!!

[rcboneyard]

I purchased my Cadillac as a dealer certified auto and the warranty expired in February 2007. The problem appeared before warranty expiration but I did not recognize the problem. Open the left rear door, remove briefcase, press the lock button and ALL DOORS would NOT lock. My wife was the primary driver and I just assumed this was normal. I had the local GM dealer diagnosis the problem and replace the harness at my expense. I wrote a letter to GM requesting compensation because of the recent expiration of warranty and the harness WEAR appearing to be a design flaw - too short and causing extreme stress on the wires inside the harness tube. THEN, the right rear door had a couple of wires severed due to the same problem. I called GM Cadillac and referred to my original claim number and requested 100% compensation for the second failure. They offered 50/50 and I rejected the offer. I told the customer service rep that I have purchased several Cadillacs and I wanted Cadillac service!!! NO DEAL!

My final repair consisted of a new Lexus LS 460. Sorry Cadillac, you could have kept my business for less than $300. Oh well... I retained the original damaged harness and plan on sending it to the Cadillac CEO with a statement, "If you had paid for this problem resolution I would be driving a new Cadillac and not a new Lexus."

My suggestion is to find someone capable of "splicing" 3 inch wires into the existing harness. My 35 years in the computer industry leads me to believe this is an engineering issue due to the original harness being too short to relieve the harness strain when opening and closing the door. Some models have additional wires that contribute more seriously to the problem.


Good luck!