I've been lurking on these forums for the last few weeks and I've gotten a ton out of it! Thanks for being so knowledgeable about such an awesome vehicle!

After months of looking around, I found myself a beautiful red 2006 H3. My pre-purchase inspection showed CEL p0106 which the mechanic said wouldn't be a big deal to resolve. Since everything else looked fine I closed the deal and purchased the car.

It's been about 2 months since then and I absolutely LOVE it! I have, unfortunately, been experiencing some puzzling electrical issues. I'm not sure of what all is related, so I figured I'd just mention as much as I could.

Stab Sys Traction Failed. When I get this on my DIC, my AC also stops blowing cold. If I stop the car and wait a few minutes and then start it up again, the DIC is cleared and the AC blows cold again just fine. Sometimes I can drive quite far with no issues and go several days without having the issue and other days I can have the issue several times in one day. The last bad batch of the error occurred after I got a car wash that morning which leads me to believe that maybe my sunroof gutters are clogged and have gotten the BCM wet (concluded by what I've read on the forums here for similar issues). I haven't been able to find anyone else who has had AC issues associated with this error.

Can't Toggle Traction Control. I've noticed that even when the error isn't displayed for the Stab Sys Failure, I still can't seem to toggle the Traction Control using the button on the dash. After looking around I honestly still don't really know what to do about this issue.

Reduced Power. My truck is going into reduced power mode (can't go much faster than 20mph) if my accelerator pedal goes to the floor for more than a second or two. I've replicated it twice so far by just flooring it on a side road and both times it has gone into reduced power mode. I've heard a couple of things about some sensors that could be the issue (I don't recall the specific sensors, though - something to do with acceleration and another with the throttle).

Anti-Theft Light While Driving. While this is one of my smallest concerns, while driving the Anti-Theft Light will often come on. I'm not entirely sure what it means, but I've read that if it comes on while driving that it's not particularly good. I'm not sure what could be causing this issue.

Clearance Lights Work at Random. I've found that my clearance lights work better some days than others. It looks like the negative line is just grounded to the chassis of the car. I spent some time messing with them and had them all working and screwed down tight, but since then they've gone back to being pretty random (2 here, 3 there - it all depends on the night). My current plan was to stick some wire where the screw's threading was in hopes of making sure that the connection was grounded correctly and get the lights to actually come on. I also considered chaining the grounds together under the roof because I assumed that if one was grounding correctly the others would work as well by going through the other's ground - at least it would be all or nothing.

Here's what changes I've made over the last 2 months:

1. Replaced stock stereo myself.
2. Replaced stock door speakers myself.
3. Replaced a marker light myself.
4. Got an ignition coil replaced to resolve issues with low RPM's at idle.
5. Got my two front control arms replaced.
6. Got my AC blower, resister, and harness replaced after the resister and harness melted on the far right contact.

I've replaced the clamp for the negative terminal with a better one than the stock, but I haven't replaced the positive clamp yet. I've heard that replacing these is a must and can cause several issues so this'll likely be one of the first things I do.

I definitely want to make sure there's no moisture down on that right side a-pillar as I've heard that BCM is over on that side (behind the glove box, I think?) and if it gets wet a lot of weird electrical things could happen (which I certainly feel like I'm experiencing lots of weird electrical things ).

I have only gotten the P0106 CEL once or twice since I purchased it, but I believe I should go ahead and replace the MAP sensor and its harness.

There's some box thing with a black *** or something on it under where the stereo is in the dash. I'm not sure what all wiring goes through the dash where the stereo is (or what the box is for - is it the anti-theft stuff?) but I figured I should check back there to make sure I didn't mess anything up when I installed the stereo. I installed the stereo fairly soon after the original purchase so I can't say for sure if/what problems occurred after the install that weren't occurring before.

I've heard that the 2006 H3 had some grounding issues and that it could also cause some strange electrical issues. I'm not sure of where all of the main grounding points are, but I read here that it was pretty important to check them. With the clearance lights acting wonky with their grounding I thought maybe the issues could be related.

Anyways, I'd really love some advise on what the best thing to do from here would be. Does my plan on action sound reasonable? Am I on the right path?

I haven't done much with cars at all up until I got this hummer, but I want to know the vehicle as well as so many of you do so I'm doing my best to research stuff as best as I can. Unfortunately some stuff just goes over my head.

If you would like any more information about the vehicle, just let me know and I'll do my best to retrieve it for you.

Thanks so much for your time!

 

Check the Body Control Module (BCM). It's located in the passengers foot well behind the footwell plastic cover. If I remember correctly, pull out the floor mat and slowly pry off the cover. You may have to remoce the door sill plastic, too. Pops out. Get your head down there and you'll see a ivory colored square plug. That's it! Pull up(?) the handle (or push down) and unplug it. Then re-plug it in.

The BCM runs a ton of stuff. You can get a salvaged one but your Hummer dealer will have to program it to your rig.

GL

 

I tried that out yesterday while also looking for some kind of sign of water damage from the sunroof drains. Since then I haven't had any electrical issues so I am hopeful that-that issue has been resolved. Thanks for your help!

I also haven't had the Anti-Theft light come on since doing that with the BCM so I am hoping it solved that as well. I'll come back with updates once I've messed with some of the other issues. I plan on tackling the clearance lights later today.

 

So many problems would point me to the battery connections. It is a problem area and an inexpensive fix, clean thoroughly or switch to military style. Security light is the dreaded Pass-lock, couple of fixes but the PCM of NC is the best IMO.

 

Oh wow, I just looked up PCM of NC (Is this what you're recommending? Hummer H3 Mail Order Tune) luckily I'm in NC, too!

It looks like what they do does a few things more than just the passlock fix (I did see a mention in the reviews about it). What all should I be expecting with all of that? I want to make sure I have an idea of what all would be going on. Would I need to take my truck over to them or is it something I buy and they ship out to me to install? Any more details about it would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I replaced the battery connectors at the same time that I checked out the BCM and drains. That may have also attributed a bit to the stability I've been having these last few days.

I haven't gotten the chance to take it on a good long highway ride, though, yet, so I'll have to see if things are really going better.

Thanks for you help so far, guys. I've been feeling very happy with my fixes so far!

 

The re-tune is worth the money, not a seat of the pants difference up still noticeable and worth it. There are a couple of fixes for the Passlock but IMO the PCM is the best less hassle on your part especially if they are close, you can drive it to them and take care of right there. The Passlock will never go away and will only get worse as I found out when I bought my 06 a few years ago.

 

Hey Freesnow did unplugging and replugging the BCM fix the issue. I'm having the red light rarely but it happens. Please let me know, thanks.

 

Yeah the guy with three posts FIVE YEARS AGO is going to pop up to answer your question in this OLD AS DIRT Thread.