Splice pack failure, at least it didn't catch on fire...

[zchandran]

My right tail light and dashboard light went out. Traced the tail light power issue all the way back to the fusebox, and found that the splice connector was scorched to crispiness (bottom right):



This is what the splice connector looked like once I pulled the fuse box to pop it out:



I cut the connector off and spliced and soldered the wires together like so:



Everything works now, but the moral of the story is - if you have any unexpected electrical issues, even a tail light out, park the car immediately. Otherwise you're risking an engine fire, because the wiring on Aveos is so unbelievably crappy. What's amazing to me is that this is a known issue, but GM isn't publicizing it to owners: A typical NHTSA report I found:

Dec 30, 2014 - Saint Paul, MN - Electrical System
DASH LIGHTS DID NOT TURN ON WHEN THE HEADLIGHTS WERE TURNED ON. ALSO, RUNNING LIGHTS DID NOT TURN ON AFTER MY HEADLIGHTS WERE TURNED ON (FRONT AND REAR RIGHT). LEFT REAR TURN SIGNAL DOES NOT WORK. I WAS TOLD BY A MECHANIC THIS WAS DUE TO THE SPLICE PACK MELTING. HE ALSO INFORMED ME THIS WAS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH CHEVROLET AVEO'S. THIS SHOULD BE A MANUFACTURERS ISSUE AND NOT THE OWNERS IF IT IS A KNOWN HAZARDOUS ISSUE.

Unbelievable...

[Kevine53]

Had the exact same issue with an 05 Hatchback. Dash lights out and rear right out. Went through all the basics (fuses & bulbs), all ok, so then head scratching. Started researching online and eventually landed here and was actually very surprised when i stumbled on this thread with the EXACT same thing i was having. Splicepack was burned. Following the diagram for the splicepack, I cut out the side of the fuse box to free up the incoming harness and cut off the splice pack. I used butt connectors instead of soldering which is probably not as good. But abracadabra, dash and rear right lights working. Took about 2-3 hours. Not alot of slack with some of the wires coming from the fuse box so was a tight space to work with a stripper & crimping tool. Overall im very satisfied and appreciative of the info here in this forum. Hope to be a regular here!

[Daox]

Thanks for sharing the problem and the fix!