2001 Montana totally freaking out! Lights in dash etc.

[fritcr]

We have a Montana with just under 100k on it. It is my wifes car and she said on the way in this morning the Service Trac thing came up in the window on the dash. When she got the the first light she put on her brakes and it went off but the trac off light was on and she could not turn it back on. So when she restarted it everything was back to normal and she drove a bit and the CD suddenly shot out of the radio but she wasn't listining to the cd. Then she said should not steer it and the steering got really hard then went back to normal. Next the cruise "went crazy" she said. She picked me up for lunch and we went to eat. When getting back in the van the service trac light came back on again and we could not turn the trac back on. She dropped me off and restarted and all was fine again for about 15 minutes or so...she just called and said that she hit the brake to stop for a light and the hazzard lights started flashing.
I'm at work and she is just going to drive it straight home but when I get home does anyone have a clue where I should start looking? We have never had any problems like this at all. The only "funny" thing is sometimes the power door will not open...usually if it is wet out or just washed. I'm pretty mechanical and just put an engine in my Saturn but electric stuff is hard to diagnose. I am wondering if there is a known problem area that involves these thing happening. I just had the back wheels off to check the brakes and fix a flat recently but otherwise no problems at all.
Rob

[fritcr]

Sorry my pc froze...don't know why it posted this 2 times.
As a side note...it is VERY cold here. -2 this morning. Don't know if that would have anything to do with these problems.
Rob

[fritcr]

Still bitterly cold here so I have not been able to do much but I did take the connections off the battery and they look brand new. I cleaned them anyway and connected them back on. Also checked, tighted etc the ground wires right next to the fuse box just above the battery. Also cleaned checked the pos wire going to the fuse box. All looked good. Took the trim off on the passenger side door sill and pulled the carpet up. All looks good there. I don't really see any connections though, just wires. I got to cold so left it. The wires are still exposed and pulled up. I will try to work on it more this weekend. Supose to warm up a bit and I will get the garage warmed up.

We also had the horn honk one time when hitting the brakes?
Anyone have any other ideas?
Rob

[lowmachines]

I had some similar wild experiences early on in the warranty years. Dealer changed the BCM but to no avail. Strange things seemed to happen more in wet weather. I also did the under carpet check and things were good there.
Then on a random bulb change for the rear turn signal light it would work for a day or two and then blow again. Upon further investigation I found burnt and corroded male and female connections of the circuit board. The circuit board houses all the sockets. All water that runs off the roof and back finds its way in and around the tail lights. I ended up installing after marked circuit boards and soldering in junk yard ( and clean ) connectors for the circuit board. Since I did this, approximately 18 months, no more fancy bells and lights.

[hufhouse]

For more info on the turn signal issue, see this post.

Mine didn't act quite so strangely, but we did have the inside indicator lights come on when I put on the brake.

There is definitely "issues" with the rear turn signal connections. It seems worse on the driver's side.

I was leaning toward the BCM (Body Control Module) for your problem, but it wouldn't be hard to try the turn signal repair first and see what happens.

[fritcr]

Just to let everyone know, I fixed it myself by soldering a thick ground wire into the board on the taillight drivers side. It work perfectly!
Rob