So I had this weird/random problem today. I was driving along and noticed the DIC went blank. Like totally blank (I have gone through it and replaced all bulbs awhile back). It then came back on a few seconds later and I didn't think anything of it, but then it did it again for longer. This time I noticed that when it went blank the fan motor also stopped working. When I rotated the fan to high/position 5, the fan would come back on and the DIC would light up. If I moved the knob back to the lower levels, the fan would turn off and the DIC would go dim. When I turn the fan knob all the way to off, the fan would turn off and the DIC would light back up.
It did this randomly a few different times over about 20 miles, then it started working normally again. I read in one forum that it could be the blower motor resistor, but where the DIC would dim and light up in exact sequence to where the fan speed was and then it started working normally again I am thinking that rules that out.
It also seems the ignition switch could be the culprit. However, I have not had ANY other symptoms--the key always comes out, the shifter always goes into park, etc. I do have the shift lock release solenoid zip-tied because it is not working, but I have not had any other ignition switch symptoms.
I also still have a random situation where when I start the car the radio will not have any sound. I posted about this in another forum and never came up with a solution. The radio will light up and the EQ lights will bounce so I know it is receiving the audio signal (it is an aftermarket), but no sound will come out. However, if I probe the speaker outputs on the back of the radio, they have power. If I turn off the car and open the door, then wait a sec and start it again the radio will usually play normally. It has done this for the full year and a half I have owned the car. It will also stop producing audio sometimes if I change inputs (from radio to CD for example). It seems to be that randomly when the power source changes it will not play the audio, but turning off or changing the power will bring it back. Then about 2 weeks ago I had it at the tire shop and when I got in the car the radio was TOTALLY dead--no lights, no audio, nothing. It would however still give me the 'remove the faceplate' security beep after turning off the car. I was about to call the tire shop and demand they fix it, but the next day it was back to working. I bring up the radio issue because I wonder if it is related to the random issue from today. I did put my stereo in the wife's car and hers in mine, and my radio did not have this problem in her car, but hers still randomly did not have sound in my car. Therefore it is logical to assume that the wiring or something in my car is the issue. Don't know if this is related or helpful either, but the ABS light has been on the whole time I have owned the car as well (except for one day when it randomly went off for about 5 minutes), and the TCS is turned off by default (and I can't turn it on), I think because the ABS light issue.
Anyway, any ideas? Are these issues related? Where should I start looking? Ignition switch? BCM? Wiring? Help...