[ChevyGuy]

For it to be the reprogramming, I'd think it would have to show up a lot faster than 3-4 weeks. As such, it's probably unrelated. The good news, it sounds like a "solid" problem. The dealer should be able to find it. (Nothing worse than a car that does that once every two weeks and then is perfectly fine on restart. Darn hard to fix that kind.)

 

[ChevyGuy]

Off the top of my head, a major circuit is opening the moment a load is applied......could even be a battery with a broken internal connector.

I could see that giving a tech the run-around, but I'd think the loss of all electrical power (for the tech) would be a big clue. Like going to crank and seeing everything die.

 

[ChevyGuy]

Sounds like a data line has dropped and no communication showing up with anything to me. I wouldn't think a battery would cause all that while driving IMO

An open battery while driving would mean the power from the alternator is no longer filtered. Major noise on the power system.

While battery is certainly possible, I'm not taking any bets against something like the ECM going south. Rare, but I won't say it can't happen. Or maybe a major screw up on the car's bus such that the BCM can't talk to the ECM.

 

[ChevyGuy]

They said they can't put me in a car either until they confirm it is something under warranty or not.

I'm guessing you're outside of Bumper to Bumper. (3 year/36,000 miles).

 

[ChevyGuy]

I'd like to hear what Robby has to say. If the transmission caught fire, I'd think GM would be on the hook for the whole thing since it was the failure of a covered part that started it.

However, I'm wondering how this happened without setting a code well before a fire started. IIRC, the transmission temp is estimated, but I'm sure slippage is monitored. (By comparing engine RPM and vehicle speed.)

 

[ChevyGuy]

I read about the NHTSA investigations into 2011 and 2012 Cruzes catching fire due to oil dripping onto hot parts due to a missing shield.

IIRC, the problem was a shield that would trap the oil and prevent it from reaching the ground. There was a recall to hack a chunk out of it to "fix" that.

The fire occurred right below the oil filter, so maybe that is the case?

That sounds more likely. You could have had a leak at the oil filter and it dripped down onto the exhaust manifold.

 

[ChevyGuy]

Does anyone here know if a non communicative TPM would cause the car to not start?

I'm not sure what TPM is. The Cruse is a computer system on wheels. A damaged bus line could easily cause a no-start.

 

[ChevyGuy]

Dealer has not finished reassembly.......were is the battery?

Where's the fuse/relay box? I think that may be what it plugs into. Likewise with some of the lugs I see in the background.

 

[ChevyGuy]

I'm sure some of us would like to see this "fire" the dealer reported - where it was and how bad.

 

[ChevyGuy]

That looks suspiciously like a short circuit caused fire.

It certainly doesn't look like what I think of as a fire. Heat yes, but I'm not seeing any combustion.

I'm seeing a melted wire loom, but I'm not yet seeing any damage to the wire itself. I'd start carefully clipping off that melted plastic loom and see what's underneath. See if you can determine if the heat came from the inside or the outside.

 

[ChevyGuy]

See if you can determine if the heat came from the inside or the outside.

I should add that I think the heat came from the outside of the loom. Because the wires on the inside look remarkably intact - too intact for the heat to come from the inside. I'd expect to see deformed insulation. But the wires I can see look nearly pristine (good color, the shape is correct) while the loom is deformed.

I have gone through the looms of the harness and tested all with a multimeter and all have continuity at least. I don't see any broken wires actually.

Which raises the possibility that this is a red herring. The tech looked at the loom and decided that was the problem. The real problem may be elsewhere. It might be time to go to another dealer.

I'd add that continuity alone is not enough. Some of the wires might be coax for high speed communication. If deformed, it could interfere with the signals. So what is the physical condition of the actual wires?

 

[ChevyGuy]

It states they discovered fire damage to the TCM connector, cooler lines, etc.

Now I am waiting for insurance to use that information to determine if they will be covering my claim.

Ugh. I think you may be stuck in the middle. Insurance probably covers external events while the dealer is denying that this was some kind of internal malfunction.

Frankly, I think diagnosis is always a tad suspect until everything is fixed. I say this as a guy who has spent a life time making things work. Diagnosis is a theory - the proof is when it's running again. I can't tell you how many times my initial theory of the problem was wrong. What it took to get things working is was the evidence of what was really wrong.

In this case, I think I'd push the dealer into stating why this is "the problem" and not something unrelated. They stated the computers aren't talking to each other. Yes, the loom is melted, but without any evidence of heat damage to the actual wire that may not be the actual reason. And, once the car is running again, I'd look for anything that might cause the cat to overheat.

 

[ChevyGuy]

Glad you got resolution!

+1. It doesn't speak well that the dealer didn't figure that out.