Bluetooth Options For 2008 Silverado

kipblackwell · June 14, 2010

Charlie,

Did you get any close to your solution? I have been waiting to hear from you before going to the dealer. I figure it is probably easiest to go to my dealer with what he needs to do instead of him trying to figure it out. You seem like you have a better relationship with your dealer than I do. My guy is willing to try anything, but has no ideas on how to fix it of his own. Let me know what kind of progress you are making.

I also wanted to confirm that you did or did not get Chris White to program your VCIM? (I have a short memory)

C. Charles Hahn · June 14, 2010

Charlie,
Did you get any close to your solution? I have been waiting to hear from you before going to the dealer. I figure it is probably easiest to go to my dealer with what he needs to do instead of him trying to figure it out. You seem like you have a better relationship with your dealer than I do. My guy is willing to try anything, but has no ideas on how to fix it of his own. Let me know what kind of progress you are making.

I still have not gotten to a working solution yet, but I'll be posting as much information as I have so far within the next day or so; I'm just putting the finishing touches on everything and uploading pics. I will be going back to the dealer again this week for a few things (the latest recall, getting a cracked 3rd brake light replaced, another shot at the VCIM programming) so we'll see how that goes.

I also wanted to confirm that you did or did not get Chris White to program your VCIM? (I have a short memory)

Yes, I did get Chris White to program my VCIM.

VO1BMD · June 15, 2010

Well... it works! YES you can swap your older VCIM for a newer VCIM with BT and have it 100% working!!!!!

Just got finished with On* (45 minutes on the phone doing remote diags!) This was the third (3) time contacting them but they were great! Slow, but great!

I told them I had just bought this 2007 CC Silverado and had a red LED on the mirror. Originally, the first call and they thought I was Mr. XXX from KY driving a Silver 2009 Acadia with a 500-XXX-XXXX phone number. I told them who I was and my truck was a used 2007 Silverado, gave them my VIN etc. started the change over but I ended up with a phone # 123 456 7890. Called them back a couple days later and spoke with Pat, he got my number changed to a 902 area code but in PEI, not Nova Scotia (PEI is a small province and they use our area code 902 also) and I got my first email from On* stating there was a problem with my diagnostics. Their tech support called me tonight on my cell (Thanks Samantha from On*) and had me re-connect with them from the truck. Spoke with Rose and she started trouble shooting my system, took 45+ minutes, but finally she came back and said I still have a minor problem, possible antenna connection, and should contact my dealer at my discretion to have it looked at, BUT IT WORKS!!! Rose said the RED LED will come on from time to time because of the antenna error (I should have wrote down the error code she gave me!!!) but everything is functioning!!!

- I have a WORKING On* system WITH Bluetooth in my 2nd edition 2007 Silverado CC by doing the VCIM swap

- They gave me 130 min free for the inconvenience! (I have 129 left!! And it tells me so on my DIC!!!)

- FREE trip planner for 6 months

- I have a 902 area code local number that works!

YES... I called from the truck using On* and it works!! I have a 902-956-XXX number that my wife saw on call display. Had to push the On* button to call because the BT kept connecting with my wife's phone in the house!!! 50+ feet away through 2 walls no less!!!

So... to everyone out there... On* can make a VCIM with BT work in an older GM vehicle! I am 100% living proof it can be done! I don't know what they did but it works!!!

Good luck to everyone else in the same boat... may the gods of technology smile down on you...

Regards;

Duane

BTW: I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO A DEALER! ON* DID EVERYTHING REMOTELY

C. Charles Hahn · June 15, 2010

I don't know what they did but it works!!!

This is exactly what needs to be overcome. We know people have been able to get things working, but it's anything but consistent. If we could come up with a consistent method of making things work, either via the dealership route or by knowing what to tell the OnStar techs to do on their end remotely, it would be one thing; but that still hasn't happened. That is what is extremely frustrating.

Congrats on getting yours working though!

Brewboy · June 15, 2010

I don't know what they did but it works!!!

This is exactly what needs to be overcome. We know people have been able to get things working, but it's anything but consistent. If we could come up with a consistent method of making things work, either via the dealership route or by knowing what to tell the OnStar techs to do on their end remotely, it would be one thing; but that still hasn't happened. That is what is extremely frustrating.

Congrats on getting yours working though!

Yes, congrats! You have given us hope a successful end is near.

Charlie correct me if Im wrong but Im seeing a consistent theme here with 07 GMT900 owners upgrading VCIM 's with On* success.

That theme is they are all VCIM's from used vehicles who at one time had an active working On* account.

My VCIM along with many others is a brand new VCIM, programmed by CW or not, they have never been actively connected to On* system in any vehicle.

Am I wrong here?

C. Charles Hahn · June 15, 2010

Charlie correct me if Im wrong but Im seeing a consistent theme here with 07 GMT900 owners upgrading VCIM 's with On* success.

That theme is they are all VCIM's from used vehicles who at one time had an active working On* account.

My VCIM along with many others is a brand new VCIM, programmed by CW or not, they have never been actively connected to On* system in any vehicle.

Am I wrong here?

Exactly right. And I'm in the same boat you're in, my VCIM was brand new and never activated. Yours came from rev281 on eBay as well, correct?

What this is leading me to believe is that a completely different procedure for activation is necessary for used VCIMs than will be necessary for new ones. It will be difficult to 100% confirm this, but there is little evidence to the contrary thus far.

One thing I did notice is that Duane (Cruisin Newfie) in his other thread stated "One note: I logged on to my On* account and it shows my 2007 Silv and a 2009 Acadia!"

Since from what he's said he doesn't actually own a 2009 Acadia, but sourced his VCIM from one, I question the assessment that OnStar is functioning 100% correctly. Yes, he may have Directions & Connections working, and yes, his hands-free calling may be working, but if OnStar still sees the module as being in a 2009 Acadia, that to me is improper functionality. They should automatically know that the vehicle is a 2007 Silverado when he calls in, just as RayGMC demonstrated in his 2007 Sierra Denali.

Oh well. The search for answers continues.

VO1BMD · June 15, 2010

That theme is they are all VCIM's from used vehicles who at one time had an active working On* account.

One thing I did notice is that Duane (Cruisin Newfie) in his other thread stated "One note: I logged on to my On* account and it shows my 2007 Silv and a 2009 Acadia!"

Since from what he's said he doesn't actually own a 2009 Acadia, but sourced his VCIM from one, I question the assessment that OnStar is functioning 100% correctly. Yes, he may have Directions & Connections working, and yes, his hands-free calling may be working, but if OnStar still sees the module as being in a 2009 Acadia, that to me is improper functionality.

Charlie, once again you are 100% correct!!! (you do know we hate you for that right ;)

I jumped the gun again.... I guess I am too hopeful that a solution can be found to resolve the ongoing issue of 100% On* function with BT by doing the VCIM swap.

Logged on again this AM and I have a report for a 2009 ACADIA (where I got the VCIM) but the Silverado is nil! On* thinks my VCIM is in an Acadia and so there is the same issues noted by many others. Even tho the VCIM is 100% functioning (BT, On* phone #, emerg access, etc) they don't see the correct vehicle! I won't be able to call them today, but tomorrow I will call them again and see if I can find an answer.

Altho I am close, I do believe Charlie is right... I am close because the VCIM I have is from an existing GM vehicle and not a new 'fresh' unit that GM doesn't have in their database.

Will post again when/if I find something new...

Brewboy · June 15, 2010

Charlie correct me if Im wrong but Im seeing a consistent theme here with 07 GMT900 owners upgrading VCIM 's with On* success.

That theme is they are all VCIM's from used vehicles who at one time had an active working On* account.

My VCIM along with many others is a brand new VCIM, programmed by CW or not, they have never been actively connected to On* system in any vehicle.

Am I wrong here?

Exactly right. And I'm in the same boat you're in, my VCIM was brand new and never activated. Yours came from rev281 on eBay as well, correct?

What this is leading me to believe is that a completely different procedure for activation is necessary for used VCIMs than will be necessary for new ones. It will be difficult to 100% confirm this, but there is little evidence to the contrary thus far.

One thing I did notice is that Duane (Cruisin Newfie) in his other thread stated "One note: I logged on to my On* account and it shows my 2007 Silv and a 2009 Acadia!"

Since from what he's said he doesn't actually own a 2009 Acadia, but sourced his VCIM from one, I question the assessment that OnStar is functioning 100% correctly. Yes, he may have Directions & Connections working, and yes, his hands-free calling may be working, but if OnStar still sees the module as being in a 2009 Acadia, that to me is improper functionality. They should automatically know that the vehicle is a 2007 Silverado when he calls in, just as RayGMC demonstrated in his 2007 Sierra Denali.

Oh well. The search for answers continues.

Yes our VCIM's are Fresh from the same source on Ebay.

I thought that getting CW to program our Fresh VCIM brought it to the same point that these scrap yard ones are at?

So when installed in our 07/08 GMT900's they then are at the same software version ready for ONSA setup and On* activation download, but obviously not.

C. Charles Hahn · June 15, 2010

I thought that getting CW to program our Fresh VCIM brought it to the same point that these scrap yard ones are at?

I was under that impression as well (at least prior to having the service done by Chris). As advertised, the programming should have been the only necessary step to allow OnStar to remotely activate an account in our vehicles.

That said, there is still one glaring difference between our "fresh" VCIMs and those sourced from scrap yards. The used modules' STIDs, ESNs, and other specific information are already in OnStar's database, meaning from their end it's a matter of porting those identifiers from one account to another, whereas with a "fresh" VCIM, they're having to enter (or have entered by a GM dealer) new data into their database.

Since I'm not familiar with the systems OnStar uses on their end for entering and storing data in their database, I'm not sure what difference this really makes, but it almost certainly has to have something to do with why we're having problems.

h2oking · June 16, 2010

Don't know if this information helps, but I installed a VCIM (25990227) from a 2009 CTS in my 2007 Escalade EXT and have the usual great working bluetooth, red flashing light, etc. I planned on getting it programmed by White for the correct VIN and then taking it to the dealer.

I already have an Onstar account so I just tried to activate it using the VIN of the CTS it came out of. After I gave the Onstar people the VIN they KNEW which selling dealership the car was originally delivered to but could not get it to work because they said the dealership had never uploaded the data to their database and that had to be done before they could proceed any further. I guess they could have just used some VIN database to find that out.

The history of this VCIM was that it had been removed from a NEW CTS that was being scrapped by Nordstrom's for some reason unknown to me. It sounds to me that the initial input by the dealership to Onstar registers it in the Onstar database to the VIN and that allows them to see and know what vehicle it is in which is why some Used ones work. My VCIM operates as if NEW. So there must be some process/list/database that marries the VCIM to the vehicle at Onstar before the new vehicle is sold.

Diagnostics could fail unless it came out of a vehicle of the same year and type. If the correct (Receiving vehicle) VIN is programmed in the new VCIM, the software Onstar uses to establish service could fail if version differences exist. Used ones don't need this initial download from Onstar because they are already seen by Onstar. This could also mean that air bag deployment might not be signaled properly which is my major reason to try to get Onstar to work PROPERLY (which includes identification and diagnostics) and not getting a used one. That is why I watch all these threads for a successful solution and thank all the people working on it.

Brewboy · June 17, 2010

Don't know if this information helps, but I installed a VCIM (25990227) from a 2009 CTS in my 2007 Escalade EXT and have the usual great working bluetooth, red flashing light, etc. I planned on getting it programmed by White for the correct VIN and then taking it to the dealer.

I already have an Onstar account so I just tried to activate it using the VIN of the CTS it came out of. After I gave the Onstar people the VIN they KNEW which selling dealership the car was originally delivered to but could not get it to work because they said the dealership had never uploaded the data to their database and that had to be done before they could proceed any further. I guess they could have just used some VIN database to find that out.

The history of this VCIM was that it had been removed from a NEW CTS that was being scrapped by Nordstrom's for some reason unknown to me. It sounds to me that the initial input by the dealership to Onstar registers it in the Onstar database to the VIN and that allows them to see and know what vehicle it is in which is why some Used ones work. My VCIM operates as if NEW. So there must be some process/list/database that marries the VCIM to the vehicle at Onstar before the new vehicle is sold.

Diagnostics could fail unless it came out of a vehicle of the same year and type. If the correct (Receiving vehicle) VIN is programmed in the new VCIM, the software Onstar uses to establish service could fail if version differences exist. Used ones don't need this initial download from Onstar because they are already seen by Onstar. This could also mean that air bag deployment might not be signaled properly which is my major reason to try to get Onstar to work PROPERLY (which includes identification and diagnostics) and not getting a used one. That is why I watch all these threads for a successful solution and thank all the people working on it.

I agree but I thought the ONSA TIS2WEB programming did that connection to the On* data base.

CW then programs the our vehicle VIN into the VCIM for us.

We install the programmed VCIM into our vehicle and do the ONSA to grab, VIN and VCIM data and send it to On* database thats why it takes 24-48 hrs.

I watched the TIS2WEB program working and thats what it looked like to me.

I guess my theory is not correct or mine would be working......

h2oking · June 18, 2010

I hate all this Vin dependent matching required especially within the vehicle itself...I have been working for weeks to get MR (Z95) and LED lights (TQ4) working in a 2007 EXT. Since neither came in a 2007 and TQ4 never in an EXT, it has been a nightmare of Vin/programming issues.......i.e put in all the correct 2009 BCM, ABS, ASCM modules, make all the wiring changes and can't get it programmed. Do it at home and truck will not run due to Vin mismatch. Can't reprogram ECM with 2009 Vin because 2007 ECM is different. Can't use 2009 ECM because of E85 and other differences. The side losses are significant....Loss of radio/xm/nav/onstar/suspension control/leveling/tpms ....Every alarm you can think of etc. Most of my somewhat successful solutions seem to be those that just work around the ORIGINAL modules to achieve my purpose. An easier solution would have been to drive a new 2009 under the Onstar antenna but that would not have given me TQ4 or USB. 2010 gives USB but removes rainsense wipers and still no TQ4.

I have even been thinking of putting the original 2007 VCIM back in so I can have FULL Onstar support and the greater power of the older ones (3watt xmit vs .6watt on the new ones, but that might also be the Analog/digital difference) and using an aftermarket solution. That way I would be more confident that the appropriate diagnostic, airbag, and shut down functions would work. Without a thorough knowledge of the signalling done on the bus and modules to tell the VCIM of conditions and operations it is difficult to understand. For example: 2 extra airbags where added in either 2009 or 2010. Does that mean that the VCIM for that model knows that, does the BCM or some other module send a generic airbag deployment to the VCIM or specific data about which airbag deployed which might not be understood by a Switched VCIM? And so on..for roll over etc.

In thinking about it, I think that is why it appears GM/Onstar will not provide a solution. LIABILITY/Complexity. The nuances of the wiring/electronics packages on these vehicles are staggering even within the same year and model which points to the VIN interdependence imposed by GM. And the difficulties/reluctance of the dealers to make mods because they assume risk and are not really trained in nor understand the inner workings of the systems. GM/Onstar are really closed mouth about DETAILS of operation.

But I am holding out with my fingers crossed because it is IMO the BEST bluetooth solution available. I probably wouldn't be as concerned if I wasn't over sixty driving 99% of the time by myself. An On* solution that provides proper and verified Identification and Diagnostics is critical. It should be achievable on vehicles that had the option for bluetooth originally even if mid year, it is not as easy for vehicles that didn't. If you don't want Onstar it is a non issue, swap the VCIM and paint the red light black. I will remain hopeful but the days of simple mods/upgrades are gone due to warranty/litigation/liability and governmental regulation and that seems quite acceptable and safer for the vast majority of people which certainly does not include anyone who took the time to read this thread.

C. Charles Hahn · June 18, 2010

An On* solution that provides proper and verified Identification and Diagnostics is critical.

Well by every indication I've seen thus far, the diagnostics still aren't going to work in 07-08 retrofits regardless of whether we can make everything else work properly or not. A retrofit in an '09 or '10 truck should prove much easier though.

VO1BMD · June 18, 2010

We install the programmed VCIM into our vehicle and do the ONSA to grab, VIN and VCIM data and send it to On* database thats why it takes 24-48 hrs.

According to On*, there is no "wait time" of 24+ hrs before the changes take effect! Each time I have contacted On*, the changes were immediate and when I asked her about this time period, she said NO, any changes made are enacted right then since communications are always active.

That being said, when I go online, I can get a full diags report for my "2009 Acadia" but my 2007 Silv has a communication issue. Everything functions properly and I have BT + On* + Minutes but they still see the '09 Acadia! I still have the LED change from green to red but On* sees an error with the antenna, error code B2485.

C. Charles Hahn · June 18, 2010

We install the programmed VCIM into our vehicle and do the ONSA to grab, VIN and VCIM data and send it to On* database thats why it takes 24-48 hrs.

According to On*, there is no "wait time" of 24+ hrs before the changes take effect! Each time I have contacted On*, the changes were immediate and when I asked her about this time period, she said NO, any changes made are enacted right then since communications are always active.

That being said, when I go online, I can get a full diags report for my "2009 Acadia" but my 2007 Silv has a communication issue. Everything functions properly and I have BT + On* + Minutes but they still see the '09 Acadia! I still have the LED change from green to red but On* sees an error with the antenna, error code B2485.

I just looked up that error code, and it has to do with the bluetooth antenna, not the antennas that connect you to the OnStar network.

Spend $20 on a new BT antenna from eBay and that DTC issue will go away