GM Accessories Personal Audio Link Communication Issues - keywords accessory B1000 band electrical entertainment iphone ipod link PAL radio satellite scan tech tech2 tool XM

This PI was superseded to update Recommendation/Instructions. Please discard PIC4562A.

The following diagnosis might be helpful if the vehicle exhibits the symptom(s) described in this PI.

The following information relates to 2007 - 2008 model year Chevrolet HHR, Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac Solstice, Pontiac G5, Saturn Sky equipped with the GM Accessories Personal Audio Link, or PAL (P/N 19171028).

1. Tech 2 Communication on Vehicles with PAL: Occasionally, the tech 2 may not recognize PAL. If PAL does not appear in the list of body modules, simply exit and re-select "Body" to re-establish communications. When recognized, PAL will appear next to the F4 tab on The tech 2 software version 27.007 or later should recognize the PAL almost every time on the first try.
2. Tech 2 Interrogation of XM Receiver: With PAL installed on the vehicle, it is necessary to switch the radio band to the XM band radio in order to obtain XM module information. If XM radio is not sourced, the Tech 2 will report "No communication with vehicle". Note: The XM band is shared, with the PAL so the technician needs to be sure that the radio XM band is truly on XM radio and not in iPod mode. If iPod mode, radio displays "XM1".
3. XM not available on start-up: Customers with video iPods may occasionally experience the radio starting up in AM or FM band when the radio had been in iPod mode prior to shutting off the vehicle. They may or may not see "XM not available" appear briefly on the radio display before the transition to AM or FM bands. To avoid this situation, the iPod should be connected only AFTER the ignition is started.

If you see "XM not available":

For 2007: The XM band is recoverable with a press of the band button or preset. If this does not work, then:

For 2008: 1)Disconnect the iPod, 2)Turn off the ignition, 3)Open and close driver's door and wait approximately 3 minutes. Upon restarting the vehicle, XM band will be available. This situation is remedied by connecting the iPod AFTER the vehicle is started.

Please follow this diagnostic or repair process thoroughly and complete each step. If the condition exhibited is resolved without completing every step, the remaining steps do not need to be performed.

Important: If a PAL module is installed in a vehicle without XM, DO NOT enable XM using the Tech 2. If if XM is enabled in a non-XM vehicle the PAL module will not function. This is due to the PAL module trying to communicate with an XM module that does not exist so the PAL module shuts down. The PAL module can be reset by installing it into an XM-equipped vehicle and disabling the XM feature. The PAL module can then be installed on another non-XM vehicle.

Note: The PAL module was NOT intended to report DTCs, However, it's been discovered that a "test" DTC B1000 is showing up. A service bulletin will be authored to inform dealers to ignore this DTC until the software is corrected.