Bulletin No.: 14176B
Date: January 2015

Recall Bulletin

PRODUCT EMISSION RECALL
SUBJECT:

Improperly Crimped Accelerator Pedal Position Electrical Terminals

MODELS:

2014 Cadillac ATS

The Part Information section has been revised to allow ordering of the terminated lead from
GMCCA. Please discard all copies of bulletin 14176A.
CONDITION
General Motors has decided to conduct a Voluntary Emission Recall involving certain 2014
model year Cadillac ATS vehicles. Some of these vehicles have a condition in which the
electrical terminals are not properly crimped to the Accelerator Pedal Position (APP) circuits at
the engine harness side of an inline electrical connector. If this occurs, Diagnostic Trouble Code
(DTC) P2138 may set as a result of the associated high resistance, causing both traction and
stability control systems to be disabled, reduced engine power mode operation, and the
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) to illuminate.
CORRECTION
Dealers are to inspect the related APP terminals and solder them or replace them as required.
VEHICLES INVOLVED
All involved vehicles are identified by Vehicle Identification Number on the Investigate Vehicle
History screen in GM Global Warranty Management system. Dealership service personnel
should always check this site to confirm vehicle involvement prior to beginning any required
inspections and/or repairs. It is important to routinely use this tool to verify eligibility because
not all similar vehicles may be involved regardless of description or option content.
For dealers with involved vehicles, a listing with involved vehicles containing the complete
vehicle identification number, customer name, and address information has been prepared and
will be provided to US and Canadian dealers through the GM GlobalConnect Recall Reports, or
sent directly to export dealers. Dealers will not have a report available if they have no involved
vehicles currently assigned.
The listing may contain customer names and addresses obtained from Motor Vehicle
Registration Records. The use of such motor vehicle registration data for any purpose other
than follow-up necessary to complete this recall is a violation of law in several
Copyright 2015 General Motors. All Rights Reserved.

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Bulletin No.: 14176B

states/provinces/countries. Accordingly, you are urged to limit the use of this report to the followup necessary to complete this recall.
PART INFORMATION
Parts required to complete this recall are to be obtained from General Motors Customer Care
and Aftersales (GMCC&A). Please refer to your “involved vehicles listing” before ordering parts.
Normal orders should be placed on a DRO = Daily Replenishment Order. In an emergency
situation, parts should be ordered on a CSO = Customer Special Order.
Part Number
Description
19300653
WIRE,SPLICE (Terminated Lead) (merch pk of 5)
05297428
CLIP, WRG HARN SPLICE (merch pk of 10)
*12355010
TUBING, SHRINK (1/8" BLACK) (merch pk of 10)
**1089482
WOVEN POLYESTER ELECTRICAL TAPE (PET)
*

Quantity/Vehicle
As Needed / If Req’d
As Needed
As Needed
As Req’d
(Submit in Net Item)

Or equivalent heat shrink tubing.

** To obtain the PET, contact Kent Automotive at 1-888-YES-KENT (1-888-937-5368) and
request the special order part number 1089482.
SERVICE PROCEDURE
Preliminary Inspection Procedure
1.

Connect the vehicle to scan tool (GDS2) and check for DTC’s.

2.

Record the Julian three number date code which follows the “NC” starting letters on the
engine harness tag as shown in the illustration below. Retain this number for further
instruction later in the bulletin.
 Date codes 182 thru 187 will require adding solder to all the gold plated terminal crimps
in cavities 1 – 6. If any tin plated terminals are found in cavities 1 – 6, replace them with
the gold plated terminated lead service part.
 Date codes prior to 182 or after 187 will require inspection of the terminals found in
cavities 1 – 6 to ensure that they are all gold plated. If any tin plated terminals are
found in cavities 1 – 6, replace them with the gold plated terminated lead service part.

Note: The tag is located near the bottom right side of the radiator, reposition the forward
engine harness to inspect the tag as shown in the photos below. On four cylinder engine
vehicles, the tag can be seen from the top with the hood open. For six cylinder engine
vehicles, you will not be able to visually access the label/tag (1) from the top engine
compartment. Tags on six cylinder engine vehicles will have to be inspected after vehicle is
raised on a hoist and the wheelhouse liner is removed.

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Bulletin No.: 14176B

Tag and Date Code as Viewed from Top on a Four Cylinder Vehicle

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Tag (1) as Viewed from Bottom on a Six Cylinder Vehicle

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3942443

3.

Position the vehicle in a stall with a hoist and disconnect the negative battery cable. Refer
to Battery Negative Cable Disconnection and Connection in SI.

3942445

4.

Remove the right front wheelhouse liner (1). Refer to Front Wheelhouse Liner
Replacement in SI.

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5.

Locate the X150 inline body to engine harness connector (black with grey lever lock).

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3942448

6.

Disengage the connector from the wheelhouse by reaching behind it, placing the head of a
small screwdriver under the tab (1) and carefully twisting to lift the tab. Pull the connector
rearward to release the slotted feature (2) from the tab.

3942449

Caution: The Accelerator Pedal Position (APP) sensor circuits are cavities 1 through 6 within
the X150 connector. All six terminals for APP must be gold plated.
7.

Disconnect the connector and inspect the engine-side (male) terminals, 1 through 6 (1). As
shown in the graphic above, the six terminals are gold and the surrounding terminals are
tin.
 If the Julian date code is outside the 182 – 187 range AND all six terminals are gold
plated, no further action is required. Proceed to Reassembly Procedure below.

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3942450

 If the Julian date code is outside the 182 – 187 range AND any tin plated terminals are
found (like example shown in third terminal above), proceed to Terminated Lead
Replacement Procedure below.
 If the Julian date code is within the 182 – 187 range AND all six terminals are gold
plated, proceed to Solder Terminal Crimps Repair Procedure below.
 If the Julian date code is within the 182 – 187 range AND any tin plated terminals are
found, solder the gold terminals and replace any tin terminals with a gold terminated
lead. Follow first the Terminated Lead procedure, then the Solder Terminal Crip
procedure below.
Terminated Lead Replacement Procedure

3942451

1.

On the engine-side harness (with male terminals), remove the white Terminal Position
Assurance (TPA) from the connector. The TPA has a friction fit, and will pull out with
needle nose pliers.

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3942453

2.

To gain access to the wires, pull the harness cover back and carefully remove
approximately 102 – 127 mm (4 – 5 in) of spiral wrapped tape under the cover.

3942454

3.

Using a pick (J-38125-11A), or equivalent tool, carefully back out the incorrect tin plated
terminal (1) from the connector housing.

3942455

4.

Place the replacement gold terminated lead (1) into the connector cavity where the
incorrect terminal was removed. Ensure that the terminal is fully inserted into the
connector, until it clicks using the push-click-pull method.

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3942456

5.

Cut off approximately 76 mm (3.0 in) of the end of the tin plated terminal.

3942457

6.

Cut off the extra terminated lead wire, leaving an approximate 102 – 127 mm (4 -5 in)
length or enough to overlap the existing wire.

3942486

7.

Remove 13 mm (1/2 in) of insulation from the ends of both the harness wire (1) and the
replacement terminated lead.

Caution: Use only wiring harness splice clip P/N 05297428 in combination with heat shrink
tube, P/N 12355010, or an equivalent flexible adhesive-lined/moisture resistant heat shrink
tube to perform the repair in this bulletin.

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8.

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Install one 38 mm (1.5 in) section of heat shrink tube (2) over the harness wire.

3942487

9.

Fold the 13 mm (1/2 in) ends of exposed copper on both wires over each other. Crimp the
splice clip (1) over the wires using Special Tool J-38125-8, crimp nest F.

10. Inspect the crimp quality.

3942488

Caution: Keep the heat shrink tube (1) above the splice when soldering the splice (2) to
ensure that the heat shrink is not prematurely shrunk and closed down over the wire or splice
area due to the heat from the soldering iron.
11. Solder the crimp and splice clip using the Ultratorch, part number J-38125-5A, or another
butane fueled soldering iron.

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3942489

12. Center the heat shrink tube (1) over the splice and use the Ultratorch, part number J38125-5A, or another butane fueled soldering iron, to shrink and seal the heat shrink tube
securely over the splice crimp and insulated wires.
13. Repeat steps 3 - 12 for any other tin plated terminals found.
14. If soldering of gold plated terminals is necessary, proceed to Solder Terminal Crimps
Repair Procedure below. If not, proceed to Reassembly Procedure below.
Solder Terminal Crimps Repair Procedure

3942451

1.

If not previously removed, remove the white Terminal Position Assurance (TPA) from the
connector. The TPA has a friction fit, and will pull out with needle nose pliers.

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2.

Working on one terminal at a time, use a pick (J-38125-11A), or equivalent tool, to
carefully back out the gold plated terminal (1) from the connector housing.