Where is the Rear Compartment Occupant Sensor located?

Tiny
PBNJ81
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 CHEVROLET IMPALA
  • 3.8L
  • 6 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 167,700 MILES
My Service Vehicle Soon light is on (not check engine or service engine but "Service Vehicle Soon") I get a B3896 - Rear Compartment Occupant Sensor code. I cannot for the life of me figure out where this sensor is. I've searched the internet high and low and the only document that seems to be circulating shows the same diagram that's in the owner's manual that says it's in the trunk. It shows a photo of the back end of the car and the trunk open and arrow pointing out of the trunk. But that's not exactly helpful. I need a more specific direction because all I see are the speakers and amp. This evening I took back seats out and back dash. I have a full view of all the wiring that goes into the trunk lid, and I still have no idea what I'm looking for or where it is.

Please help me, lol I'm going bananas.
Saturday, September 17th, 2022 AT 11:18 PM

9 Replies

Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
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Here is some information on the trap sensor and the location in the diagrams below. The Rear Compartment Occupant Sensor is in the trunk lid.

GM Trap Alert

This vehicle may be equipped with the GM Trap Alert system. This system will release the deck lid and sound the horn if a combination of a difference in temperature compared to ambient and a movement is detected in the rear compartment.

The GM Trap Alert system contains the following components:

* Rear Compartment Occupant Sensor
* Body Control Module (BCM)

The rear compartment occupant sensor will monitor the rear compartment at all times. The rear compartment will only release the deck lid, and sound the horn, when the ignition is in the "off" position.

The rear compartment occupant sensor is connected to battery voltage and ground at all times. When a combination of a difference in temperature compared to ambient, and movement is detected by the sensor, the body control module (BCM) will command the horn "on" for 1 minute, the trunk will then release, and the horn will continue to sound for 1 more minute. This process will initialize within 3 minutes of a detection signal from the rear compartment occupant sensor. The process may be stopped once the horn starts to sound by cycling the ignition from "off" to "on". If the ignition is in the ON position when the BCM receives the detect signal, the horn will not sound, the trunk will not release, although the rear compartment occupant sensor lighted disable switch will illuminate.

The rear compartment occupant sensor can be disabled by pressing and holding the disable switch on the sensor for 2 seconds. When disabled, the BCM will command the trunk ajar telltale "on" for 1 minute with each ignition "on" signal while the sensor is disabled. Once the rear compartment is opened the sensor will reset to an enabled status and resume normal operation. The sensor can also be enabled inside of the trunk, if disabled, with the ignition "on" or "off" by pressing the disable switch. If the rear compartment occupant sensor is disconnected, the trunk ajar telltale will illuminate for 30 seconds with each ignition "on" cycle, and DTC B3896 will be stored.

The BCM monitors the status of the rear compartment occupant sensor through the trunk ajar switch signal circuit continuously. If the BCM detects a problem, a DTC will set and the service vehicle soon telltale will illuminate.

Here is what the connector looks like. Check out the images (below). Please let us know what you find.
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Monday, September 19th, 2022 AT 10:42 AM
Tiny
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Thank you! You're a life saver. I appreciate this so much.
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Monday, September 19th, 2022 AT 5:09 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,755 POSTS
Hi,

We are happy to help. You got the site owner to answer the question. LOL Regardless, please feel free to come back anytime in the future if you have questions. You are always welcome here.

Take care,

Joe

I'm sure from Ken as well.
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Wednesday, September 21st, 2022 AT 5:36 PM
Tiny
PBNJ81
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So, I haven't actually had the nerve to attempt any of this yet as the weather has been kind of bad and but I'm going to attempt to do this today after work. I have another question just out of curiosity. So, looking online for the replacement occupant sensor connector I find that ACDelco PT316 or GM #12102629 "radio connector" is actually a discontinued part. But this is in fact what the connector piece I removed and have tried to rebuild a gazillion times because it was corroded, and the wires were broken. Only in the photo for the replacement part there are many wire leads, I'm guessing all 9. All white even though in the description it claims they are color coded. Anyways the piece I took out sounds more like the photo you sent me. There were 3 wires. The orange and black, and red and black were crimped together and the third from mine was gray not black and white. Anyways the grey had the wire lead that goes into the connector at the other end it was connected to a diode and then that was crimped together with the orange/black and red/black. So, a loop basically. So, I recreated this thing and it worked enough to get the truck to turn on once it's connected to amp or whatever it is in the trunk that's in the middle of the speakers. But I still got the same code B3896 about the trunk sensor.

Everything online suggests there is a disabled switch on the sensor itself but I still have no clue where this sensor is lol. The photos you sent are the wiring that connects to the stereo system so I don't think there really is a disabled switch for one but I'm curious about this diode because this can't be a factory thing and I'm guessing a previous owner created this.
I'm told I could locate the sensor at the bottom of the rear windshield but I took the seats out and the back window shelf thing and didn't see anything. I've also untapped all these wires you're showing me in the photos and couldn't find anything obvious that looked broken or corroded but I'm going to try this today anyways again because I want the light on my dash to go away.

I'll let you know how it goes. Wish me luck because I'm going to need it. Thanks again.
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Tuesday, October 11th, 2022 AT 3:31 AM
Tiny
KEN L
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Yep, they are vague about the sensor location, all they tell us is:

The Rear Compartment Occupant Sensor is in the trunk lid

Upload an image if you find it, please.
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Tuesday, October 11th, 2022 AT 12:38 PM
Tiny
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Okay, so, a few things, I maybe should have expressed that I know nothing about vehicles which is why it's taking me so long to come up with what I'm guessing should have been obvious, but I've now taken the rear fold down seat and package shelf out multiple times to look at everything to try to find this sensor. Lol I never could. So, I'm about 99% positive at this point that it longer exists in my vehicle at least. So, I followed the occupant sensor wire harness all the way to the main body harness through the trunk down the back seat floor and even further and I'm certain there are no breaks or anything wrong with the wires. I don't know how to check for shorts etc. But anyways so I'm thinking that the sensor has been removed and the wire connector that I've rebuilt repeatedly (ACDelco PT316) must be a bypass. So, I've read on other forums for other brand vehicles for other sensors where they would connect sensor wires to themselves to make it seem like it is always closed. Using rectifier diode and ohm resistors. Idk what those are but I'm trying to figure it out.
Anyways I can see online while still searching for answers to this question n that there are responses but when I login I don't the responses so apologies if I'm repeating myself.

Also wanted to note that in my endless search I've only seen a handful of times where it is suggested that there is a disable switch on the sensor itself. Yet not mentioned that this resets any time you turn vehicle on or off or open the trunk, so I just think that's not exactly a solution.

Follow up questions.

1. If my BCM was faulty wouldn't there be other issues other than just it assuming there was an issue with the occupant sensor?

2. Does this bypass thing I've mentioned at all seem possible or do I sound even crazier?

Multiple people have said I should just pull the fuse or the bulb to the SVS light on the dash. It's in those moments I realize I'm not the only one who doesn't know anything about vehicles, lol.

Thanks for any and all help.
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Monday, October 24th, 2022 AT 5:37 PM
Tiny
KEN L
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Yes, the BCM can be bad, causing the light. I would try to fix it instead of bypassing it, also you say you have found the wiring harness can you follow it the other way into the trunk and see where it goes, maybe upload picture for us?

The BCM monitors the status of the rear compartment occupant sensor through the trunk ajar switch signal circuit continuously. If the BCM detects a problem, a DTC will set and the service vehicle soon telltale will illuminate.

This means the sensor is in the latch, Check out the images (below). Please let us know if you need anything else to get the problem fixed.
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Tuesday, October 25th, 2022 AT 2:11 PM
Tiny
PBNJ81
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I forgot to come back and tell you guys what the result was. So, the day I bought the car from a used lot I tried to plug my phone into the cigarette lighter thing. And it blue like projectile blew the fuse so I just never bothered with it again I use the ashtray for change, Iol. Anyways so there was a short in that wiring as well as the CLSTR/BCM fuse in the driver's side fuse box showed a short (10-amp fuse) which controls the following: Cluster, Body Control Module, Data Link Connector (Battery), TrapAlert System. No huge surprise there, right? Iol. Then on the passenger side was cigarette lighter fuse showing the short but also every time I was attempting to reconnect the connectors to TrapAlert in the trunk it would blow the DIC/RKE fuse which is Driver Information Center and Remote Keyless Entry.

I'd love to tell you I figured out where the shorts actually were myself, but I did not. I bought a circuit tracer and still was clueless so I finally gave up and called a mobile mechanic because I didn't want to pay a mechanic to diagnose it when I've already tried for so long to figure it out n finally did by using a test light only instead of taking out fuse by fuse waiting for the light to go out, (because I tried that and the light never went out) I took out all the fuses and put them back one by one and the light went on I knew that's where the short was.

But I will say THERE IS NOT A SENSOR as your documents and the user manual all suggest and most definitely not a disable button. I'm guessing because GM quickly canned this whole idea and there were bulletins many years ago that maybe they made this work around where ACDelco PT316 connector is the answer. Only if you are online this is a radio or amplifier connector with multiple wires but as the diagram you sent me matched mine which had the red/black wire and orange/black wire and grey wire. The red/black wire in position 9, the grey wire in position 11 and orange/black in position 14. Then at the back side of the connector red/black and orange/black crimped together with the cathode end of a diode also crimped in with those two wires. Then the end of the grey wire crimped to the anode end of the diode. Not sure why it's not like the diagram you sent but I just duplicated what was already there.

ACDelco PT316 Trunk Occupant Presence Sensor splices into the main body wire and doesn't connect to a sensor it connects to the connector I mentioned above with the 3 wires and diode. This turns the trunk light on n after fixing the shorts got rid of b3896 trouble code and the Service Vehicle Soon light on my dash finally gone.

Thanks for all your help.
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Monday, November 14th, 2022 AT 1:14 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
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Hi,

Thank you for the update. It sounds like it has been a nightmare. Regardless, I'm glad to know it's fixed.

Take good care of yourself.

Joe
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Monday, November 14th, 2022 AT 8:05 PM

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