2004 yukon starter/ignition/wiring issues

[mikemhp]

happy labor day!
my second post in here, thanks for all the previous replies....

little status update-
2004 yukon 2WD, 5.3, SLT 144k miles

had a no crank/no start issue couple weeks ago.
new battery, pulled starter and it tested great, pretty sure it was wiring or electrical related.

i pulled every single fuse to check, turns out the 40A ignition fuse had a tiny crack in the copper circle that i missed on first inspection.... (the little window was dirty on the bottom...)

replaced it and it started up fine for 2 days..

then DEAD BATTERY again. no crank/no start all over again.

NEVER EVEN KNEW I HAD AN AFTERMARKET VIPER ALARM WAY BACK UP INSIDE THE DASH!
never had a remote or any issues in the past- always just used the factory key fob for locking doors and 'beep beep' factory alarm.

so i researched the alarm, it had a valet switch/ignition interrupt function. i pulled the whole brain of it out and started over.

charged battery for 3 hours, checked fuses again, am currently testing it for a parasitic battery drain just in case.

but today after a charge, it fired right up like normal. will check voltage again later this afternoon and in the morning to see if there is any more voltage drop- but if there IS, i am at a loss as to next step........


battery tested at 14V engine on, 12.3 engine off, 12.14 engine off 20 mins later...


fingers crossed, and any insight would be appreciated!!!

 

[Travlinman]

Hope u can figure this out or have someone else reply that has. I have a 03 yukon doing the same thing that started Thursday morning. Wednesday everything was fine, thurs morning click,click,click.
Mine is a 03 yukon with 215.*** on it. I swapped the battery today and did a parasitic draw test on the negative side and didnt show anything so im at a loss.

 

[mikemhp]

update: 8:30 last night batt tested down to 11.7 truck started up fine, but then the batt light in dash stayed on after engine shut off.
checked it half hour later, still on.
pulled negative cable off so as to not drain batt completely again.
still unsure whats going on...

 

[about20ninj45]

Pull the fuse for your radio and cigarette lighter. Check again after 30 mins

 

[mikemhp]

update- tried pulling those fuses, radio stayed on... (it's aftermarket with its own separate positive lead and 250A fuse... wired correctly)
battery was dead again this morning, pulled it out and charged it up to 12.4.
installed it in truck, put the meter on it and immediately it dropped down to 6.1 and kept falling.
pulled it out again, and tested it, read 11.8

obviously i have something sucking juice when it's in the truck, but how to test where that is coming from?????????

 

[mizzouguy]

By radio, i'm assuming you meant amplifier? 250A is huge! If the remote turn on wire for the amp is not wired correctly, and the amp never shuts off, it would drain the battery like that.

 

[mikemhp]

i did a further test on the alternator.... thinking that is what is bad.
disconnected the alt, hooked up the battery, and charging battery again now.
but first time i tested it in that setup, no voltage drop from battery.

the stereo/amp setup looks like it is wired better than the rest of the truck.. never had an issue with any of it, but i will check the remote turn on just in case...

3 amps, 2 crossovers, 1 equalizer, separate power and wiring, 12 speakers, but i have a little experience with car audio, and the setup looks better than i have ever seen before. (truck came with the system, i did not install it, but it looks very professional.)

leaning towards bad alternator now that i disconnected it, and truck started right up with full charge on battery, then died 4 minutes later.

 

[mikemhp]

i did a further test on the alternator.... thinking that is what is bad.
disconnected the alt, hooked up the battery, and charging battery again now.
but first time i tested it in that setup, no voltage drop from battery.

the stereo/amp setup looks like it is wired better than the rest of the truck.. never had an issue with any of it, but i will check the remote turn on just in case...

3 amps, 2 crossovers, 1 equalizer, separate power and wiring, 12 speakers, but i have a little experience with car audio, and the setup looks better than i have ever seen before. (truck came with the system, i did not install it, but it looks very professional.)

leaning towards bad alternator now that i disconnected it, and truck started right up with full charge on battery, then died 4 minutes later.

View attachment 182728 View attachment 182729

 

[mikemhp]

yep... alternator.

battery has been charging 2 hours, reads 11.9v, alt disconnected, started right up with no drain on voltage.
all accessories came on like normal.

plan now is to pull alternator and swap out for new one, FULLY CHARGE the battery, and fingers crossed, problem solved.

dashboard battery light is still on, however............ thinking that is just computer telling me what i already know- that battery is not charging.

 

[mizzouguy]

seems like you are on the right track