2012 Yukon Denali

[Spookus]

So I’ve got a 2012 Yukon Denali AWD with 200k miles. When I bought it, it ran and drove perfect. A couple weeks after I bought it, I decided to change the plugs, clean the MAF sensor, change air filter. Ever since then it will randomly freak out. By freak out I mean the gauges will drop to 0 and bounce back up, doors will lock and unlock several times, blind spot lights turn on and off real fast, radio will shut off. If I disconnect the negative battery cable for about 30 seconds of all goes away and starts acting normal.

I’ve cleaned the battery terminals and the negative cable end that attaches to the block and the grounding strap that attaches to the body by the hood strut. Now, only the gauges drop and the blind spot lights go off but not as fast.

It also will randomly turn the stabilitrac and traction control off and the check engine light flashes. I know a flashing check engine light is a misfire. But it goes away just as fast as it started.

Does anyone have any ideas? My thought is going towards the negative battery cable being bad, but I’m need to this chassis and it’s problems.

Thanks,
Lucas

 

[kbuskill]

Moat likely culprits are bad battery cables (corroded internally) or bad/corroded terminals under the fuse block under the hood.

Clean your positive battery cable terminals at the battery and the "****-fuse" and at the fuse box.

 

[Doubeleive]

I would go ahead and change the negative cable, you might want to take a look at the fuse box as well, maybe pull it up and see if any of the pins look corroded. mine was a in a body shop for repairs, they moved the fuse box a little to get the fender off then called me because it wouldn't start, I went down there and sure enough turned the key nothing-no gauges, no lights no nothing, the only thing they had moved was the fuse box, I lifted it off and put it back on, banged on it a couple times and walla gauges and lights returned, still wouldn't start so I messed with it some more, lifted it off/on banged on it a few more times and she started and no issue since.

 

[jyi786]

Battery is going south. Change it. I had the same issues. Solved with new AGM battery.

 

[Spookus]

I cleaned the positive cables at the battery but not at the fuse box. Im hoping that my misfire isn’t a collapsed lifter. I haven’t heard any noise from the valve train. I plan on getting a new negative cable today($100 for a damn cable?!?) I’ll clean the connections under the fuse box

 

[swathdiver]

... gauges will drop to 0 and bounce back up, doors will lock and unlock several times, blind spot lights turn on and off real fast, radio will shut off.

It also will randomly turn the stabilitrac and traction control off and the check engine light flashes. I know a flashing check engine light is a misfire. But it goes away just as fast as it started.

Does anyone have any ideas?

That battery ain't no good Lucas.

 

[Spookus]

That battery ain't no good Lucas.

I’ve never had a problem starting or anything. Would autozone or O’Reillys be able to text it and tell me if it’s bad?

 

[swathdiver]

I’ve never had a problem starting or anything. Would autozone or O’Reillys be able to text it and tell me if it’s bad?

Probably. A bad cell in a battery can cause havoc with the electrical system in these. Don't know how, just seen it on the pages of this forum time and time again. When my daughter accidentally ran our battery down once, it threw all kinds of codes, over twenty in all, you would have thought the whole wagon was needing to be rebuilt! All she needed was a jump and a good long charge the next day.

 

[Spookus]

Probably. A bad cell in a battery can cause havoc with the electrical system in these. Don't know how, just seen it on the pages of this forum time and time again. When my daughter accidentally ran our battery down once, it threw all kinds of codes, over twenty in all, you would have thought the whole wagon was needing to be rebuilt! All she needed was a jump and a good long charge the next day.

I look the battery to Interstate and had it checked. It was reading 12.4v and 715 CCA. It was rated at 720CCA so I don’t think a cell is dead or bad. I cleaned the fuse box connections and I cleaned up all the ground. I wasn’t getting any voltage drop on any of my wiring. I haven’t noticed any of the electronics going crazy in the inside now other then the misfire and all the traction/stabilitrac turning off. I originally thought it was part of the other electrical issues, but now it seems to be more of a separate issues.

The plugs and wires have less than 500miles on them. I have swapped the #7 coil pack of the #5 coil and am still misfiring in #7. I know that is a DOD cylinder, but I have no ticking or slapping coming from the engine. Even when it’s misfiring so I don’t believe it’s a collapsed lifter. Tonight when I get off work I am going to swap the pugs, then wires, then the injector from #7 to #5 one at a time to try and isolate the issues. If the miss doesn’t move then I’ll have no idea what could be causing the issue.

 

[kbuskill]

I look the battery to Interstate and had it checked. It was reading 12.4v and 715 CCA. It was rated at 720CCA so I don’t think a cell is dead or bad. I cleaned the fuse box connections and I cleaned up all the ground. I wasn’t getting any voltage drop on any of my wiring. I haven’t noticed any of the electronics going crazy in the inside now other then the misfire and all the traction/stabilitrac turning off. I originally thought it was part of the other electrical issues, but now it seems to be more of a separate issues.

The plugs and wires have less than 500miles on them. I have swapped the #7 coil pack of the #5 coil and am still misfiring in #7. I know that is a DOD cylinder, but I have no ticking or slapping coming from the engine. Even when it’s misfiring so I don’t believe it’s a collapsed lifter. Tonight when I get off work I am going to swap the pugs, then wires, then the injector from #7 to #5 one at a time to try and isolate the issues. If the miss doesn’t move then I’ll have no idea what could be causing the issue.

Don't worry about the traction/stabilitrac lights.

Those are on because of the misfire.

The traction/stabilitrac systems are designed to reduce the power from the engine to regain traction when it senses a wheel spinning. It does this by reducing the timing, cutting cylinders, etc.

The ECU automatically disables the traction/stabilitrac when there is a misfire to try and alleviate those systems as a potential cause for the misfire.

Once the misfire is resolved those lights will go away.