New Here - Just picked up a 2007 Yukon XL Denali

[jonnyj]

So I’ve been having trouble removing the large chunks of tree sap from the hood, roof and windows of the Yukon. I tried isopropyl alcohol, automotive goo gone, pressure washer and just about every automotive tree sap remover I could find. Today I decided to just try the eraser wheel I have. It worked well on the hood!

I have some pics to show you the before and after (I don’t have a true before because I decided to take the pic about halfway through! It was bad before)

going forward I’ll continue to use this thread as a progress update of the work being done on the Yukon.

 

[wsteele]

So I’ve been having trouble removing the large chunks of tree sap from the hood, roof and windows of the Yukon. I tried isopropyl alcohol, automotive goo gone, pressure washer and just about every automotive tree sap remover I could find. Today I decided to just try the eraser wheel I have. It worked well on the hood!

I have some pics to show you the before and after (I don’t have a true before because I decided to take the pic about halfway through! It was bad before)

going forward I’ll continue to use this thread as a progress update of the work being done on the Yukon.


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Well done, great to know!

 

[jonnyj]

Something concerning today. The battery / electrical system voltage reading has up until today stayed at a steady 14.5ish volts. Today while out it was below 14v… I’m assuming potentially a failing alternator ?

 

[TollKeeper]

Possibly? It could just be the PCM controlled voltage controller doing what its supposed to do.

 

[jonnyj]

Possibly? It could just be the PCM controlled voltage controller doing what its supposed to do.

Just read up on it. Hopefully that’s all it is. Thank you!

 

[Rocket Man]

Welcome to the forum from Oregon. Looking forward to progress pics.

 

[jonnyj]

Welcome to the forum from Oregon. Looking forward to progress pics.

Thank you!

 

[wsteele]

Something concerning today. The battery / electrical system voltage reading has up until today stayed at a steady 14.5ish volts. Today while out it was below 14v… I’m assuming potentially a failing alternator ?

Mine fluctuates between 14.5 and a little over 12, depending on where my battery is at with regard to recharge after startup, current draw on that trip, etc. Perfectly normal.

 

[jonnyj]

Mine fluctuates between 14.5 and a little over 12, depending on where my battery is at with regard to recharge after startup, current draw on that trip, etc. Perfectly normal.

Yeah, i read up on that, very interesting. I figure for the last week or two from when i got the vehicle it was never below 14.5 because maybe the battery was a little low perhaps. I've now seen it fluctuate essentially all evening yesterday as I drove it based on what accessories were on, so I'm more confident on it being the PCM.

 

[wsteele]

Yeah, i read up on that, very interesting. I figure for the last week or two from when i got the vehicle it was never below 14.5 because maybe the battery was a little low perhaps. I've now seen it fluctuate essentially all evening yesterday as I drove it based on what accessories were on, so I'm more confident on it being the PCM.

My first battery on my Yukon lasted like 7 years (new OEM from the factory). My second lasted like 5 years (high quality wet cell). My current battery (expensive Napa AGM) was looking like it wasn't going to last even to the free replacement warranty cutoff.

My guess is my use profile had evolved from lots of long distance travel to much more short trips where the power management just wasn't getting my battery fully charged back up to where it needed to be frequently enough to stave off early chemistry deterioration. My normal charge after a number of hours of shutdown was hovering around 12.2-.3v.

My alternator had a whining bearing, so I replaced it. That didn't change how my battery was keeping charge.

I decided to buy one of those fancy CTEK trickle chargers that have built in conditioning and have used it fairly faithfully in recent months and my battery now recovers right at 12.8v after some hours after a shutdown, so it does seem to have stemmed the early deterioration I might have been seeing with my short trip use profile.

Lots of assumptions in the above, some of which may not be accurate, but right now, it seems the battery charger I connect most nights seems to be making a difference in how my battery will hold up, given my short trip use and how GM seems to manage charging in the power hungry trucks.