Odd behavior, possibly due to damaged battery?

[DontTaseMeBro]

Noticed the other night that my headlights flickered about 3-4x while I was driving home. When I got home, my driver side running board didn’t deploy, passenger side did. I’m starting to wonder if this is because the battery has died twice in the vehicle. Both times I had to remove it and take it to O’Reilly for a recharge. Last time, it was down to like 5v. Reason battery died was because I was doing some work in the back and had to unplug the 3rd row power folding button which at the time, I had no idea would drain the battery.

Anyways, I’m wondering if this strange behavior is due to the battery sustaining damage? Or are the electrical systems confused and need a reset?

 

[Fless]

Seems like you might want to get the battery tested.

 

[DontTaseMeBro]

Seems like you might want to get the battery tested.

I took it to Oreilly and I assumed that they test the battery before attempting to charge it. Are you saying that they didn’t test it? Also, I just checked the battery voltage with the vehicle off and it’s currently at 12.34v.

 

[Fless]

Well, I don't really know if they do that or just charge it. They can load test it and should give you a printout of the capacity.

 

[DontTaseMeBro]

Well, I don't really know if they do that or just charge it. They can load test it and should give you a printout of the capacity.

I see. Wouldn’t hurt to bring it back and have them do a legit test. Thanks.

 

[GMCnewbee]

There is another thread here under Engine/Drivetrain that mentions battery draw from the 3rd row seating Latch? sensor? whatever. That thread mentions other possible battery draws as well. Check it out.

 

[DontTaseMeBro]

There is another thread here under Engine/Drivetrain that mentions battery draw from the 3rd row seating Latch? sensor? whatever. That thread mentions other possible battery draws as well. Check it out.

Very well aware of that issue. Coincidentally found out about it after I unintentionally killed my battery a few weeks ago. It was my fault because I was replacing a few interior panels in the back and left the 3rd row buttons unplugged. 2 days went by and the battery was down to 5v. But I got the battery charged up and the cables all plugged in since then.

Anyways, I just did a few tests with my multimeter on the battery and I don't see how it could be the battery. When vehicle is off and I don't have the keys in my pocket voltage is rock solid at 12.6v. If I approach the vehicle with my key, the voltage drops to 12.34v(I'm assuming this is normal since some of the electrical components come to life via proximity). Then when I fire up the vehicle, turn on the AC and headlights, the voltage climbs to and marginally fluctuates between 14.17-14.20v, nothing too extreme. I assume that this too, is normal behavior cause of the RVC that this vehicle has. So I'm at a loss as to why my headlights flickered 3-4x times the other night when I was driving home. And now the drivers side running board won't deploy, stays in the closed position even though I've opened and closed both front and rear driver doors multiple times. I made sure to lubricate the linkages etc with WD-40 silicon lubricant liberally when it was all working.

One last thing I have tried is to unplug the ground cable from the battery for a few minutes and hit the break pedal, electrical switches a few times. So at this point I'm not sure what else to try. I mean I can take the battery to the parts store and get the load test done to rule out 100% that it's not the battery but could it still be my battery considering the normal voltages across the board? I know current is a whole 'nother animal, but so far I'm not seeing any sort of hint that the battery is struggling. Maybe the alternator? Possibly a ground issue with it? I read somewhere I can unplug the RVC cable and see if the flickering etc goes away? Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated as I am outside of my bumper to bumper warranty. Thanks.

 

[Doubeleive]

flickering headlights is likely a isolated ground issue, unless you get other associated flickering as well, running board is likely just the running board it might need cleaning/lubrication
both are common issue's for gm vehicles for the last 20+ years
if you can find the headlight circuit wiring you can add a ground even temporarily and see if the issue persist's
you could check the headllight fuses clean the legs and swap the relays, that might help also

 

[DontTaseMeBro]

flickering headlights is likely a isolated ground issue, unless you get other associated flickering as well, running board is likely just the running board it might need cleaning/lubrication
both are common issue's for gm vehicles for the last 20+ years
if you can find the headlight circuit wiring you can add a ground even temporarily and see if the issue persist's
you could check the headllight fuses clean the legs and swap the relays, that might help also

I'll check on the fuses here in a minute. I see that earlier model GM vehicles had grounding problems where there is a grounding cable that running directly to the frame from the battery ground. Is that still a possibly with these 2021+ GM vehicles?

 

[Doubeleive]

I'll check on the fuses here in a minute. I see that earlier model GM vehicles had grounding problems where there is a grounding cable that running directly to the frame from the battery ground. Is that still a possibly with these 2021+ GM vehicles?

I wouldn't doubt it.... certainly won't hurt to give it a try