Power loss

[OR VietVet]

Cleaning it with degreaser or hitting it lightly with sandpaper to make a better connection?

A lot of times, just the friction of unplugging and plugging back in, multiple times, is enough to clean the connections. It would not hurt to use some electrical cleaner while apart. Also, inspect the connectors and pins for anything that does not look right or misaligned. That is what @iamdub was referring to.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

@Doubeleive @OR VietVet @Tonyrodz @iamdub @swathdiver @B-train

Thanks guys. I really appreciate your quick and thoughtful responses to the OP's issue. Just another reason why this Forum ROCKS!

 

[B-train]

Sorry, late to the party here. Currently on vacation in the DR.

Being that you have electric steering as mentioned by @swathdiver and others that have chimed in about grounds etc. I will agree with all thus far. Interesting that you experienced more issues AFTER some cleaning and torquing. Do you live in the rust belt? What is the overall rust condition of the vehicle. How many miles? (If I missed that I'm sorry)

Here's my suggestions:

1. It acts up over bumps or in turns (correct?) Which way turning- L or R? Or both?
2. I feel that you either have a bad/corroded ground, or a power source that is grounding itself with body flex/roll/movement.
3. Have you load tested the battery with both cables removed?
4. When cleaning cables that appear to have corrosion, you need an acid cleaner to dissolve the corrosion in my book. It will change colors if corrosion is present and it will help lead you to potential problems under the sheathing.
5. I would start at the battery and check the connections for corrosion and tightness. Look at connectors that power heavy loads (ie: electric PS). As @OR VietVet stated, sometimes the act of removing and reinserting the connector pins will help solve an issue.
6. Don't make TONS of big changes at once. Try some and document. This will help narrow down where you need to ultimately focus when you find an improvement by testing/inspecting.
7. My last suggestion would be to pull up the master fuse box and just give it a once over to see if fuses are seated/tight. Look for corrosion or arcing. You could also disconnect the battery and then re-seat the large connectors.

I hope this helps. Electric gremlins are the worst.....

 

[OR VietVet]

This test is a recommendation by a member of another forum I belong to for my girl's 2002 TrailBlazer. Very informative about doing a "pin drag test" on the individual terminals in the fuse/relay box:

"A pin drag test involves using either a tool made for the purpose or some other item that is the same profile (thickness, width, and sufficient length to insert) as the relay or fuse etc. whose socket your are testing.


The idea is to insert the tool into ONE terminal socket at a time and use your feel for assessing that there is sufficient drag to indicate the socket has not worn or been damaged to the point it no longer is making reliable electrical and mechanical connection to the inserted fuse or relay. Easier to tell when isolating each individual terminal socket."

 

[jerwilso]

Sorry, late to the party here. Currently on vacation in the DR.

Being that you have electric steering as mentioned by @swathdiver and others that have chimed in about grounds etc. I will agree with all thus far. Interesting that you experienced more issues AFTER some cleaning and torquing. Do you live in the rust belt? What is the overall rust condition of the vehicle. How many miles? (If I missed that I'm sorry)

Here's my suggestions:

1. It acts up over bumps or in turns (correct?) Which way turning- L or R? Or both?
2. I feel that you either have a bad/corroded ground, or a power source that is grounding itself with body flex/roll/movement.
3. Have you load tested the battery with both cables removed?
4. When cleaning cables that appear to have corrosion, you need an acid cleaner to dissolve the corrosion in my book. It will change colors if corrosion is present and it will help lead you to potential problems under the sheathing.
5. I would start at the battery and check the connections for corrosion and tightness. Look at connectors that power heavy loads (ie: electric PS). As @OR VietVet stated, sometimes the act of removing and reinserting the connector pins will help solve an issue.
6. Don't make TONS of big changes at once. Try some and document. This will help narrow down where you need to ultimately focus when you find an improvement by testing/inspecting.
7. My last suggestion would be to pull up the master fuse box and just give it a once over to see if fuses are seated/tight. Look for corrosion or arcing. You could also disconnect the battery and then re-seat the large connectors.

I hope this helps. Electric gremlins are the worst.....

I live in Jacksonville fl. I have 99567 miles on it. I've been documenting changes after every attempt. It's weird that once I seem to fix 1 issue it causes another.
1. It doesn't overcorrect anymore when turning. Nor does it goes off when hitting bumps.
2. I was told that it could be the grounding with body movement. But where would I place the new ground.
What's happening as of 8am today is electronic cluster shutting off at random times, engine stall lights goes off also. When these things goes off there is a power surge then brief power loss.
I'm taking it to a mechanic after work because I cannot drive it like this. I hope they will do more than hook it up to the coder reader like the other dealers did.
Thank you guys for all of the help.

 

[OR VietVet]

I live in Jacksonville fl. I have 99567 miles on it. I've been documenting changes after every attempt. It's weird that once I seem to fix 1 issue it causes another.
1. It doesn't overcorrect anymore when turning. Nor does it goes off when hitting bumps.
2. I was told that it could be the grounding with body movement. But where would I place the new ground.
What's happening as of 8am today is electronic cluster shutting off at random times, engine stall lights goes off also. When these things goes off there is a power surge then brief power loss.
I'm taking it to a mechanic after work because I cannot drive it like this. I hope they will do more than hook it up to the coder reader like the other dealers did.
Thank you guys for all of the help.

Be prepared to hear from the mechanic/technician, they will still look for codes and should look for current and history codes. If they just have a little hand held code reader, they likely cannot check history codes but it may be able to.

Also, be aware that there will likely be a set charge for an initial search for the problem and will be a minimum fee. After that there will likely be "by the hour" charges. Sometimes the repair is done at the same time as the diagnostics, simply by process of elimination. You will be likely told that there is no guarantee of repair or finding the problem and will still have a charge for their time. As an "at home" tech myself, this is how I handle the same situation.

Hopefully he/she has a software program that can do a search of your list of problems and will come up with other pattern failures, like how TSB's are created.

 

[jerwilso]

Be prepared to hear from the mechanic/technician, they will still look for codes and should look for current and history codes. If they just have a little hand held code reader, they likely cannot check history codes but it may be able to.

Also, be aware that there will likely be a set charge for an initial search for the problem and will be a minimum fee. After that there will likely be "by the hour" charges. Sometimes the repair is done at the same time as the diagnostics, simply by process of elimination. You will be likely told that there is no guarantee of repair or finding the problem and will still have a charge for their time. As an "at home" tech myself, this is how I handle the same situation.

Hopefully he/she has a software program that can do a search of your list of problems and will come up with other pattern failures, like how TSB's are created.

Funny / Not funny. But I've Bern to 2 different places. 1st was the cadillac dealer they found nothing cost $200. Then went to an auto shop that specializes in auto electronics they found nothing. Funny thing was as soon as I left each of these places my car showed all the symptoms that I described to them. I'm at a loss. I will take it to another place today. Not Funny, throwing money at people for doing nothing

 

[OR VietVet]

Funny / Not funny. But I've Bern to 2 different places. 1st was the cadillac dealer they found nothing cost $200. Then went to an auto shop that specializes in auto electronics they found nothing. Funny thing was as soon as I left each of these places my car showed all the symptoms that I described to them. I'm at a loss. I will take it to another place today. Not Funny, throwing money at people for doing nothing

Incorrect, they are doing something, just not what corrects the problem or the truck does not mess up in front of them or when test equipment is attached. That is the problem with intermittent concerns, they are erratic as to when they show up and for how long. This is exactly why I ask so many questions when I take on something like this. If the problem only "happens on a third Sunday, between 10 and 2 o'clock, when turning left over railroad tracks and is raining", I want to know that. That is why, when I personally get a call about any problem that a customer wants me to look at, I tell them that before they bring it in and they will be driving again before get here, "write down what you remember about the problem and whatever happens in any driving before dropping off here". I don't want them to forget something while in front of me asking them questions.

Because of your statement, if I was a tech and knew you said that, I would be hesitant to take the job on. You are on the 1st step of bad mouthing a tech that you had previous history with, simply because the problem was not found.

 

[Doubeleive]

Funny / Not funny. But I've Bern to 2 different places. 1st was the cadillac dealer they found nothing cost $200. Then went to an auto shop that specializes in auto electronics they found nothing. Funny thing was as soon as I left each of these places my car showed all the symptoms that I described to them. I'm at a loss. I will take it to another place today. Not Funny, throwing money at people for doing nothing

not trying to send you down a rabbit hole.. but I had a "similar" inexplicable problem on my 18
symptoms were: cluster would shut off & on random, radio would shut off & random, service brake control, service xxxxx would pop up in the DIC
truck ran fine otherwise.
after litteraly trying everything including the dealer replacing the cluster (under waranty)
it turned out my alternator was throwing 850ma voltage spikes (only visible with a oscilliscope) this made the bcm think that the ignition was being shut off & on.
took the GM tech 2hours with the scope to find it.
just goes to show you that a tiny bit of voltage/ground can throw these things for a loop

it could be a pinched harness, you could look for the tsb's that are out there related to it they show locations and pictures of what to look for, also there is a tsb out there for the bcm ground which is at the inside bottom left corner of the window at the bottom of the pillar, apparently some have extra "glue" around the ground preventing contact, this was reported on the pickups, but might be worth a look
you have to remove the pillar covers and pull up the front dash cover piece to even look at it.

 

[jerwilso]

Incorrect, they are doing something, just not what corrects the problem or the truck does not mess up in front of them or when test equipment is attached. That is the problem with intermittent concerns, they are erratic as to when they show up and for how long. This is exactly why I ask so many questions when I take on something like this. If the problem only "happens on a third Sunday, between 10 and 2 o'clock, when turning left over railroad tracks and is raining", I want to know that. That is why, when I personally get a call about any problem that a customer wants me to look at, I tell them that before they bring it in and they will be driving again before get here, "write down what you remember about the problem and whatever happens in any driving before dropping off here". I don't want them to forget something while in front of me asking them questions.

Because of your statement, if I was a tech and knew you said that, I would be hesitant to take the job on. You are on the 1st step of bad mouthing a tech that you had previous history with, simply because the problem was not found.

Would never bad mouth a tech. I am very thorough and clear when speaking with them. The level of frustration is high for me in this matter. I keep notes on what I say and results of what happens as a result.
I'm here to get input and so far I've been getting a lot of great information from people who have nothing to gain from helping. Which I hold in the highest regard.
Thank you for your input it's valued amd duly noted