Rocket Man's 02 Denali Build Thread AKA "THE BEAST"

[RAMurphy]

Well that truly sucks. But, like already stated, atleast you got his information.

 

[Geotrash]

Been awhile since I updated. There’s a couple issues right now. First, the clear coat on the hood is peeling. My body snd paint guy said it’s at its end of life after 6 1/2 years because he can’t buy as good of products as the factory so it doesn’t last as long. I feel like that’s a bunch of shit but what do I know. Anyway, I’ve been looking fir an HD hood to buy snd modify for the headlights but can’t find one. New aftermarket ones are out of stock around here, OEM are no longer available and used ones are real hard to find. I might just have him repaint them cowl hood, not decided yet.

The second issue happened tonight when I came out from Oreilly and it wouldn’t turn over- the starter solenoid isn’t even clicking. Battery appears good, crank fuse is good, starter relay isn’t the problem. The headlights don’t dim when I try to crank it.

And as I was waiting for a tow from AAA which ended up taking 2 1/2 hours for them to show, some dude in a Durango backed into me and drove off, but I ran and caught him before he could exit the parking lot and got his ID and insurance info. It’s not much but it’s definitely scraped. What a night.

That sucks man. I don't understand people. Plus, the consequences of leaving the scene coupled with all of the video cameras around everywhere, I'm surprised anyone still tries to get away with it.

Did you figure out the starter situation?

Also, that reminds me of this:

 

[Rocket Man]

I still can’t get Tis2web to run. I read in the help section that the new installer won’t work for a 32 bit OS which this pos is and you’re supposed to use the old one however when I click on the button to start the SPS system it downloads something which must be the installer and it does nothing. I’ll wait until the new laptop gets here which is 64 bit.

So I decided to see wtf is up with the door chime since I installed the new ignition switch. Which on the 00-02 is a complete harness, unlike the 03-06 where you can just swap out the switch itself. Anyway, the key in ignition chime was on anytime the driver door was open, key out or in the ignition. I pulled the new switch/harness out and everything looked the same so I reinstalled the old one and it works normal. I’m sending the new one back to RA. That didn’t change anything as far as any of the problems went anyway. I still had the power cut out a couple times when moving the shift lever. So I’m back to square one there. I’ll drop the column and inspect more. It’s hot right now and I’m frustrated so I’m not doing anything else today.

Ok, I was able to start the truck by jumping the starter relay. The starter itself is fine so I checked that off the list. These build threads are so useful. I remembered something about changing out the ignition switch a year or two ago but didn’t remember why so I went to my RA account and found the order, and saw that I returned it. So I took that date, 6/30/21, and went back in this thread to around that time and that helped me remember my issue was not with starting, it was with the chime. And since the harness didn’t fix it, I sent it back. So I believe the switch that’s in it now is the original. And at 170k it’s a likely culprit. I guess I should have left the new one in it in ‘21 who knows. I’ll see if I can troubleshoot further but in all honesty, I’m ordering an ignition switch again. I want to get it on its way and if it doesn’t fix it, I’ll consider it as preventive maintenance and move on.

 

[Rocket Man]

I guess I can put the starter rebuild kit away again. Not that I was looking forward to using it. The video does look fairly straightforward but the starter itself is a bit*h to get to with the headers.

 

[Tonyv__]

Ok, I was able to start the truck by jumping the starter relay. The starter itself is fine so I checked that off the list. These build threads are so useful. I remembered something about changing out the ignition switch a year or two ago but didn’t remember why so I went to my RA account and found the order, and saw that I returned it. So I took that date, 6/30/21, and went back in this thread to around that time and that helped me remember my issue was not with starting, it was with the chime. And since the harness didn’t fix it, I sent it back. So I believe the switch that’s in it now is the original. And at 170k it’s a likely culprit. I guess I should have left the new one in it in ‘21 who knows. I’ll see if I can troubleshoot further but in all honesty, I’m ordering an ignition switch again. I want to get it on its way and if it doesn’t fix it, I’ll consider it as preventive maintenance and move on.

Since you’re on the topic… if you get a new ignition switch, do you have to get a new key or does the switch get keyed to your existing key?

 

[Rocket Man]

And yes I realize if I’d known that trick about jumping the starter relay with a paper clip last night, I wouldn’t have sat for 2 1/2 hours waiting for a tow. I was trying to look at YouTube videos on my phone but I was having issues, all I could see on most of them were ads that covered the entire screen.I got frustrated with that shit and went back to playing games lol.

 

[Rocket Man]

Since you’re on the topic… if you get a new ignition switch, do you have to get a new key or does the switch get keyed to your existing key?

That’s the lock cylinder, the switch is the electrical part which on an 02 is a big harness. They changed that in 03 to just the ignition switch part of that harness. The lock cylinder turns the switch.

 

[Tonyv__]

That’s the lock cylinder, the switch is the electrical part which on an 02 is a big harness. They changed that in 03 to just the ignition switch part of that harness. The lock cylinder turns the switch.

Gotcha. I just assumed it was all one assembly. My keys sticking lately so that’s why I asked.

 

[Rocket Man]

Gotcha. I just assumed it was all one assembly. My keys sticking lately so that’s why I asked.

You can take your old and new lock cylinders to a locksmith and have them set the tumblers on the new one to match the old one so you can use the original key and then you don’t need separate keys for the doors and ignition. That’s what I did when someone tried to steal it and jimmied the ignition.

 

[George B]

Gotcha. I just assumed it was all one assembly. My keys sticking lately so that’s why I asked.

You can take your old and new lock cylinders to a locksmith and have them set the tumblers on the new one to match the old one so you can use the original key and then you don’t need separate keys for the doors and ignition. That’s what I did when someone tried to steal it and jimmied the ignition.

It’s easy to setup a lock cylinder if you get a set of tumblers with it.