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Weird electrical issues

R

rhowell86

New member
So, this thread is my last ditch effort at trying to get some help with my electrical issues before I lose it and trade the car in. Every mechanic I've taken the car to ends up not finding anything wrong.

So, here's the issue. A lot of electrical items on my car have started malfunctioning or plain stopped working. For instance, my driver side and passenger side rear door locks will not lock/unlock with the switches or by remote. The climate control lights have all went out. Also, my battery does not seem to be getting charged. I get a 'charging system failure' from time to time while I'm driving. So, in the morning, when I'm about to leave for work, sometimes my battery will be completely drained. I just put this battery in 2 months ago and it tested fine recently. I charge the battery with a trickle charger and it starts up most of the time. I haven't taken my alternator off to get it tested. Also, my serpentine belt is a little chipped. I know, I have to get that replaced too.

My thoughts are I have a bad BCM. Before I go to a junk yard and pull a BCM and get it reprogrammed for my car, is there anything else I can check besides doing a parasitic draw test? Is there anyone in Milwaukee who can drop me the name of a decent mechanic who knows their way around these cars? I don't mind not having my car for a week as I use the bus to get to and from work.

You guys are my last shot at this.
 


Electrical issues are sometimes a real pain in the ass to find. It could be something stupid like a loose ground or even a bad component somewhere. I would check for loose or bad grounds connecting to the BCM and fuse boxes.
 
I was searching through ls1tech and I found some people had issues with the battery current sensor on the GXP models. Could this be a likely cause? I'd rather not throw parts at the problem, but right now that seems to be all I can do.
 
why not get the alt tested? if its not charging, theres your dead battery issues.

the door locks. have you tested for power at the lock actuators?

the climate control. lights burn out. solder joints break. try a junk yard unit, see if it lights up.
 
First thing I would do is get the alternator tested. If your battery is not keeping a charge that's a sign that the alternator could be the culprit. Do that first and then go from there.
 
I had batteries plus run a tester on the battery in November and they said the alternator is fine, but that battery was supposedly bad. That battery lasted a good 2 months before it starting showing the same symptoms. I haven't taken the alternator off yet to get it tested because, well, I'm not sure how to with the LS4. I _think_ the tensioner is somewhere by the passenger wheel.
 


theres no need to remove it. take the car to a parts store, they have a battery tester and alt tester. running the battery should read over 13 volts.

car off no less then 12 volts.
 
The DIC usually brings back 14V when I'm driving. The DIC get that number from the BCM which gets it from the battery current sensor right?
 
I had similar issues in my 07... it turned out to be a power ground to the battery.. I replaced it and added another ground to chassis and one from battery negative to engine chassis... haven't had an issue since.

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Robxstone said:
I had similar issues in my 07... it turned out to be a power ground to the battery.. I replaced it and added another ground to chassis and one from battery negative to engine chassis... haven't had an issue since.

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Click to expand...

Sorry but what do you mean when you say "power ground to the battery?" Should I just replace all of the grounds under the hood? Are there any other important grounds that I should check besides battery to chassis?
 


Im sorry lol.. I reread what I wrote... and it didnt make sense.. basically what I did was purchase 2 ground wires from autozone.. they were about 8 gauge with 2 metal rings on each end of the cables... I also purchased a new battery terminal for ground that allows for multiple attachments... ill try to find the link to them in a moment here to show ya... I still used the factory ground wires as well... I cut the factory groubd battery terminal and installed the new one with 4 wires coming off of it... 2 factory wires and the 2 new wires (one going to a engine chassis bolt and the other going to a bolt on the engine near the dog bone... this gave me better starting, smoother shifts, and brighter headlights... my cars dic kept saying system charge failure and once in a while my speedometee and gas gauge would cut out... and my battery voltage meter wouldnt read correctly... it was definitely poor ground because factory ground on the chassic was corroded to ****... so I wire brushed it and added the new grounds..

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Door locks are unreleated to HVAC lighting. HVAC gets it's lighting from the same circuit that feeds all your other gauges and radio etc. Likely..it's either a broken/loose wire at the hvac head unit or the bulbs burned out.

Door locks, I'd pull the boot at the drivers door open and look for wires that were pinched/bent and broken. This is very common.

Draining.. check your battery cables by removing the bolts, then slide the boots off, if they are green..replace both cables. Have the alt tested right on the car by stopping by your parts store. You'll find out if it's bad fairly quick that way.
 
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