'03 Tahoe Ground locations?

[SouthPawCO]

Hello,

Recently purchased a 2003 Tahoe with 134K on it and it has some electrical issues. For one, the cluster goes in out like they all do so I had it rebuilt. If I hit a bump in the road hard enough, all the indicators show zero, ABS light turns on, service 4WD light turns on, unknown driver light, etc all come on. If I hit the dash on the right side, all the gauges start working again minus the coolant temp gauge (I think is off) and sometimes the ABS light will still stay on. The company that rebuilt my cluster has agreed to swap it with another one to see if that fixes it since the one currently in it is a reman.

Additionally, when I hit a hard bump, the radio will play a buzzing noise that goes up with the RPM's. It does have an aftermarket deck in it which was there when I bought it. This has lead me to believe I have a bad body ground or the like somewhere. I thought I read somewhere there are some grounds on the frame underneath the drivers side frame somewhere? Has anyone had these symptoms before and found a fix?

 

[Doubeleive]

the cluster's themselves are known to be a issue with loose solder inside I would go ahead and exchange it, radio could be picking up feedback from the cluster (maybe), your main grounds are in the engine compartment

 

[Tahoe14]

Welcome and good luck getting this fixed.

 

[SouthPawCO]

So the cluster really started acting up the last week so I swapped it. So far so good but the RPM needle keeps dipping to zero and then coming back to life if I tape on it. There are some strange wires running behind it which I suspect might be part of the issue.

Anyone still know where the grounds are? I would like to check and clean them and the airbag light is on if that helps any.

 

[ivin74]

One ground is on the drivers head facing the windshield.
Two grounds on the driver side block one behind the motor mount and one in front of the mount.
One ground on the passenger side block by the starter.
One ground on the front frame rail where the bumper hooks up. Driver side just in front of the radiator

There maybe more but those are the ones I know of, good luck

 

[stickM]

I have an intermittent buzz (sounds like from right rear speaker) in my '03s stock radio that can be corrected by hitting the center console area with the palm of my hand. What is located there that may be causing this?

 

[HiHoeSilver]

I have an intermittent buzz (sounds like from right rear speaker) in my '03s stock radio that can be corrected by hitting the center console area with the palm of my hand. What is located there that may be causing this?

Your amp and /or sub may be under there.

 

[SouthPawCO]

So I had the cluster swapped yet again with a well known good cluster and same issue. I was talking to the mechanic that recently worked on it and he suggested removing it again and checking the pins in the plug to see if they are loose. I now know it is not the cluster itself but another issue. Does any of this sound like a possible BCM issue? As stated, with this new cluster, I can tap on the top of it and it comes back to life which leads me to believe it is something near there. There is also some strange wires behind it which I don't know where they go.

 

[Doubeleive]

So I had the cluster swapped yet again with a well known good cluster and same issue. I was talking to the mechanic that recently worked on it and he suggested removing it again and checking the pins in the plug to see if they are loose. I now know it is not the cluster itself but another issue. Does any of this sound like a possible BCM issue? As stated, with this new cluster, I can tap on the top of it and it comes back to life which leads me to believe it is something near there. There is also some strange wires behind it which I don't know where they go.

pictures of these wires? are they tapped into the cluster harness?

 

[SouthPawCO]

I will snap someone when I get it pulled later this week. If I remember right, they appear to be running behind the deck for the stereo all the way to kick panel on the driver side.

 

[DirtyStatus]

I’ve been investigating electrical issues of my own. I’m having issues with cruise control not working, and my power windows and locks in the passenger and rear doors.
BCM ground is located on underneath the drivers door towards the engine compartment. Also, if you look at some YouTube videos there is a small ground wire behind the motor that can cause all sorts of electrical issues. If you need any more info, I’d be happy to get that to you.

 

[SouthPawCO]

Ok so I still haven’t pulled it apart due to a busy week but for some reason, everything to me is pointing to the BCM/ECM. Recently when the cluster dies, it resets all my trip meters to zero but the odometer stays correct. This leads me to believe whatever is sending the information to the cluster is causing the problem since the mileage resets. On the first rebuilt one, the trip meter always stayed accurate.

 

[SouthPawCO]

I took a video this morning of the cluster to show an example of what it is doing. To me, it is pointing to the BCM but I do not know for sure. When I push the fog light button, all the needles bounce back up and read accurately. At the same time, when I push my fog lights, I can hear something in the back move like the rear door actuator or wiper motor. Anyways, here is the video:

 

[Tonyrodz]

So weird. Electrical issues suck. It's like trying to find a leak in your roof. Good luck with it.

 

[SouthPawCO]

So weird. Electrical issues suck. It's like trying to find a leak in your roof. Good luck with it.

That gave me a good chuckle as it is a good reference. Well I reached out to my cousin who I forgot worked for GM as mechanic for 9 years. After seeing the video, he suggested ignition switch. I am going to try it tonight and update the results!

 

[SouthPawCO]

Did not work, back to the drawing board.

 

[SouthPawCO]

So I think I have it narrowed down. I took some time last Friday to pull it apart again. I did the old trick of shaking wires and moving this around to see if I could get it to act up. Low and behold, there were two wires on the plug that felt loose. According to this diagram, the two that felt the most loose was B11 -B12 (power and ground). We snugged them up as best as we could and plugged it all back in and it worked! Well driving it around all weekend, it was all fine and everything seemed to be working correctly (except the fuel gauge which I think is off and needs re calibrated). Well yesterday, it started acting up again so I hav a feeling that the pin is working it self loose again.

Can just single pins be replaced or is there a replacement plug available? I know NAPA sells the pins by themselves but I want to make sure I get the right ones. It appears the 24 pin radio connector looks identical but I have only found one place that sells them.

 

[TahoeSquirrel]

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I’ve been investigating electrical issues of my own. I’m having issues with cruise control not working, and my power windows and locks in the passenger and rear doors.
BCM ground is located on underneath the drivers door towards the engine compartment. Also, if you look at some YouTube videos there is a small ground wire behind the motor that can cause all sorts of electrical issues. If you need any more info, I’d be happy to get that to you.

 

[TahoeSquirrel]

I have a 2003 Tahoe LT 5.3 and when I punch the gas or hit a bump my ABS, Battery light come on an my locks and radio stops working

 

[S33k3r]

Sounds like you have a loose wire. Did you make any changes to your Tahoe before this started happening, or did it just start happening?