'11 Yukon Electrical Issues

[Doubeleive]

I didn't - at the time it was an irritation, and was trying to get the boat ready for an extended trip upriver. Today is when it changed for me... everything going dead with no recovery.

Today I ran across the following thread:

Complete Electrical Shutdown

I've seen posts regarding symptoms such as what I have but have not seen a resolution. I have a 2009 Tahoe 2WD LT. About once a month or less the electricla system seems to go berzerk on me. The locks cycle, the gauges go nuts and the truck will shut down. If I turn the ignition off and then...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

seems like it's more a mfr defect that still hasn't been addressed fully. At any rate, tonight I put a new multi meter across the battery - read 4.8v while connected, 10 volts w/negative cable disconnected. Put a charger on the battery and am hoping in the morning that combined with a thorough cleaning and tightening of all connections might solve my problem... as was mentioned in noted thread above.

Mark

those issue's were bad battery cables, it's a known problem. on a 10 year old vehicle it's kind of hard to blame the manufacture at this point. your current issue at the moment may also be related to bad cables, so bad that it's not even charging the battery properly. anything under 10.5v is a no go, I would test your battery cables, this includes the alternator charging cable and all grounds.

 

[CapnCrunch]

Update, after removing ground from battery (which tested 10.5v after that) and trickle charging all night battery shows 12.6v. Checked leads from battery to starter and to frame with both showing continuity as expected. Cleaned both battery terminals diligently as well as both connectors to battery. Positive side was already pretty clean, negative side was not corroded in any fashion I'm used to seeing, but had a dull sheen. System came back up like nothing ever happened.

I'll update this post with - hopefully - uneventful news in a week or two!

Now on to that bleep bleep bleepin' money pit on the river!!!

Mark

 

[wsteele]

If the battery drains again after you pull the charger off and have it all hooked up (like over night), you likely have a parasitic drain somewhere.

 

[Fless]

Update, after removing ground from battery (which tested 10.5v after that) and trickle charging all night battery shows 12.6v. Checked leads from battery to starter and to frame with both showing continuity as expected. Cleaned both battery terminals diligently as well as both connectors to battery. Positive side was already pretty clean, negative side was not corroded in any fashion I'm used to seeing, but had a dull sheen. System came back up like nothing ever happened.

I'll update this post with - hopefully - uneventful news in a week or two!

Now on to that bleep bleep bleepin' money pit on the river!!!

Mark

A continuity check is not going to tell you if that cable can conduct some serious amperage. Only verifying the voltage at the starter, under load as @Doubeleive noted, will tell you that.

 

[Doubeleive]

Yep load test or just go ahead and replace the cables, hell even my 2018 had a fried starter cable already it worked but you could see it was visibly cooked pretty good all the insulation was black and burnt off. new one looked much better and had more insulation on it. while you are at it test the alternator output, when you first start the vehicle it should be putting out a solid 13v+, maybe even 14v for the first minute or two (at the battery), after that the RVC may reduce it to 12v depending on the battery temperature.

 

[alpha_omega]

I second everything the guys mentioned above.
Plus, go buy a new battery and while you’re under the hood, check to make sure that all of the fuses and relays are in good shape and fully seated. If it’s been on and off like that, chances are it’s going to $h*+ or already has. Don’t let it take out your alternator or a set of new cables (although that would be less likely if possible without operator error).

Do you leave anything in your vehicle plugged into any of the outlets (usb, cigarette lighter front or rear)?

Have you crawled underneath and cleaned ALL of the grounds? All of them? What about the ones behind the front windshield pillars?

*Bad grounds can cause all of the issues you described, especially if there is a bad battery involved.

Have you checked the brake light switch, the cam sensor and the crank sensor.

*Brake light switch can cause the stabilitrak codes, as well as other strange problems like not wanting to shift out of park, intermittent brake light flashes, and issues with the backup camera/sensors not engaging when they should.

*Bad Cam or Crank sensors can cause a myriad of issues ranging from the vehicle not turning over like it should, driving hard, feeling like it’s missing or running hard.


Keep us posted with your updates as it may help someone else out in the future.

 

[tmeauxtay]

I had the same problems, including touching the negative lead to temporarily resolve the issue. Replaced the battery and alternator to no avail. I then changed the battery negative cable, including the battery temperature sensor that regulates charging and that fixed my problems.

 

[2011TXDenali]

Had the same issues in my 11 Denali. Radio would randomly restart while driving, various dash lights would turn on, and there would be times after turning the truck off it would have no power at all, then randomly a few minutes later would be fine.

I replaced the negative battery cable for $50 on Amazon, no issues since (*knock on wood).