Chooko
Full Access Member
All,
I am having two problems with my '10 Tahoe, and am hoping that someone smarter than I am will tell me that they are related.
The vehicle is a stock 2010 Tahoe LT with the 5.3, and about 210,000 on it. It has been sitting since early February because I have been in Afghanistan. When I left it was running great and I was driving it every day. My trip was supposed to be much shorter, but COVID made it difficult to get home and it ended up being 5 months.
When I got back the battery was dead, dead, DEAD. After leaving it overnight on a trickle charger I got it to where it will (barely) start the car. I was hoping that if I drove it the charge coming from the alternator would wake the battery back up, so I took it for a drive yesterday. At first all was well, but about 10 minutes into the drive I noticed the oil pressure very slowly dropping. By the time I got it home I was only showing 5-10 PSI. Once the Tahoe was in my driveway I turned it off and then immediately turned it back on and had 20PSI at idle.
I figured maybe the sender was unhappy about siting for so long, so I changed it out this morning. I also put some Seafoam in the oil. I took it for another drive and had the same oil pressure issue. And again, as soon as I was home I shut the car off and then immediately started it again, and again, 20 PSI at idle, approaching 40 at 3000 RPM in neutral on the driveway. This is instant, I turn the key off and then start the car again immediately without ever releasing the key from my hand.
As I was sitting pondering this with the engine off but the key on and the radio on I got a "Low Battery, Start Vehicle" or something similar on the DIC after the car was off for less than a minute. If I start the car and run it I see 14.5-15 volts on the gauge, but as soon as I turn the car off I get no more than 12V across the terminals on my multi-meter, and I can literally watch the voltage on the in-dash gauge drop if the engine is not running. So clearly this battery is toast.
In researching this, I have come across other brand vehicles where people report gauge issues, and specifically in some cases Oil Pressure issues with a very weak battery, but so far none that I have found are GM vehicles.
The oil level is right in the middle of the hashed part of the dipstick, I am running Moibile 1 Synthetic, with their filter as well. I also changed the small filter under the sender about a year and a half ago.
So, what say you all? Has anyone ever heard of a weak battery causing indication issues in a Tahoe? If not, any other ideas about the oil pressure issue? I don't really want to spend the money on a new battery if, for example, the oil pump is bad, but I doubt that is the case since it recovers immediately upon being restarted. Any Ideas?
Joe
I am having two problems with my '10 Tahoe, and am hoping that someone smarter than I am will tell me that they are related.
The vehicle is a stock 2010 Tahoe LT with the 5.3, and about 210,000 on it. It has been sitting since early February because I have been in Afghanistan. When I left it was running great and I was driving it every day. My trip was supposed to be much shorter, but COVID made it difficult to get home and it ended up being 5 months.
When I got back the battery was dead, dead, DEAD. After leaving it overnight on a trickle charger I got it to where it will (barely) start the car. I was hoping that if I drove it the charge coming from the alternator would wake the battery back up, so I took it for a drive yesterday. At first all was well, but about 10 minutes into the drive I noticed the oil pressure very slowly dropping. By the time I got it home I was only showing 5-10 PSI. Once the Tahoe was in my driveway I turned it off and then immediately turned it back on and had 20PSI at idle.
I figured maybe the sender was unhappy about siting for so long, so I changed it out this morning. I also put some Seafoam in the oil. I took it for another drive and had the same oil pressure issue. And again, as soon as I was home I shut the car off and then immediately started it again, and again, 20 PSI at idle, approaching 40 at 3000 RPM in neutral on the driveway. This is instant, I turn the key off and then start the car again immediately without ever releasing the key from my hand.
As I was sitting pondering this with the engine off but the key on and the radio on I got a "Low Battery, Start Vehicle" or something similar on the DIC after the car was off for less than a minute. If I start the car and run it I see 14.5-15 volts on the gauge, but as soon as I turn the car off I get no more than 12V across the terminals on my multi-meter, and I can literally watch the voltage on the in-dash gauge drop if the engine is not running. So clearly this battery is toast.
In researching this, I have come across other brand vehicles where people report gauge issues, and specifically in some cases Oil Pressure issues with a very weak battery, but so far none that I have found are GM vehicles.
The oil level is right in the middle of the hashed part of the dipstick, I am running Moibile 1 Synthetic, with their filter as well. I also changed the small filter under the sender about a year and a half ago.
So, what say you all? Has anyone ever heard of a weak battery causing indication issues in a Tahoe? If not, any other ideas about the oil pressure issue? I don't really want to spend the money on a new battery if, for example, the oil pump is bad, but I doubt that is the case since it recovers immediately upon being restarted. Any Ideas?
Joe