Dead battery, car turning off while driving........

[Shtiv]

Hi guys and gals,
I bought a 2002 Yukon Denali about 4 months ago with 200k miles on it, in those four months I have had some issues with a dead battery, the car turning off while driving it (complete loss of power and electrical, everything dead), and random getting in and the clocks have been reset. With today's issues, I had not only a dead battery but once I got a jump the speedometer was maxed out and wasn't working, brake and abs light would come on and go off and had slightly rough idle with headlights dimming. Kind of weird that it runs fine then a random dead battery randomly every month or so. Wondering if anyone has any ideas or things to check? Thanks!

 

[Doubeleive]

Alternator and battery cables

 

[OR VietVet]

Like @Doubeleive said and read thru this link: https://www.fixmyoldride.com/Chevro...e7e5cd24ed24635&at_ab=per-2&at_pos=3&at_tot=4

 

[bigdog9191999]

i agree with them, the alt should have enough to power the truck by itself, but if it isn't putting out the correct power or the cables are not letting the power get to where it needs to be then you can have issues.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Also have the battery checked. Might have a bad cell(s).

 

[Ventura139]

Hi guys and gals,
I bought a 2002 Yukon Denali about 4 months ago with 200k miles on it, in those four months I have had some issues with a dead battery, the car turning off while driving it (complete loss of power and electrical, everything dead), and random getting in and the clocks have been reset. With today's issues, I had not only a dead battery but once I got a jump the speedometer was maxed out and wasn't working, brake and abs light would come on and go off and had slightly rough idle with headlights dimming. Kind of weird that it runs fine then a random dead battery randomly every month or so. Wondering if anyone has any ideas or things to check? Thanks!

Hey did you ever figure out what was causing this issue? My truck will do this randomly from time to time. Sometimes when I back out my driveway and turn the wheel all the way to one side and when I have a load on like the ac my voltage will fluctuate when I’m at idle.

 

[OR VietVet]

Hey did you ever figure out what was causing this issue? My truck will do this randomly from time to time. Sometimes when I back out my driveway and turn the wheel all the way to one side and when I have a load on like the ac my voltage will fluctuate when I’m at idle.

You need to crawl all around that vehicle and check all grounds. Just tight does not mean ok. Remove and make sure all is clean and free of corrosion. Check entire lengths of battery cables for clean, tight and corrosion. How old is battery and alternator output.

 

[Ventura139]

You need to crawl all around that vehicle and check all grounds. Just tight does not mean ok. Remove and make sure all is clean and free of corrosion. Check entire lengths of battery cables for clean, tight and corrosion. How old is battery and alternator output.

My main car battery is going on 5 years from production date. Red top optima. Maybe 3 years for the 250 alternator. I have a system so there is another 250 alt going directly to that lithium battery. No issues with that one. I am thinking about replacing the res top and when I do I’ll be replacing those cables for it. All other cables were replaced when I ran the new lithium in the back

 

[MassHoe04]

+1 on grounds... Remove bolts, wire brush bolts and ground connectors, wire brush/sand ground spot on frame to get down to clean steel. After it is bolted back together, paint, clear coat or spray something to protect the area from corrosion. Cheap enough to replace bolts and washers with new, if you don't feel like scrubbing the olde ones clean.

I pulled an old Red Top out when I bought my 04 and swapped for the 14 month old Red Top I had in my Jeep. The old one had a 2009 date stamp! It was a little tired, but was still cranking the engine over after 12 years. If I get 6 out of the new one, that is good enough for me!