Engine quits

[cycho]

May 10: After a four hour drive to our cabin our 2013 Tahoe engine shut off while ten miles back on a dirt road. All dash lights, head lights, etc were still working. But when I tried to restart I got nothing, not even a click. So I got out the portable jump starter battery pack, hooked it to the battery and it started right up with no more issues. However, since the three year battery was four years old I replaced it on the way home. All was well.

Fast forward to Last week (and several other long distance trips): We went grocery shopping which was a 40 minute trip one way. When we got home I backed into the drive way and as soon as I put it park the engine shut off. Again full power to dash, door chime, interior and head lights. But not even a click when trying to restart. After we unloaded the groceries I tried again and it started right up.

There are no idiot/warning lights coming on and the Tahoe has 120k miles with out issue. Maybe something is resetting after five minutes or so?

 

[Geotrash]

May 10: After a four hour drive to our cabin our 2013 Tahoe engine shut off while ten miles back on a dirt road. All dash lights, head lights, etc were still working. But when I tried to restart I got nothing, not even a click. So I got out the portable jump starter battery pack, hooked it to the battery and it started right up with no more issues. However, since the three year battery was four years old I replaced it on the way home. All was well.

Fast forward to Last week (and several other long distance trips): We went grocery shopping which was a 40 minute trip one way. When we got home I backed into the drive way and as soon as I put it park the engine shut off. Again full power to dash, door chime, interior and head lights. But not even a click when trying to restart. After we unloaded the groceries I tried again and it started right up.

There are no idiot/warning lights coming on and the Tahoe has 120k miles with out issue. Maybe something is resetting after five minutes or so?

If electrical power is interrupted even for an instant, the engine will shut down. And it's possible that there is enough electricity flow through the weak connection to run the core electrical system but not the starter. Clean, remove and reseat the ground on the front end of the passenger side cylinder head.

If that doesn't solve it permanently, look closely at the starter itself for any corrosion damage and trace the wires from the battery to their next termination points, be it the mega fuse or the ground points. The battery cables on these trucks are known for corroding from the inside out. They can look fine from the outside but no longer be able to carry heavy currents.

My bet is that there is a loose battery cable connection/bad ground/internally damaged cable that's getting triggered on a dirt road or with the jolts that come from backing into a driveway.

 

[Doubeleive]

Might be time to replace the battery cables and/or check grounds
these cables can corrode from the inside and corrosion or other build up could be hidden
if you are having no other issue's then it is most likely power related
to clarify further, you could be getting 12v to everything but not enough amperage to kick the starter over
It still could be something else entirely but checking the cables and grounds is always the 1st thing to check

 

[Dustin Jackson]

Next time it happens, take you negative battery cable and jerk it around and then try to start it. If it starts we both know what that means.

 

[j91z28d1]

like everyone said, it's probably a cable bad. next time it happens leave the key on, with the headlights on. hop out and move the battery cables around. you'll probably move something and the headlights come back on. that will hopefully narrow it down.