Intermittent battery drain while driving

[jose6326]

so i thought my cluster was the issue but i removed it completely and have been driving like this for more than a week


so this issue just recently happened but has also happened about 3 more times in the past 4 months

i wake up,get ready, go out and start up my 03 tahoe and drive to work. about a mile or 2 of driving the engine starts to struggle, radio shuts off and engine dies.
i try to restart it and you can hear the starter relay clicking because of low battery voltage
so i jump the battery, engine starts right up and i drive to work

leaving work engine starts up fine, go home, park and go inside with no driving issues

month later no issues getting to work
one day leaving work same issue , drive about a mile, engine cuts out, battery dies, jumped the battery, starts right up, get home, park tahoe. a month of driving with no issues


i had the battery and alternator checked and all tested fine


any suggestions what to look for or possible fix?

what would cause my battery to drain rapidly while im driving?

 

[Doubeleive]

Sounds like maybe a bad ground if you are sure the battery and alternator are good or a serious short

 

[Scottydoggs]

i second checking all battery cables and grounds.

if possible, check the battery's voltage when the truck dies, if its got 12 volts still its a bad cable or bad ground most likely.

cluster volt gauge wont read right either if you got bad ground or cables. you know, cause the trucks not getting the power.

 

[iamdub]

Sounds like an intermittently loose connection to me, like an intermittent open or short circuit inside the battery or alternator, but more likely inside the battery. It may be related to temperature and/or vibration, which wouldn't be factors when bench testing.

 

[jose6326]

thanks for the help. i will check that this weekend

 

[TaboltB2015]

Id also check the ground wire that comes out of the wire harness back behind the intake. Just had one at work that had issues


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[bladenbullet]

connections...check em all...voltage drop would be the best test under cranking load...

 

[jose6326]

Id also check the ground wire that comes out of the wire harness back behind the intake. Just had one at work that had issues


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are you referring to the ground strap?

 

[TaboltB2015]

are you referring to the ground strap?

No there’s a actual ground wire that comes out of the harness on the passenger side right behind the intake it’s kinda hidden but you should be able to notice it


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[jose6326]

so i checked the connections and all is good.

battery hasnt died for 9 days until today

i was driving to work today and the battery died out a block away from my house
i put the jumper pack on the battery, truck started up but as soon as i removed the jumper the engine died out.
tried this a couple of times until the jumper had no more juice

i figured this time it was a defective battery
so i walked home to get some tools to remove the battery and to charge my jumper pack
i walked back to my truck and put the jumper back on the battery so i can raise my window and i tried to start the engine and it fired right up but the check engine light came on. pulled the jumper off and the engine stayed running
i drove to work with no issues other than the CEL on.

so i pulled the code since i have a basic actron scanner and it came up as P1516 "no DTC defined see service manual"

i googled the code and it is "Throttle actuator control module Throttle actuator position performance"

normally with this code you get a "reduced engine power" message on the cluster info center which i never seen

i think the reason this code was stored because when i had the jumper pack on i was pressing on the throttle(gas) pedal trying to keep the engine running when the battery was dying

i did clear the code to see if comes back but it has not

 

[jose6326]

.

 

[Doubeleive]

well if the battery is holding a charge my first suspect would be the alternator and the first thing I would just replace
battery's are normally pretty stable either they hold a charge or they don't or they get weak and drain faster they don't normally just die and then work again
alternators on the other hand are a different beast

 

[jose6326]

the alternator is charging the battery, i tested it

 

[adriver]

Not to be a dick, but I'm still thinking you have a loose connection somewhere. What work if any was done to it recently.. By recently I mean the last 6 months and several thousand miles.

 

[jose6326]

Not to be a dick, but I'm still thinking you have a loose connection somewhere. What work if any was done to it recently.. By recently I mean the last 6 months and several thousand miles.

lol. all suggestions are welcomed

only thing i have done was an oil change and rear brakes

last year i changed the leds on the cluster and were working fine until the beginning of this year they started to flicker and the gauges would work fine then they would stop working. even if i shut off the engine and pulled out the key from the ignition the gauges would go crazy

i just changed all of the gauges and they seem to be working fine now and i removed the leds

 

[adriver]

on 99-02, they should just be pull out and put in new ones, 03-06 they should be soldered in. I didn't see what year yours was.. Also just noticed Chicago, just since were throwing stuff out there, corrosion on a battery terminal or main ground would cause this.

 

[bladenbullet]

connection...connection...connection...if the alternator is charging you can take the battery out of the equation and the engine will continue running...not recommended...but true...youve got an intermittent connection somewhere or a module that is playing hide and go seek with you...or an ignition switch flipping you the bird...

does the vehicle lose elctrical power to the gauges or accessories when it wont start?

next time it wont start have someone get in the vehicle and turn the key while you wiggle every conductor under the hood...

 

[Doubeleive]

the alternator is charging the battery, i tested it

the alternator is charging the battery, i tested it

Doesn't mean it is working all the time, pretty obvious if the battery is going dead yet charges up and works fine

 

[Doubeleive]

I would just do a process of elimination, start with replacing the alternator, if a rebuilt one is not affordable then you can find used ones at a junk yard very reasonable or even online. your information center/dic never says anything?

 

[jose6326]

thanks for feedback

i will replace the alternator and check connections this weekend


2003 chevy tahoe