Intermittent Delayed crank- loss of power

[akbrener]

2008 Tahoe 5.3- Randomly the truck will hesitate to start, turn key and i get a click an no crank or a 1-2 second delay and it will crank over. If it does not crank I will reset key and try again, and usually starts on second try. Biggest indicator that something is up is that the clock will reset to 12:00, like it cuts power to the car.

I thought it was the starter at first, had replaced it 2 years ago and warranty swapped it at Advance auto. still did it again intermittently a few days later. Replaced all positive wires from battery through mega fuse to fuse block as well as the wire from battery to starter. cleaned ALL grounds, and checked battery. All good.

Am I looking at a faulty ingition switch? seems that if i do not pause for a few seconds in the "ON" position it will do the weird delay. There does not seem to be any trend to this issue, have had this happen first thing in the morning on my way to work, at the gas station after being parked for 5 mins, or after a 6 hour work day.

All I hear is a faint click inside the truck when it hesitates, before I replaced the starter I would get an audible POP from under the engine like something overloaded. the starter was bad. hence the warranty replacement.

Again, thinking ignition switch (not the key clyinder, but the electronic box attached). one time i did get a hard reset of the HVAC system before i replaced all the positive wires. maybe missing something else?? Thanks!!

 

[OR VietVet]

How did you "check" battery and what results tell you it is "all Good"? How old is the battery? Let's start with basics first.

Which "ALL grounds" did you clean?

This may be in your future: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1253283&cc=1441040&jsn=2277

Or this: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=887585&cc=1441040&jsn=2284

 

[Joseph Garcia]

As PNW VietVet, suggested, please confirm that your battery is indeed good, which means a performing a test to confirm actual available cranking amps, and not just 12 volts.

If the battery is good, along with all of the connecting wires, including engine block and chassis grounds, then the ignition switch electrical box and the associated relay would be the next items to consider replacing, as PNW VietVet suggested.

The ignition switch itself can fail in the start position, as I had that issue on my 1997 Yukon (RIP), but I would check out the above suggestions first.

Other folks will chime in with additional suggestions.

 

[akbrener]

I have a snap on battery load tester at work that goes through the CCA and %.. plus battery is only a year old.

as far as grounds i got whatever i could see, i think there were 4.

It does not act like the battery is low, it’s almost like whatever pause happens when i turn the key disconnects power for a split second then fires right up without any strain or extended cranking. Only thing that seems to be affected is clock radio. Presets are still saved, trip odometer mpg etc is all good. Not like i disconnected battery.

 

[akbrener]

Was thinking ignition switch that was linked above due to the fact that it seems to only happen if i put key in and roll right to starting. Pause on the on position for 5 seconds and it perfectly fine every time

 

[OR VietVet]

At one time on my 02 Tahoe I would get the same thing and my clock would reset and so would my radio selections. I found a loose corroded positive battery cable and did a thorough cleaning and retension and has been fine ever since, for 2 years.

 

[avalonandl]

Agree with PNW- Check all grounds & batt connections

 

[akbrener]

Hopefully a good update. replaced the ignition switch/module under the column. The small "button" that goes into the lock cylinder housing was quite worn and I have a feeling that it may have not made whatever on/off connection it needed to make when cycling the key. the new module and button looks like a ball point pen that clicks in and out. the old one was pretty much flat and gunked up.

fingers crossed this fixed it. was a very easy repair, and the part was about $20 on amazon for dorman brand.

 

[Rocket Man]

Awesome. Keep us posted.

 

[akbrener]

Welp.. its doing it again. very random. If I turn the key it to start everything goes dark for the split second like usual. but no start. I hold the key and it will crank about 3 seconds later. Ususally if I do not release the key the radio clock and HVAC are as they were before. If i turn the key, get the delay and release the key before it cranks, the clock is back at 12:00 and the HVAC is back at the "reset" mode... both sides at 74* and in auto.

So far I have replaced the ignition switch module, starter, ALL positive cables from battery to fuse and battery to starter. I even switched to my spare set of keys. I removed all the ground connections I can find on the engine, cleaned the battery posts (not dirty, but scrubbed to get clean post). Will go get the battery load tested tomorrow just to check.

Again, I cannot point to a repetitive cause for this, will sometimes delay on the first start in the morning, sometimes after I get gas it has been driving for a while, and if it delays and i turn it back off, it will start right up no problem. Also I have never had an issue with using remote start. Every remote start operation it fires right up.

 

[exp500]

Sounds like you need a scanner.

 

[akbrener]

Well, hopefully I have taken care of the last thing on the electrial path from key to starter. Bought a new Negative cable assembly from battery to engine and front bumper area. pulled the ground off again and saw that the green corosion had worked it way up the strands into the insulation on both ends. No amount of cleaning the attachment point will fix that. Figure for $30 it was worth throwing some more cash at it. if this does not fix it I am done and will live with the delay. it has never left me stranded, just had to reset the clock once a day

 

[Rocket Man]

Well, hopefully I have taken care of the last thing on the electrial path from key to starter. Bought a new Negative cable assembly from battery to engine and front bumper area. pulled the ground off again and saw that the green corosion had worked it way up the strands into the insulation on both ends. No amount of cleaning the attachment point will fix that. Figure for $30 it was worth throwing some more cash at it. if this does not fix it I am done and will live with the delay. it has never left me stranded, just had to reset the clock once a day

That’s a known issue on this model year so you might have just solved your issue. Good luck.

 

[tgilmore2]

That’s a known issue on this model year so you might have just solved your issue. Good luck.

Did the negative cable fix it?

 

[tgilmore2]

Well, hopefully I have taken care of the last thing on the electrial path from key to starter. Bought a new Negative cable assembly from battery to engine and front bumper area. pulled the ground off again and saw that the green corosion had worked it way up the strands into the insulation on both ends. No amount of cleaning the attachment point will fix that. Figure for $30 it was worth throwing some more cash at it. if this does not fix it I am done and will live with the delay. it has never left me stranded, just had to reset the clock once a day

Did the negative cable fix it? I'm having the same issues. I've changed the battery, starter and cleaned the ground cable on the fire wall.

 

[tgilmore2]

2008 Tahoe 5.3- Randomly the truck will hesitate to start, turn key and i get a click an no crank or a 1-2 second delay and it will crank over. If it does not crank I will reset key and try again, and usually starts on second try. Biggest indicator that something is up is that the clock will reset to 12:00, like it cuts power to the car.

I thought it was the starter at first, had replaced it 2 years ago and warranty swapped it at Advance auto. still did it again intermittently a few days later. Replaced all positive wires from battery through mega fuse to fuse block as well as the wire from battery to starter. cleaned ALL grounds, and checked battery. All good.

Am I looking at a faulty ingition switch? seems that if i do not pause for a few seconds in the "ON" position it will do the weird delay. There does not seem to be any trend to this issue, have had this happen first thing in the morning on my way to work, at the gas station after being parked for 5 mins, or after a 6 hour work day.

All I hear is a faint click inside the truck when it hesitates, before I replaced the starter I would get an audible POP from under the engine like something overloaded. the starter was bad. hence the warranty replacement.

Again, thinking ignition switch (not the key clyinder, but the electronic box attached). one time i did get a hard reset of the HVAC system before i replaced all the positive wires. maybe missing something else?? Thanks!!

SOLVED!!!!! I had the same issues. I changed that starter and battery and it still started slow and the clock would reset to 12:00. I then cleaned the braided ground from the firewall to the engine block. The small ground that runs from the battery terminal to the front bumper underneath. Cleaned the battery terminals with sandpaper and replaced the terminal volts. I also added another ground from the firewall terminal to a stud on the exhaust manifold. I connected the battery and got in the truck and noticed the clock said 12:04. I started the truck and it started smooth and quick with no drag. I shut it off and restarted it and the clock kept its time and starts great. I did notice the ground terminal bolt was stripped out inside the battery.

 

[Geotrash]

SOLVED!!!!! I had the same issues. I changed that starter and battery and it still started slow and the clock would reset to 12:00. I then cleaned the braided ground from the firewall to the engine block. The small ground that runs from the battery terminal to the front bumper underneath. Cleaned the battery terminals with sandpaper and replaced the terminal volts. I also added another ground from the firewall terminal to a stud on the exhaust manifold. I connected the battery and got in the truck and noticed the clock said 12:04. I started the truck and it started smooth and quick with no drag. I shut it off and restarted it and the clock kept its time and starts great. I did notice the ground terminal bolt was stripped out inside the battery.

Nice! Thanks for following up!