Odd behavior, possibly due to damaged battery?

[DontTaseMeBro]

Noticed the other night that my headlights flickered about 3-4x while I was driving home. When I got home, my driver side running board didn’t deploy, passenger side did. I’m starting to wonder if this is because the battery has died twice in the vehicle. Both times I had to remove it and take it to O’Reilly for a recharge. Last time, it was down to like 5v. Reason battery died was because I was doing some work in the back and had to unplug the 3rd row power folding button which at the time, I had no idea would drain the battery.

Anyways, I’m wondering if this strange behavior is due to the battery sustaining damage? Or are the electrical systems confused and need a reset?

 

[Fless]

Seems like you might want to get the battery tested.

 

[DontTaseMeBro]

Seems like you might want to get the battery tested.

I took it to Oreilly and I assumed that they test the battery before attempting to charge it. Are you saying that they didn’t test it? Also, I just checked the battery voltage with the vehicle off and it’s currently at 12.34v.

 

[Fless]

Well, I don't really know if they do that or just charge it. They can load test it and should give you a printout of the capacity.

 

[DontTaseMeBro]

Well, I don't really know if they do that or just charge it. They can load test it and should give you a printout of the capacity.

I see. Wouldn’t hurt to bring it back and have them do a legit test. Thanks.

 

[GMCnewbee]

There is another thread here under Engine/Drivetrain that mentions battery draw from the 3rd row seating Latch? sensor? whatever. That thread mentions other possible battery draws as well. Check it out.

 

[DontTaseMeBro]

There is another thread here under Engine/Drivetrain that mentions battery draw from the 3rd row seating Latch? sensor? whatever. That thread mentions other possible battery draws as well. Check it out.

Very well aware of that issue. Coincidentally found out about it after I unintentionally killed my battery a few weeks ago. It was my fault because I was replacing a few interior panels in the back and left the 3rd row buttons unplugged. 2 days went by and the battery was down to 5v. But I got the battery charged up and the cables all plugged in since then.

Anyways, I just did a few tests with my multimeter on the battery and I don't see how it could be the battery. When vehicle is off and I don't have the keys in my pocket voltage is rock solid at 12.6v. If I approach the vehicle with my key, the voltage drops to 12.34v(I'm assuming this is normal since some of the electrical components come to life via proximity). Then when I fire up the vehicle, turn on the AC and headlights, the voltage climbs to and marginally fluctuates between 14.17-14.20v, nothing too extreme. I assume that this too, is normal behavior cause of the RVC that this vehicle has. So I'm at a loss as to why my headlights flickered 3-4x times the other night when I was driving home. And now the drivers side running board won't deploy, stays in the closed position even though I've opened and closed both front and rear driver doors multiple times. I made sure to lubricate the linkages etc with WD-40 silicon lubricant liberally when it was all working.

One last thing I have tried is to unplug the ground cable from the battery for a few minutes and hit the break pedal, electrical switches a few times. So at this point I'm not sure what else to try. I mean I can take the battery to the parts store and get the load test done to rule out 100% that it's not the battery but could it still be my battery considering the normal voltages across the board? I know current is a whole 'nother animal, but so far I'm not seeing any sort of hint that the battery is struggling. Maybe the alternator? Possibly a ground issue with it? I read somewhere I can unplug the RVC cable and see if the flickering etc goes away? Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated as I am outside of my bumper to bumper warranty. Thanks.

 

[Doubeleive]

flickering headlights is likely a isolated ground issue, unless you get other associated flickering as well, running board is likely just the running board it might need cleaning/lubrication
both are common issue's for gm vehicles for the last 20+ years
if you can find the headlight circuit wiring you can add a ground even temporarily and see if the issue persist's
you could check the headllight fuses clean the legs and swap the relays, that might help also

 

[DontTaseMeBro]

flickering headlights is likely a isolated ground issue, unless you get other associated flickering as well, running board is likely just the running board it might need cleaning/lubrication
both are common issue's for gm vehicles for the last 20+ years
if you can find the headlight circuit wiring you can add a ground even temporarily and see if the issue persist's
you could check the headllight fuses clean the legs and swap the relays, that might help also

I'll check on the fuses here in a minute. I see that earlier model GM vehicles had grounding problems where there is a grounding cable that running directly to the frame from the battery ground. Is that still a possibly with these 2021+ GM vehicles?

 

[Doubeleive]

I'll check on the fuses here in a minute. I see that earlier model GM vehicles had grounding problems where there is a grounding cable that running directly to the frame from the battery ground. Is that still a possibly with these 2021+ GM vehicles?

I wouldn't doubt it.... certainly won't hurt to give it a try

 

[Doubeleive]

if it is the original battery I would question it as well, usually you start to see the volt meter start to move around more than normal when they start getting weak, then the flickering starts,,,,

 

[DontTaseMeBro]

I wouldn't doubt it.... certainly won't hurt to give it a try

Check this thread that I just found. https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/thr...riving-2-full-seconds-frightful.139364/page-3

Basically, a few folks have experienced the headlights quickly turning off/on when they were running the wipers. Guess what else was on during the 20 minute trip home. You guessed it, the windshield wipers(for the first time too since I bought this vehicle). Just the oddest behavior I've ever experienced.

 

[DontTaseMeBro]

if it is the original battery I would question it as well, usually you start to see the volt meter start to move around more than normal when they start getting weak, then the flickering starts,,,,

The battery was replaced by the prior owners in November of last year.

 

[Fless]

Voltage of the battery isn't the only spec that should be checked. Capacity is almost everything. Have it charged and load tested if not just to rule it out.

 

[DontTaseMeBro]

Voltage of the battery isn't the only spec that should be checked. Capacity is almost everything. Have it charged and load tested if not just to rule it out.

That'll be my last step. I honestly suspect that the headlight issue is related to the previous thread I linked up above. Sucks that it's happening but at least I'm not the only one.

 

[tom3]

Harbor Freight has a battery load tester for real reasonable money. Look for their 25% discount coupon. It will put a 150 amp load on the battery for 10 seconds to get a good look at the condition. It gets hot. But I got a new Delco battery put in our 2019 last year at our dealer. That battery never worked right from the start. I took the Tahoe in and had them do their test, checked A ok. Ran it a while longer and bit the bullet. Put a new WalMart H7 battery in it and all is right finally. Flickering headlights while driving does sound like a whole different problem though.

 

[DontTaseMeBro]

Harbor Freight has a battery load tester for real reasonable money. Look for their 25% discount coupon. It will put a 150 amp load on the battery for 10 seconds to get a good look at the condition. It gets hot. But I got a new Delco battery put in our 2019 last year at our dealer. That battery never worked right from the start. I took the Tahoe in and had them do their test, checked A ok. Ran it a while longer and bit the bullet. Put a new WalMart H7 battery in it and all is right finally. Flickering headlights while driving does sound like a whole different problem though.

Specifically, flickering only when the wipers are on.