So much crazy electrical errors i dont know what to do!

[Frostbite]

First of all i have to apologize for my weird english, its not my native language but cant really get any help on norwegian forums.
So lets go back a while, about 18 months ago i got some ticking sound from the instrument cluster when i stopped the car, didnt think much about it.
After a couple of months the fuel gauge started acting up and getting stuck especially after i filled the tank completely full, didnt think much about it.
Then after a couple of new months my window on the passenger side stopped working, ordered a new motor and wires but never got around to change it, i heard clicking from the relay so i thought the motor was blown.
Now all my gauges were stuck or in a weird position exept the speedo and rpm.
fuel gauge was stuck on empty but i managed because the fuel level low alarm og and range could still be seen in the "computer"
but suddenly around 4 months ago the window suddenly started working, didnt do anything it suddenly just worked.
around this time my whole cluster could do delayed startup at times, after i started the car it could take up to 5-10 seconds before the intrument lights and gauges would "come alive"
and sometimes the seat warmer would also cycle without me adjusting it (Mostly during rainy weather), and only the back warmers were working and the "asswarmer" did not.
Then i got a ABS light and the chimes could go off many times, scanned error code and found some codes:
c0221, C0281, C0265, C0223, C0222 but after a couple of days i didnt get the chimes and alarm so i didnt do anything about it.

And on christmas eve my speedometer, RPM, gear indicator and the display in my rear view mirror stopped working, the gear indicator went dark but the lights still work in the rest of the gauges.
Also think the mirror on the driver side is burned out since i got a kind of "goldish" edge around the entire mirror.
Also the driving computer wont let me browse freely through the menu with the steering wheel buttons, can swap a few times then i have to wait a couple of days until i can change it again, so if i go from odometer to something else it will take me a week to get back to odometer (LOL)

Is this all coincidental or does all/some errors start a chain reaction?

I am thinking of getting a refurbished cluster, new mirror, and replace the heating elements in the seat.
Does this sound like a good plan or do you have other suggestions?
Also the ground wire that goes from the hood to the car broke a few years ago, dont know if that has anything to do with it (a local mechanic shop told me i didnt have to worry about it, but they usually dont deal with GM cars alot)

 

[BG1988]

battery is bad or grounds it pretty common in the winter time for these issues to show up

 

[Frostbite]

Switched battery twice because it sometimes just gets drained overnight, no difference with a new battery.

 

[wjburken]

Switched battery twice because it sometimes just gets drained overnight, no difference with a new battery.

Tarjai,

Brent mentioned 2 things. Battery and grounds.

You changed the battery, but if you have a bad grounding circuit, you will get low voltage in your system still and these trucks hate low voltage or inconsistent voltage.

Check the condition of any ground strap/wire you can find. Take it off and clean the contact points real good and make sure the wire itself is in good condition. Sometimes you get corrosion build up. This includes your battery cables, cables to your alternator, engine to frame ground, etc.

If your battery is getting drained overnight, you need to track down the cause. There are various posts on finding parasitic drains here.

By the way, what model, year and mileage is your vehicle?

 

[Frostbite]

It's an 04 Tahoe with 280k km (170kish miles).
I will check all the ground connections i can find and clean them and tighten.
The voltage is around 14,4-14,5v when i drive.

 

[Doubeleive]

Tarjei I would go ahead and get the replacement cluster and the mirror (glass) these things are easy to change/swap out and what you are describing is a common problem for bad cluster and yes the "auto dimm" fluid probably leaked inside the mirror or burn out and it turns brown/gold color inside, be careful to not break the mirror glass when you change it if it gets on the door paint it will stain the paint as a precaution I would drape a towel over the door before removing the glass in case it breaks. for the seat heater you may want to check the wiring connector under the carpet near the seat there is harness some of the power wires are (thicker/bigger) and they will burn out the metal connectors, but it is also common for the heater "wire array" under the seat cover to get burnt out also. The broken ground strap wire from the hood to the firewall is no big deal they don't even use those anymore I think it's primary purpose was as a safety feature if a live wire came loose in the engine compartment to prevent you getting shocked if you touched the hood.

 

[Doubeleive]

also what happens with the brake abs is the abs module under the truck (under the body under drivers seat area) gets rattled around over the years and the solder inside gets loose and so when you hit a bump in the road it shakes and the solder looses the electrical signal and makes the abs light error, if it keeps occurring you may want to have it repaired, any good electronics repair technician can re-flow the solder connections inside and then you seal it back up water-tight and that fixes it, there are some youtube video's on how it is done. getting the module out can be challenging because they used allen head bolts and if you are not careful the bolt's can get stripped easily when trying to remove them. do not worry if the abs light is on you will still always have "regular" brake's just no abs function.

 

[swathdiver]

First of all i have to apologize for my weird english, its not my native language but cant really get any help on norwegian forums.
So lets go back a while, about 18 months ago i got some ticking sound from the instrument cluster when i stopped the car, didnt think much about it.
After a couple of months the fuel gauge started acting up and getting stuck especially after i filled the tank completely full, didnt think much about it.
Then after a couple of new months my window on the passenger side stopped working, ordered a new motor and wires but never got around to change it, i heard clicking from the relay so i thought the motor was blown.
Now all my gauges were stuck or in a weird position exept the speedo and rpm.
fuel gauge was stuck on empty but i managed because the fuel level low alarm og and range could still be seen in the "computer"
but suddenly around 4 months ago the window suddenly started working, didnt do anything it suddenly just worked.
around this time my whole cluster could do delayed startup at times, after i started the car it could take up to 5-10 seconds before the intrument lights and gauges would "come alive"
and sometimes the seat warmer would also cycle without me adjusting it (Mostly during rainy weather), and only the back warmers were working and the "asswarmer" did not.
Then i got a ABS light and the chimes could go off many times, scanned error code and found some codes:
c0221, C0281, C0265, C0223, C0222 but after a couple of days i didnt get the chimes and alarm so i didnt do anything about it.

And on christmas eve my speedometer, RPM, gear indicator and the display in my rear view mirror stopped working, the gear indicator went dark but the lights still work in the rest of the gauges.
Also think the mirror on the driver side is burned out since i got a kind of "goldish" edge around the entire mirror.
Also the driving computer wont let me browse freely through the menu with the steering wheel buttons, can swap a few times then i have to wait a couple of days until i can change it again, so if i go from odometer to something else it will take me a week to get back to odometer (LOL)

Is this all coincidental or does all/some errors start a chain reaction?

I am thinking of getting a refurbished cluster, new mirror, and replace the heating elements in the seat.
Does this sound like a good plan or do you have other suggestions?
Also the ground wire that goes from the hood to the car broke a few years ago, dont know if that has anything to do with it (a local mechanic shop told me i didnt have to worry about it, but they usually dont deal with GM cars alot)

Once all the simple things like grounds and cables are checked and or cleaned and replaced, you've done the battery already, you might want to investigate the BCM. If this thing is going haywire, it may be the source of all those maladies. You'll need a Tech-2 and if you need to replace the BCM, will need to find out if GM will give you access to their TDS system as you overseas and I do not think they take foreign credit cards.

 

[Frostbite]

Thanks for the nice tips! Will get around asap.
Today my odometer blacked out aswell, even though the speedometer is not working my cruise control is
Any tips on how to find a re-furbished cluster on ebay/amazon(or any other)with KMH instead of MPH?
Will probably cost me 2000 dollars to buy it in norway so i will most likely buy from the other side of the pond for a 10th of the price

 

[rockola1971]

Thanks for the nice tips! Will get around asap.
Today my odometer blacked out aswell, even though the speedometer is not working my cruise control is
Any tips on how to find a re-furbished cluster on ebay/amazon(or any other)with KMH instead of MPH?
Will probably cost me 2000 dollars to buy it in norway so i will most likely buy from the other side of the pond for a 10th of the price

Just take your overlay out of your old and install in the replacement one. Be sure to mark needle positions before you pop them off. There are vids on how to do it. Look under replacing the stepper motor vid on youtube.

 

[Doubeleive]

Thanks for the nice tips! Will get around asap.
Today my odometer blacked out aswell, even though the speedometer is not working my cruise control is
Any tips on how to find a re-furbished cluster on ebay/amazon(or any other)with KMH instead of MPH?
Will probably cost me 2000 dollars to buy it in norway so i will most likely buy from the other side of the pond for a 10th of the price

you can find clusters on ebay that are kmh, there are some sellers that will program the mileage/kilometers and your vin number

 

[LEDFoot]

Hej på dig! Är det inte lag på att alla måste köra elbil i Norge?

With all those issues I would assume that you have something common that is causing all or at least most of it.

I have the same age truck (though in different climate), and I am seeing a lot of issues due to moisture and oxidation of switches and connectors in mine. For example the light switch, I couldn't turn on the headlights manually, and the interior lights only worked while holding the switch in place. Took it out and cleaned it up with some contact cleaner and everything was fine... Connectors and relays and bulb sockets may have the same issues.

As far as your instrument cluster, if it is truly bad (needles not working, lights out, etc) it's relatively easy to replace the stepper motors yourself and replacing the bulbs with LEDs while you are at it. That way no worries about KMH/MPH or anything like that.

Lycka till!

 

[WYO-HD]

As others have mentioned, ground wires are key. My 04 Denali has 200k on it and a while back started doing everything you described and more...hit bump and error messages pop up, locks cycle, gauges quit working, engine going into limp mode, battery drain, etc.

I replaced a bunch of things including remanufactured instrument cluster, battery &TPS. Didn't fix a thing. I then took it to a GMC dealership who replaced every ground wire on vehicle. I think 5 or 6 straps replaced but can't remember exactly. That seemed to fix most issues but would still have gauge cluster intermittent problems...cluster lights not working, some gauges freaking out over bumps and loss of all display features.

Back to the shop and the diagnosis was bad pig tail harness plug behind instrument cluster. It was replaced and now my Yukon is fun to drive.

I was very frustrated and finding the two main issues was gratifying. I know many of these vehicles have the same issues so hopefully this may help others.
Cheers,