Weird electrical issue...alternator?

[George Owens]

Ok so I’m gonna start working on this issue tomorrow but here’s what happened driving down the high way and the TPMS starts blinking again along with the airbag light. ( out of nowhere)So then I roll the windows up then a slight stall happened, airbag light, radio start skipping,lights were flickering , the radio clock reset, it was pretty scary going 60mph but i suspect the alternator but what are other possibilities? (08 tahoe LT)

P.s no charging system warning

 

[Doubeleive]

have your Battery AND Alternator tested, places like autozone will do it for free, if both checkout ok then proceed to checking ground wires.

 

[RED TAHOE LS]

When voltage drops below 9 volts, weird things happen in the cluster, even the tachometer will go nuts. Is your battery light ON while running ? An alternator must have good battery voltage to charge like it should. Like previous post suggested, go to Autozone, O'reilly, walmart, for free testing. good luck.
David g.

 

[swathdiver]

Probably the battery, but start checking the battery cables and then the grounds. Didn't you do some recent work on it George that you posted?

 

[George Owens]

Probably the battery, but start checking the battery cables and then the grounds. Didn't you do some recent work on it George that you posted?

Only work I did recently was update the headlight and fog bulbs to white leds... other than that not that I can remember, I changed the sparkplugs and wires a while back last year

 

[PG01]

Sounds like battery cable ground, start there as james said.

 

[George Owens]

When voltage drops below 9 volts, weird things happen in the cluster, even the tachometer will go nuts. Is your battery light ON while running ? An alternator must have good battery voltage to charge like it should. Like previous post suggested, go to Autozone, O'reilly, walmart, for free testing. good luck.
David g.

No,when this happened the light lit up, but went away when it started to act normal, the plan today is to take both the alternator and battery to Autozone today and have them check both 3 times, my Monte Carlo alternator went bad and tested fine the first time, I told them to check it 3 times and it failed 1 of 3

 

[George Owens]

Sounds like battery cable ground, start there as james said.

I just saw a vid on YouTube where similar things were happening, he said his was the negative ground, now would I change the negative terminal or??

 

[kbuskill]

I just saw a vid on YouTube where similar things were happening, he said his was the negative ground, now would I change the negative terminal or??

You need to change the whole cable.

 

[George Owens]

You need to change the whole cable.

Guess imma start looking on how to do that

 

[PG01]

Very easy, unbolt from battery follow cable to where it goes and unbolt it there. Take to auto parts store and get same length.

 

[George Owens]

Very easy, unbolt from battery follow cable to where it goes and unbolt it there. Take to auto parts store and get same length.

From what I hear this one Cable has three different points to where it’s grounded and supposedly it has a sensor

 

[George Owens]

Quick update took the battery to AutoZone and it tested good at 94% have to take the alternator and put it back on the car because that’s the only way they can test it

 

[George Owens]

OK before I put the battery and alternator back on I scrub them clean with wire brush, I scrub the terminals and I scrub the battery post. I also scrubbed the post and terminals that connect to make a fuse. Went to AutoZone and the alternator tested good. So I’m a little bit stumped trying to see if I can make the issue happen again currently

 

[kbuskill]

OK before I put the battery and alternator back on I scrub them clean with wire brush, I scrub the terminals and I scrub the battery post. I also scrubbed the post and terminals that connect to make a fuse. Went to AutoZone and the alternator tested good. So I’m a little bit stumped trying to see if I can make the issue happen again currently

Internally corroded battery cables are the culprit more often then not.

 

[George Owens]

Internally corroded battery cables are the culprit more often then not.

I hear that a lot especially the negative ones, I’m gonna look into ordering one, the dealership wants 170 for one

 

[HiHoeSilver]

You can make it with 1/0 welding cable and a hydraulic crimper from HF.

 

[PG01]

I hear that a lot especially the negative ones, I’m gonna look into ordering one, the dealership wants 170 for one

Plug the part # you got into google I guarantee youll find it cheaper..try amazon 1st

 

[George Owens]

Plug the part # you got into google I guarantee youll find it cheaper..try amazon 1st

Got it for 48 bucks rockauto, now I’m tryna find out how to install i seethe 2nd ground but the 3rd seems to be under the coolant hose might give me problems