Weird Electrical issues [plus other isssues] with wife’s 16 Tahoe

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

BrownSunshine

TYF Newbie
Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Posts
17
Reaction score
9
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

So my wife’s Tahoe has been doing some weird things lately. It started last year when one day her car just wouldn’t start. I tried jump starting the car and it would start then shut off and not jump again. I took the battery out and had it tested, it was bad. Replaced the battery and that’s when the weird stuff started happening.

A week or two after battery replacement, she was driving down the road and everything in the car shut off. Car was still running and she could still drive it, but none of the electronics in the car were on. She pulled over and shut the car off, then turned it back on and everything came back.

Months go by and then randomly her radio screen would just shut off then randomly come back on.

Then, about a month ago we were in the garage, Tahoe was shut off and parked in the garage, when we heard what sounded like the starter trying to engage. It was a fraction of a second and when I opened the doors the radio and info center were lit up like the car was trying to start it self. The keys were in the ignition but the car was off. Wasn’t accidentally remote started either.

Last week, when she was driving around her radio and HVAC controls went dead. Everything stayed running, but it all went blank. Then after a few minutes came back on.

Tonight, her sister and her were driving and her seatbelt alarm was going off the whole drive home, even though her and her sister both had their seatbelts on. There were no alerts or lights on her dash, just the dinging.

I hate electrical problems so I’m at a loss. I checked battery connections and everything is tight and clean.

Does anyone have an idea of what it could be?
 

wjburken

Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2017
Posts
9,801
Reaction score
26,706
Location
Eastern Iowa
I would start by checking your battery connections to make sure they are tight and corrosion free. I would also check all your cables to make sure they are in good condition and not all corroded up.

Then I would check your ground cables for the same thing.

These trucks hate bad grijndsna s poor voltage. Since it seems to have started with the jumping/changing of the battery, that’s where I would at least start.
 

bad_idea

Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2023
Posts
38
Reaction score
47

I am having an electrical issue with my wife 2018 Yukon XL Denali and found your thread in looking for similar issues. I then did a quick search on YouTube and found the above video by this kid talking about fixing his mom's truck. Looks decent enough to help sort it out. I'll look at my wife's truck tomorrow to see if these grounds are my issue.

Also, read through the comments on that video. Lots of guys discussing similar issues and how they solved them.
 
Last edited:

16vcabman

TYF Newbie
Joined
Aug 19, 2020
Posts
12
Reaction score
5
Check the big fuses on the board above battery. I ran into this and one of the lugs on a wire melted and damaged the fuse board.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
129,239
Posts
1,812,644
Members
92,342
Latest member
Brian12019
Top