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2004 K1500 Suburban 5.3 LT

I went out to start the burb this morning and all it did was click. Windows and doors seemed to work fine.

Checked the battery with my tester and it showed dead. Jumped it later and the alternator showed good and the battery showed good. Battery showed good as soon as I shut it off.

Took battery to O'Reilly's and it was going to be a 35 minute wait. So I went ahead and purchase a super start 800 CCA battery. Got it installed and used electrical grease between the surfaces.

I was planning on changing oil and air filter so I went ahead and did that.

Went to start it and it fired right up in 3 cranks. A/C kicked on and the motor fell flat on it's face. I tried again and it fired right up and fell on it's face. Tried again, turned off HVAC completely and idled low but stayed running. Tried this a couple times and same results.

Finally I idled high with the HVAC turned off, and tried 2 last times turning it on and auto but all that came out was roasting hot.

Is it possible that the compressor has frozen off? Did I dodge a bullet and shredded belt?

At no point did I drive it because I didn't want to break down.

Thoughts?
 
Wanna make sure I follow ya

The belt to the A/C looks in good condition? Inspect engine off, and watch tracking when idling with A/C off.

With A/C turned off it starts and runs ok.

Turn on A/C and engine dies?
 
On my 2000 any time I had the battery disconnected it would run really rough and not idle for a bit. It would go away after a few minutes of running it but you had to keep your foot on the throttle. Buddy of mine who has his own shop said that it was pretty normal.
 
Will L. said:
Wanna make sure I follow ya

The belt to the A/C looks in good condition? Inspect engine off, and watch tracking when idling with A/C off.

With A/C turned off it starts and runs ok.

Turn on A/C and engine dies?
Click to expand...

Didn't think to check belt. Especially since I hadn't had an issue before and I didn't mess with the belt.

But, yes with the symptoms. Except, the motor did seem to idle slow until it warmed up and then it seemed to idle better.

Is it possible that I put too much electrical grease between the terminals that it is preventing good contact? And that the motor is struggling to idle well because of that lack of electrical connection?

Not sure why the a/c would matter, unless it's also pulling additional juice..
 
Yes relearn is needed on many modern rigs. Hopefully that is all you are experiencing.
Please post pic of grease container you used, or type the EXACT name.

If it is the proper one used, you cant really have too much, it just squishes out and you can wipe off excess.

If the wrong one is used, yes it can create an issue.
 
Will L. said:
Yes relearn is needed on many modern rigs. Hopefully that is all you are experiencing.
Please post pic of grease container you used, or type the EXACT name.

If it is the proper one used, you cant really have too much, it just squishes out and you can wipe off excess.

If the wrong one is used, yes it can create an issue.
Click to expand...

I believe this is the grease. I've been using it for years - cap broke off so I keep it and a toothbrush in a surgical glove to try to prevent spread, haha.

Drove it to work this morning and it appeared to be running fine. I'll see if the a/c is better on the way home when it's not 64*F..
 
I think I got the A/C figured out. Hopefully I do, since I intend on driving it up north to Hebron/Crown Point to help my in-laws move.

I'm still looking for a 2nd row bench seat. Met up with a guy that had a rather rough set - but they were out of a Tahoe, so they didn't work.

I've also gone ahead and posted this, my truck, my box trailer and tractor up for sale. I figure if I'm getting 14mpg - than maybe I can upgrade by cash and/or trade to get a diesel crew cab. But - if not - I'm not sweating it because this burb is COMFORTABLE!
 
Relearned my A/C, or so I thought. On my way home, 90 deg F outside and about 15 minute drive home, about 5 minutes from home my air goes full blast to HOT. I crank it up to 90 and it stops. I crank it back down to 75 and not much - but than I was home and I turned it off. Bought some A/C today at AutoZone thinking it might be low, but today it's worked fine. Not sure what's going on.

Side note - I've been looking around since I'm getting about 11-12 mpg. Going to look at a 06 F350 EC LB flatbed 4x4 with my ford/diesel friend who's going to do a looksy and confirm if it's worth the burb + $1k. It's either that or a 7.3 with over 250k miles. No one is selling 6.5's or 6.6's for anything less than $5k, unless it's a 2000-2004(not 2004.5). And I'm not interested in a cummins unless it's got manual transmission. Anyhow -we'll see. I'll keep driving this until something else catches my eye, I suppose, haha.
 
treegump said:
I think it's a combination of wide, unevenly worn tires, and probably needs a tune up of plugs and wires... But could be the 250k miles also...
Click to expand...

Forgot that the PO said he did plugs and wires; however, he also said he changed the battery this year or the last and it was dead, so who knows..
 
Suburban is no more. I traded it + $1k for a 06 F350 6.0 farm truck with a complete rebuilt/bulletproof motor and 212k miles.

I'm starting a new thread for it. A friend of mine is a diesel guru and is helping me out with it.
 
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