diagnostic experts.....help!!!!

[trouttrooper]

I had to transfer my '05 patrol truck to someone else :sad: and now have to drive an '03 GMC 2500LD hand-me-down for the next few months until my new rig arrives.

This thing I swear is possessed!! Here's the list of gremlins I have discovered so far.

1. does not recognize passenger door open when in gear.
2. intermittently recognizes key in ignition when drivers door open, when chime does goes off it slowly "dies" off. Hard to explain, but it's not normal.
3. dash lights stay on (most of the time) after truck is off, key is out, and door is open. They eventually turn off, but it's a long time.
4. dome light occasionally flickers on when I turn the wipers on. The dome override button does prevent this from happening.
5. battery dies quickly (gee, wonder why :rolleyes5: )


Now I know that all the "cop" equipment can produce electrical gremlins, but I've chased those issues for over 8 years now with previous trucks. I don't believe these are related.

I suspect a previous operator tried to disable the warning chimes, but cut the wrong wire or something.

Any thoughts where I might start? With the problems being inconsistent I'm confused as to what the cause is.

 

[jrkrace]

Pull the lower dash off and have a look see if any wires where cut. After that the next thing I would check would be the battery and ECM connections to make sure they're solid.

 

[SSduramax]

Bad batteries? I see you said they run down quick... you didn't say if your "new" rig was a diesel or gaser.

 

[benjammin]

Check for body codes before tearing stuff apart.

 

[trouttrooper]

Just looking for a cut wire under the dash is easier said then done. I've got 5 antenna's on top of the cab.....all those eventually go to multiple black boxes under the dash. Factory wiring is buried behind it all. I was kinda hoping someone could say "oh ya it's such and such wire"

I'll check ECM connections, and plan on getting a new battery today. I might stop at the dealership and see if they can pull any codes if I have time. This is my busiest time of the year and having truck problems is not what I want to deal with right now.

New truck will be a '09 GMC 2500HD 6.0 WT package w/ power windows/locks added. I was told I'd be getting a 1/2 ton, which I was dreading. So far though all the spec notices I've gotten say 3/4 HD. -crossing fingers-

Unless it become the only option in pickups we will never have diesel pickups. Too expensive for starters.

My '05 I had from day 1. It had 5 miles on the odo (I thought was pretty neat). It had 75,000 when I had to give it up. It was essentially "my" truck and I took care of it, there were no glitches in it anywhere, nothing broken or missing. Now I've got this '03 w/ 71,000 miles. It's been kinda the spare truck because of position vacancies so multiple people have used it off and on. With all of it's problems (there's more than the electrical issues) it definitely shows that most people don't take care of vehicles when it's not "theirs".


Thanks for the help

 

[LtEng5]

make a copy of this write up and give it to the mechanic, duty LT, CAPT and maint manager. bad part is the only "unsafe" part is that the batt dies and that could be a problem on patrol. I know the desk guys won't see it that way thou.

Telle'm to take the POS back and give you something else till the new rig comes in

We've got a couple of vehicles in our fleet that some guys refuse to drive because of s*** like this ( so many people - it aint mine so who gives a f***, beat on 'em, dont clean 'em, etc... )

 

[trouttrooper]

Well, sweet talked the dealership into squeezing me into their schedule this afternoon. They plugged into it and eventually found a broken wire.. Battery checked out ok, it was just getting drained 24/7. Time will tell, but the rest of today I didn't have any of the glitches show up.

No such thing as mechanic or maint manager for us. We are responsible to keep our own vehicles on the road (not money wise, just taking to repair shops etc).

My seniority is what allowed me to hang onto my '05 for as long as I did. It has some equipment on board that is needed for the backcountry position I came from, and the new guy for that spot just finished FTO so he is moving there permanently now. We've got 2 guys in our region w/o a truck right now (Capt. is driving his personal rig so one of the field guys has a rig). GM's axle strike awhile back really screwed us over. It happened right after our dept made a big fleet purchase. We're playing a lot of vehicle shuffle trying to keep field officers driving marked rigs.

Couple more things to do on this one and I'll be satisfied until my new truck arrives (assuming no more strike delays).

Heck, I'm not going to complain too much. Wasn't too long ago and we were driving trucks with 170,000+ miles on them. Lots of bailing wire and duct tape holding them together. At least now they get replaced between 70 and 90k.

 

[BigDaddyDiesel]

If you continue to have problems with dimming lights or anything like that, it could also be a weak alternator, by not sending the proper charge with all the equipment you have on there that could be a possibility...