Lights, fan, signals cause engine to spasm.

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.

South VA

K2500 454 Long Roof
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2022
Messages
826
Reaction score
2,853
Location
Dinwiddie County, Virginia
Yeah.. Work was done by professionals. No rework of wiring or connections... That I'm informed of.
Blinker fuse was blown when i picked it up. Changed that.
I think I'm looking for a ground issue just not sure where to start, under hood or dash.
This may or may not address your issue, but a month or so back I had electrical work done by a reputable local shop - professionals - who solved the presenting problem, which was a dying battery and a failure to consistently charge, even though they had replaced the alternator on the previous visit.

What they did was put on new crimped battery terminals, because the main battery + lead was getting hot to the touch. They stopped there. Problem solved.

Not.

They apparently weren't interested in pursuing the matter further. So I took matters into my own hands, and discovered that the ring terminal on the battery to body ground cable was brittle and about to break. Which it did when I took it off to inspect it. Also, that ground bolt goes through a single layer of sheetmetal, and the hole was stripped out from apparent overtightening. It's a blind hole, meaning you can't get to the back of it to put on a nut for a proper bolt. So I fixed it by installing a rivet nut in the hole and a ¼ - 20 bolt, plus a crimped copper ring terminal on 8 AWG cable. I also discovered that the main battery ground cable to the block was chewed extensively by a packrat. It was quite obvious, and I'm wondering how the professionals missed it. I replaced that too. I also bought a new battery. And a new ignition switch, on the recommendation of a member here.

After 100+ miles of road testing, I'm cautiously optimistic that my electrical problems have been resolved. Time will tell.

Good luck with your Cheyenne!
 

Schurkey

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Messages
11,370
Reaction score
14,425
Location
The Seasonally Frozen Wastelands
The way I see it, there's (at least) two problems that don't seem related.

1. The vehicle electrical system drops to an indicated 10 volts on the dash gauge just by adding a mild load to the electrical system (A/C and turn signals!) No on-board computer is going to like that; and if the alternator is trying to boost that back to 14-ish, the field current and attendant drag on the alternator could load down the engine leading to surging and bucking, just like he's complaining about.
Dash V gauge hits 12 with ac ,flips 10 - 14 w blinkers & Engine pulses.
For ****'s sake, the engine surges in time with the blinkers. He's got NO VOLTAGE; and

2. No communication though the OBD2 connector on the vehicle. The guy's been asked multiple times to check for ground at the connector ground pin. No response.

MAYBE there's bad grounds under the hood. Maybe there's corroded cables. Maybe there's significant other problems yet to be discovered. But his best course of action is to #1 get the vehicle voltage stabilized--which probably includes fully-charging the battery, cleaning/repairing the battery cable ends as needed, having the battery load-tested along with the alternator; and then #2 make the OBD2 connector functional so the computer can be scanned.

Two-thirds of his complaint could be explained by an under-charged/toasted battery or similar issue.
 
Last edited:

1998_K1500_Sub

Nitro Junkie
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2019
Messages
2,384
Reaction score
3,628
Location
Rural Illinois
Got a 90 Cheyenne 4x4. 5.7 .
Relaced ac complete under hood. So it runs great until you use the signals or turn the fan blower on doesn't matter ac or not . engine bucks like wants to quit. Turn off blinkers or fan and it's normal again..

There was a guy on the list, about a year ago, with a bad turn signal switch, which caused the engine to continue to run even when the ignition was off provided that (IIRC) the taillights were on.

The point I'm making is the turn signal dependency you're seeing makes me wonder if you have a similar problem in the switch.

If I can find the thread I'll point you to it.

(edit) Here's the thread I mentioned:

 

elfbrew

Newbie
Joined
Aug 1, 2023
Messages
7
Reaction score
8
Location
Az
Hmm .. Well my e problem is on a back burner while i deal with a sheared t stat bolt. Engine was running hot and that can screw up the computer too. Also new sensors. Stay tuned..
 

elfbrew

Newbie
Joined
Aug 1, 2023
Messages
7
Reaction score
8
Location
Az
hey. thanks for all your input. I've been traveling out of state and am catching up. So i replaced all the ground braids and cleaned up all grounds i could find. seems to have fixed the problem. as i now can run all systems without a hickup.
 
Top