The Stupid Electronics Questions Thread

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.

cpapeter

Newbie
Joined
Aug 2, 2021
Messages
26
Reaction score
44
Location
Orange County, CA
Need to tap the hive mind for a weird problem. 98 c1500 ext cab, 5.0l battery is 6 months old and tested good with an electronic tester today. Get in the truck, key to On, dash lights up normally. Headlights work even. Turn the key to start .. all power vanishes. Key to off ... still no headlights, no power in any key position. Come back a couple of days later ... power's back, headlights work ... key to start ... power takes a holiday again.

Ideas?
Are the connections at the battery tight? Any corrosion on the battery terminals? How's the ground cable from the battery to the chassis? And the ground strap across the motor mount?

Sounds to me like the power from the battery isn't getting into the rest of the truck. A relative trickle makes it through to run lights, but the big draw from the starter overloads the weak spot in the circuit.
 

professur

Newbie
Joined
Sep 13, 2017
Messages
14
Reaction score
6
Location
Mo-Ra-Al, K-Bec.
Battery is tight ... no noticeable corrosion on the business side of the terminals ... the nut side has a little rust but that's not there. Found a broken ground from frame to body. All the other grounds 'look' ok .. I think I'll make up some fresh ones while I've got the crimper out.
 

cpapeter

Newbie
Joined
Aug 2, 2021
Messages
26
Reaction score
44
Location
Orange County, CA
Found a broken ground from frame to body. All the other grounds 'look' ok .. I think I'll make up some fresh ones while I've got the crimper out.
I forgot to mention that you can test your grounds by running a jumper cable (that you would commonly use for jump starting) from the ground post on the battery to the engine. If the starter then operates normally, you can be pretty sure you have a problem with your grounds. If so, you can narrow it down a bit by moving the end from the engine to somewhere on the chassis or body. That would test the ground strap across the motor mounts.

And don’t forget to check the charge on the battery. If a ground has been bad, the battery may not be fully charged, since that process also depends on having good grounds. It’s easy enough to put a charger in the battery while you’re doing other work.
 

jmshawii

Newbie
Joined
Apr 26, 2021
Messages
5
Reaction score
1
Location
Escanaba, MI
1997 Tahoe, 1500 LT. Glove Box Bulb removal... I've done TONS of searches on line, and it seems to take a LOT of work for a simple bulb removal. That true? Remove about 8-10 screws and fight to get the thing out? Have searched this forum and cannot find ANYONE actually discussing how it's done here by the experts. Searches can be hard that way-simple difference of how to word it. But I honestly tried about 7 wording combinations and it is only mentioned that someone did it-not HOW they did it anywhere I have found. Doesn't SEEM it should be that hard! Just checking before I rip the whole gamn dlovebox system out of there! Thanks!
 

SUBURBAN5

I'm Awesome
Joined
Jul 18, 2020
Messages
4,674
Reaction score
7,945
Location
Houston
Long as it's the same as mine the bulb is clipped in and and thing isn't that bad. Maybe 2 screw I think but the trick is to remove the glove box... without breaking it.... then I think you push the button in and push it to the side to slide out the clip. It's a 194 I think. Somebody can get more in detail and chime in hopefully
 
Joined
Jun 26, 2021
Messages
4
Reaction score
3
Location
So Cal
Post here if you have a simple question. This will help keep track of common info and reduce clutter.
Working through my 1994 suburban k1500 issues one at a time.
Question is....where should I begin a search for what is causing the electrical to cut out completely...for a second and kick back on....when I hit a bump or slam the driver side door shut.
I appreciate any help and hope I posted this question in the right place. New to requesting help here. Thx
 

HotWheelsBurban

Gotta have 4 doors..... Rawhide, TOTY 2023!
Joined
Sep 18, 2019
Messages
9,686
Reaction score
17,583
Location
Houston, Texas
Working through my 1994 suburban k1500 issues one at a time.
Question is....where should I begin a search for what is causing the electrical to cut out completely...for a second and kick back on....when I hit a bump or slam the driver side door shut.
I appreciate any help and hope I posted this question in the right place. New to requesting help here. Thx
Sounds like a bad ground, or a battery cable being loose. Check all the battery connections and grounds first, often that may be where the problem is. Good luck!
 
Joined
Jun 26, 2021
Messages
4
Reaction score
3
Location
So Cal
What is cutting off and one? Motor, lights, dash only, radio, alarm, ect? Theres so many electrical things in a burb
While driving...the only cutout I've noticed is engine power. It's only lasted one second. Noticed on the freeway in a pothole. And its happened a few times when I've slammed the driver door shut. I only noticed the motor shutdown...but very possibly full power. I need to quickly observe the rest of the functions the next time. Tomorrow I'll search out the numerous California potholes on the drive to work. Thx
 
Top