Have the battery load tested before doing anything else... :welcome2:

 

Thanks for the welcome and will sure do later thats morning. Thanks for the advice. I went through 20 pages looking at similar treads including yours with so many variations. What was your exact issue you had again?By the way its a red top battery.

 

So I took the battery to get checked. They said it was low so they'd charge it for a hour. Came back and they tested it and it came back a good battery. Put it back in truck started right up. Then drove truck to test alternator and they say it was good but gave "low output" but providing 13.21 volts.So now today drove a bit around and as I'm on my way home I lose everything on the gauge cluster. All lights on no reading on any gauges and getting " brake abs fault" "low fuel " notifications. Truck still ran fine radio worked, turn signals worked, just no indications in the cluster. Get home parked and now truck won't start again.

 

Sounds like you need a new alternator. 13 volts output is quite a bit low, a fully charged battery will test about 14V under no load. These trucks are really picky about voltages, etc.

 

Now with that being said should I just go out and buy a stock alternator or should I buy a high output since I do have compressors for the airbag running off of it and a future sound system?

 

Like you just stated, I would upgrade... specially if you are thinking of a system.


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I just called a buddy of mine with a ASE certified master mechanic and he says what it sounds like and is typical with most GM's would be the ignition switch why at times it just will not start. Can I get any other opinions?

 

If it was the ignition (passlock) it wouldn't crank but wait like 10 mins than it would most likely crank then. I have that problem it doesn't do it often but when it wont crank I just hang out for 10 mins then cranks right up and with the passlock it would still turn over. Sounds to me like your alts not putting out enough. Really 14 while running is good. 13 is a little low. If your battery isn't charging good and your driving around and gauges stop working I wouldn't think ignition. The other thing could be a bad ground. I kept having problems with my blower motor till the guys on here pointed me to grounds. That's my $0.02 lol

 

I've heard a little bit about ignition switches going bad too...but I agree if things are working erratically while in operation the ignition switch is probably not the case.

Passlock at least allows you to crank so that's basically ruled out since you said it won't crank.

Since they tested the alternator and it tested poorly I'd lean towards that for now. I don't remember if a load test will test a bad cell in a battery. A bad cell will take a charge, show it's charged but it won't hold a charge. I don't know if that would be a place to start or if the symptoms you talk about would be caused by a bad cell.

Do you know how old the battery is?

 

Yeah a load test would well should show a bad cell. I know when I load test them the tester will say its a low charge to recharge and test again but the second test will show the same results that its a low charge meaning a bad cell. If the alternator is putting enough out it wont take long to kill a cell in a battery either.

 

That cluster going down and the ABS fault sounds to me like a bad ground. I get the ABS one from time to time, Im bagged and its definitely a ground issue. Check the ground packs and make sure they are clean and tight.

 

Check your ground on the firewall. Try the big 3 upgrades. Check the serp belt for slippage.

 

I just had the same issue loosing the cluster. It was a bad ground on the splice box. There is one on the drivers and passenger side inner fender in the engine bay. I would check them.

Passlock will display a flashing lock on the cluster and the truck will not crank. If it's not flashing pass lock is not the issue.

 

My truck (and it seems like everybody else's does too) will crank during the passlock error. It won't start, but it cranks.

 

I appreciate all the comments and definitely will look at the grounding issue then first before replacing battery or alternator. When I bought the truck it had a red top Optima battery but do not know how old it is doesn't look very old at all. Now since I just bought this truck and not to familiar with it, what particular and locations of these grounding points do I need to check besides the inner fenders in the engine bay on the driver and passenger side as stated above?

 

those are the only 2 that I know of. Mine LOOK ok but sometimes my AC wont work and Ill open the hood and wiggle the passenger side one and it kicks back on. This is after I went through and leaned the contacts bolted it together with loctite and then sprayed over it with liquid tape. Sometimes those packs just go bad. When I get a chance Im gonna just cut them off and put terminals on them and bolt it to the same spot.

 

I appreciate the reply and knowing you also have a bagged vehicle you know how they rearrange stuff in the engine compartment so where exactly are these 2 ground packs located on either side can you add any pictures would be really helpful

 

No I dont have any pics and chances are they arent in the stock location anyway. I had to move mine. Just look for a small black box with black wires going into it by where the wheel wells used to be lol.

I googled and found this picture which shows kindof what the things look like. I wouldnt expect yours to be in the same spot this one is in but it gives you something to look for.

 

And so you can also see what I'm having to deal with since you also have a bagged truck, the shop that bagged the truck C notched the frame in the engine compartment and raised the engine now causing it to rest up against the firewall when I decelerate. here's some pics so you can see. So with them rearranged in the engine bay so it can fit Ill have to really look for these ground packs

 

I cant see the pics. It says there is something attached but I dont see anything

 

Well I looked on my cell and your right but whe I look on my laptop which is how I loaded them you can see them on a computer.

 

btw just noticed you're in Sunset. Thats a cool club, Ive met a few of yall and yall are good people. Im in Freaks.

 

hmm Im on a pc too

 

Ok well I opened it up in an incognito window and I can see the pics. The one Im havinf problems with is on the left hand side by the intake. Look around there and see if you find it.

If not take some close up pictures so we can get a look and maybe figure out whats going on

 

Its defiantly a good idea to get ride of those ground blocks. I got rid of mine jut put on eyelets and works great now. One of my grounds where burnt inside of the block behind the air box on the fender that's why my A/C kept going out.

 

Thats probably whats going on with mine lol.