My original starter had a stud on the bottom that bolted into what appears to be the (transmission housing?) from the ground cable from the battery. On top of that the ground wire from the starter was bolted to that. I needed to replace my starter and first broke off the nut/stud that held the ground wire. I was then able to get the other half of the bolt to come out and I went about and found a bolt that would fit without using the stud like the original. I just took the ground wire and bolted it to the starter which went into the block. I have been having some electrical issues and people have been telling me that it is ground related because my windows work sometimes, once in a while it just doesn't start and my radio would come on, shut off, come on, shut off etc... I was wondering if it is due to me not using the double nut system to ground it. At this point I believe that the starter housing that it presses against is aluminum.

I have a couple of pics to show. Hopefully that will help you understand what I am taking about.

Should I find a different place to ground the battery to since I am having troubles where it is?

The Green wire is the ground wire.....

 

That's the correct location for the ground, just make sure it's clean & tight. Did the issues start AFTER you changed the starter, or was the truck acting up before? Sounds like GEM module issue to me; these trucks love to leak water around the windshield and it runs into the GEM module/fuse panel under the dash, driver's side. Check for signs of water intrusion.

 

Looks like that bolt is not seated, is it not tight or is it too long?

 

That bolt is not tight. You need to use a shorter bolt with a lock washer on it. .

 

Yeah I took out the bolt so you could more clearly see the type of bolt that I was using.

 

OK.....So I took and tightened the bolt up after cleaning it good enough that you can almost see yourself in it due to the clean metal it is grounding to. I also cleaned the smaller ground wire that goes from the green battery cable to the frame and ground off the 1/8th of rust that was under it. I tightened it back down and while I was doing this I found another 1/2 inch wide broken ground strap that was broken that goes from the frame to the cab to ground them out. BINGO!!!!! I found the ground problem!!!!!!!!! I replaced it with a bigger and better cable and bolts. The continuity tester showed that there was no resistance so I figured that I was set to go.

Nope... I started the truck and left for an appointment about a half an hour away. Everything worked the way it should and then I went to make a turn and noticed that the turning signals didn't work. I tried the windows and they didn't work either so back to square one.

When I got to the appointment I shut the truck off and tried to start it back up and it wouldn't start. I checked all the fuses...They were good. I know from past experience that pulling the #20 50 Amp "Instrument panel fuse panel ignition feed switch feed" under the hood resets the windows and the truck will start so I pulled it and everything was good. When I left the appointment still had no turning signals.

1. The manual says that the 15 Amp passenger compartment #1 fuse, controls "stop/turn lamps and turn indicators". Everything works except the turn indicators. Are the turn signals on a relay or something that would keep them from working?

The windows worked, the check engine light was off and everything but my radio and 4 x 4 worked.

Then:
2. The engine light came on. I will put the tester on that to see what its issue is.
3. The windows did not work
4. The brake light on the dash came on (not the ABS) cause that is always on. It flashed four times for about 30 seconds (not sure what that was about)

Is a GEM and PCM the same thing? Get kind of confusing when the fuses that I pull that "reset" those things are labeled PCM in the fuse diagram. TOO MANY ACRONYMS!!

I only say this because the fuse that I pull to "reset" the truck so it will start is the #20 or #24 fuse. The manual says #24 (30 amp) "PCM power" and the #20 (50 Amp) which says "Instrument panel fuse panel ignition switch feed."

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I need to get this truck back to being a dependable truck...

 

PCM=Powertrain Control Module. Runs the engine, transmission essentially
GEM is like a Body Control Module, runs power windows, locks, lighting, etc. Been raining much lately where you live? Sounds more like a cluster issue, but it's hard to tell without being able to "see" what the truck is doing...

 

You might want to check the other end of that wire, at the battery.

I recently had similar issues, and the wire didn't "look" that bad, but I went ahead and cleaned it up anyway. When I took it off the battery, the copper part broke in my hand. ... it had a crack that was nearly invisible. It was actually just hanging by a thread.

A new cable end solved it for me. Good luck with yours, I hope you find it's something simple.

 

I took it off and fortunately/unfortunately--however you want to look at it, the cable was clean as a whistle with no cracks.

 

Wow....Just spoke with a dealer who said that reprogramming is going to cost $250 for a used GEM unit if the used one doesn't work. Crossing my fingers I can find one that is close enough to work...

 

Looking at that kind of a bill, it seems worth it to me to have a reputable shop diag it before hanging any parts. Be sure to find a shop that's not just willing but CAPABLE of doing electrical diagnostics. Electricity is the simplest thing in the world unless you're unfamiliar with it!

 

Oh well, I would put that in the "unfortunately" category.. but I agree with sandrat, don't just "throw parts at" it until you know what you need. It might still be something simple. Electricity is tricky like that. sometimes finding the problem is 99% of the job..

Good luck man... sorry I don't have anymore suggestions..