I'm pretty sure I cursed myself a couple of months ago, the trucks been running perfect, I just passed 153,000 and haven't had any real issues with the truck, up until now.....


I've been having a random no start issue mixed with having a electrical demon. When I mean no start, I mean the truck has a electrical fit! When I turn the key to start it, I get nothing. The starter doesn't turn, nothing. When I re-try it, I will get a combination of a weak sounding door chime pacing the clicking of one of the relays under the dash.

This will all stop when you turn on the headlights, and will keep going with the key removed from the truck. Also the interior dome light will flash along with the sound of the turn signal "tick"

The headlights will dim, and almost be completely off while the key/lights are on, yet the battery will be fully charged. I tried to bridge the solonoid(sp) and I don't get anythings either.

I had it towed to my house by a friend, and while we were sitting in my front yard in the dark, the headlights came on(they were in the on position) and the truck fired right up like nothing ever happened. The relay that was "ticking" was pulled at the time it started, and has been pulled since Friday.

The truck starts and drives like there never was an issue...I'm stumped with this one...I'm guessing a ground is bad somewhere, but I have no idea where to look.

Could the starter be seizing up, that was suggested by a friend, but I'm doubting that...

I will also post some pictures of some "custumized" wiring with the fuze panel under the steering wheel...I would like to fix that as well...I would say that could be the problem, but I had all of that disconnected and it still wouldn't start...

Help me out guys

 

I'm going for a bad ground. I may be wrong but it doesn't hurt to look.

Weird electrical stuff always makes me look for a bad ground first and foremost.

I tracked down weird electrical gremlins and maladies for a month on my other brand vehicle. it did all kinds of weird stuff that never seemed related. No start, headlight issues, theft light blinking, auto lamps that never turned off to name a few.

Turned out to be a bad ground that was one of 4 grounds for the PCM. It was the VERY one I never checked because the manual's description of it didn't seem like it had anything to do with the symptoms.

In inspect all the wiring attached the block, firewall and the frame. maybe someone here has a wiring diagram that shows all the chassis grounds.

Course, this could all be related to that wiring "issue" you mention under the steering wheel.

 

Definitely sounds like a ground - trace the (-) side of the battery, should go to the engine block, and should go to the body - there should also be a ground strap from the chassis to the body, and from the body to the engine.

 

Yea, I'm betting on some grounding issue as well. Finding it will be the only hard part...

Time to digging around...If only it wasn't cold and winter time, I need a garage!!

 

I just wanted to bring this back to the top...

I thought I had this problem cured. I cleaned the grounds (all the ones I could find), and I removed a poorly installed 'old school' hands free cell phone system. I haven't had this problem since my last post, and thought I had it fixed. About 30 minutes ago I went in jumped in the truck and I could hear a audible click, and bam, the same old problem reared it's head again.

I played around with the shifter(put it in drive then back in park), and after inserting the key and attempting to get it to work a few times, it started up and ran fine. I really don't think I did anything to be honest.

I do have a CEL light, but I'm pretty sure it's related to a small vacuum leak I still have. I will get that confirmed later on today when I get the codes read again.

I'm beginning to lean away from a bad ground and more towards a faulty relay somewhere. Is there a relay that somehow ties the turn signal "click" sound together with the interior dome lights? Is there any sort of anti theft or safety device that could be malfunctioning that would prevent the ignition system from activating? I'm stumped with this one, especially considering the frequency between the occurences.

 

The prints I have show that when the ignition switch is in the start position 12 volts goes through the ignition switch to a digital transmission range sensor or saftety nuetral switch then to a starter motor relay. The ignition switch is what energizes the starter motor relay. The contacts then close and bring 12 volts to the starter solenoid that then closes. When the solenoid closes it's contacts then takes 12 volts straight from the battery and applies it to the starter motor. I would check for corrosion also around the battery junction box under the hood. I would also check the fire wall inside the truck for any kind of moisture. There are many electrical parts mounted to the firewall inside the truck and corroison could be building up there also. The starter motor relay is located under the hood on the passenger side on top of the fender well.

 

I read a post on here not long ago with similar symptoms... (but now i can't find it again)

He found water corrosion in his trans range sensor (same sensor 3000 FPS mentioned above). He replaced the sensor which fixed the problem.

Might be worth crawling up under there to see what it looks like.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the replies. I will check the transmission sensor and see if I can see any signs of corrosion. I'd really like to get this "fixed" for good.

Does anyone know where this sensor is located?

EDIT: I believe I found the sensors location. I will check on it in a day or two and see what condition it is in. If I see no obvious signs of corrosion or moisture, would it still be worth changing? I'd rather not throw parts at the thing considering I won't really be able to prove that I "fixed" the problem.

 

Well I inspected the trans' range sensor and I couldn't find any signs of corrosion at the connector. All the pins looked pretty good and I couldn't find any signs of moisture. I also have started the truck and driven it around for the past couple of days without any problem. I almost wish it would be a frequent problem just so I could narrow down the cause.

I will re-check the grounds again along with the other suggestions that have been posted. Just for reference, I have put over 20,000 miles on the truck since my original post, so I'm a little confused about what's causing this.

 

Bringing this back to the top again. Just had to get the truck towed back to the house after the same no start issue. It also happened to die in a less than pleasant side of town. A local LEO stopped by and asked if I had a ride coming, and whether I was armed.

Since I had a few hours to sit and fool with it, I made a few observations that really don't help me.

The number 1 relay under the dash will chatter whether the key is in the ignition or completely out. ( Does anyone know what relay that is?) Also, while the relay is chattering(sometimes it will chatter constantly, while other times it will have a pulse with about a 5 sec duration), there seems to be a decent power draw, as the underhood and overhead cabin light will dim during this chattering. I found another relay under the hood that matched the one that chattered under the dash, and swapped them out. I still had the chattering.

Just by fooling around with it, this relay "chatter" will stop when I depress the brake or try to adjust the power seat. The seat does not have any power, along with the radio and clock. My keyless entry is does not have any power either. The seat thing really surprised me.

The dash is also extremely dim during this time, regardless whether the relay is acting up.

I checked all of the grounds again, and cleaned them again. I also looked around, and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I'm guessing their is some relay or module that ties all of these components together, but my electrical and mechanical knowledge isn't helping me.

I really don't have any new ideas at this point, and hopefully I will be able to get it started tomorrow and take it to a shop and get this figured out. It may be time to start shopping for a newer truck.

 

Now I am wondering if it is the ignition switch itself that is bad. There is the Gem module which is the generic electronics module that could be common to all these things but other than that I will have to look at my prints again.

 

I thought about the GEM module as well, but I didn't know where it's located in this truck. I really need to keep some kind of workshop manual in the truck.( If their all not digital)

All the fuses looked fine as well. The crazy thing is that it started fine about 20 minutes before it died in the parking lot.

 

Well, whatever happened last night really seemed to do it in. I'm still having the same problems as I did last night, and it's sitting outside with the battery disconnected. I'm scared to leave the battery hooked up to it as it seems to have a mind of it's own right now. I had the windshield wipers running on me by themselves this morning. I would laugh if this wasn't my only mode of transportation.

Is it the general consensus that the GEM module could be at fault? From my searching on here it seems the GEM module is located behind the interior fuse panel? I'll take a look at that and see if I see anything suspicious looking. I read a post here that mentioned a GEM module acting up due to moisture effecting it. This seems like a possible cause due to the fact my weatherstripping around the exterior of my windshield is peeling up a little, and would allow water to run under it during a good rain.

I also have noticed my carpet will be damp after a long rain or wet night. Not knowing what all the GEM module does, would it cause a no start issue? I assumed it controlled the non essential electrical components on the vehicle?

 

That is why I asked if you had any moisture on the inside of the firewall. The Gem module is connected to the can bus which leads to every module on your truck. If the can bus gets loaded down then everything stops communcating. If your seeing moisture on your carpet then it is a good bet that there is corrosion on some of the componants along the inside of the firewall.

 

My neighbor just had the ring around ignition that picks up the diode in the key. He had the same problems with his and the dealership installed it i an hour and a half. He was also bragging about his 196,000 mile '04 Supercrew, he swears he hasn't pulled the tranny dipstick in 3-4 years, it's been a great truck for him.