Strange problem

maalna2 · February 20, 2017

This weekend my truck started acting weird. On Saturday there is a very intermittent zap or click noise that would come through the speakers. Almost like there is a short somewhere. When this happens and I am turning the steering wheel tries to pull back midline for about a second or two then goes back to where it was previously turned to. When I started the truck up on Sunday I had to re-enter the time in the radio but all stations were still programed into it. I noticed when the headlights are on and it makes that noise the headlights flicker a little bit. On the way into work this morning that noise was not there but during a turn on the interstate the steering wheel tried three or four times to return to midline during the turn. It happens so fast that is is finished just about the time you can react to it. Needless to say I am taking the day off tomorrow to take the truck in but anyone know what the issue could be?

Newell33 · February 20, 2017

Your symptoms are similar to others that have reported bad grounds, and/or bad battery cables. Here is one thread, but I believe there are more:

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/177978-steering-wheel-jammed-up-stabilitrak-errors/page-2?hl=steering+wheel&do=findComment&comment=1836988

maalna2 · February 20, 2017

Your symptoms are similar to others that have reported bad grounds, and/or bad battery cables. Here is one thread, but I believe there are more:

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/177978-steering-wheel-jammed-up-stabilitrak-errors/page-2?hl=steering+wheel&do=findComment&comment=1836988

Yes I have been reading all of these. The only difference so far as I can tell is I am not getting any error messages that pop up. Or if they do I am not able to read them as I am to busy reacting to what is going on.

maalna2 · February 21, 2017

Took it to the dealer today. They were unable to find any codes. Although they did mention a TSB for the steering wheel jerk and said they looked and the connections were good. They want me to bring the truck back in on Monday so they can tear it down and find out what is going on. Said they would more than likely have it a couple of days.

maalna2 · March 5, 2017

So the dealership still has the truck. I have owned it a total of 23 days and it has been in the shop for 11 of those days. Called Wednesday to see if there were any updates and was told a couple parts had been ordered and they were still trying to track down the steering wheel issue. Friday they were still waiting on parts and they have not been able to make the steering wheel do anything crazy but were going to replace the ground wires incase that is the issue.

Coby7 · March 5, 2017

It would have to be a ground inside the cab if you lost clock settings in the radio. My uneducated guess would be the BCM ground which has the common ground to all your symptoms.

KARNUT · March 5, 2017

My son 15 suburban is acting up too. Very scary his wife wouldn't drive it with the kids in it. I'm sure there'll be a recall some day. In the meantime they all ride in his little car. The suburban is 18 K upside down so trading in is not an option. Bad deal for GM I can see this becoming a major problem when people start getting hurt because the can't steer the vehicle.

Dnt · March 5, 2017

This weekend my truck started acting weird. On Saturday there is a very intermittent zap or click noise that would come through the speakers. Almost like there is a short somewhere. When this happens and I am turning the steering wheel tries to pull back midline for about a second or two then goes back to where it was previously turned to. When I started the truck up on Sunday I had to re-enter the time in the radio but all stations were still programed into it. I noticed when the headlights are on and it makes that noise the headlights flicker a little bit. On the way into work this morning that noise was not there but during a turn on the interstate the steering wheel tried three or four times to return to midline during the turn. It happens so fast that is is finished just about the time you can react to it. Needless to say I am taking the day off tomorrow to take the truck in but anyone know what the issue could be?

Hopefully they will pinpoint the problem soon. It sounds like some type of power surge is causing the computer to shut down and reset thereby losing the electric steering and other settings. Intermittent electrical gremlins are hard to diagnose. It really could be any number of things but my guess is that there is a bad diode in the alternator and they should check that first......been there done that and got the tshirt on a different manufacturers vehicle. Never got an engine code and it would never act up when at the dealership when under warranty, typically once or twice a month would just be driving along and it would hesitate / gauges would go crazy for a few seconds (sometimes it actually DIED) and then it would be fine for a while.

sloz71 · March 5, 2017

Here you go.

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/198500-2014-and-up-guys-with-funky-electrical-issues/

Coby7 · March 5, 2017

Like I said BCM ground. G218

2strokesmoke · March 5, 2017

My son 15 suburban is acting up too. Very scary his wife wouldn't drive it with the kids in it. I'm sure there'll be a recall some day. In the meantime they all ride in his little car. The suburban is 18 K upside down so trading in is not an option. Bad deal for GM I can see this becoming a major problem when people start getting hurt because the can't steer the vehicle.

They need to report their issue! NHTSA is where you start.

KARNUT · March 5, 2017

The waiting game starts,they claim they finally fixed a loose wire. I offered to let them drive my SUV and switch but there're fearful. So it basically sits. The steering locking up is the reason.

They need to report their issue! NHTSA is where you start.

maalna2 · March 5, 2017

Here you go.

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/198500-2014-and-up-guys-with-funky-electrical-issues/

I actually read this before I had called them Friday asking for an update. I asked if they would look at G218 because I heard it can cause this type of issue. He said that might be the wire they are waiting on. He said he believed that was part of the TSB. not sure

maalna2 · March 5, 2017

Hopefully they will pinpoint the problem soon. It sounds like some type of power surge is causing the computer to shut down and reset thereby losing the electric steering and other settings. Intermittent electrical gremlins are hard to diagnose. It really could be any number of things but my guess is that there is a bad diode in the alternator and they should check that first......been there done that and got the tshirt on a different manufacturers vehicle. Never got an engine code and it would never act up when at the dealership when under warranty, typically once or twice a month would just be driving along and it would hesitate / gauges would go crazy for a few seconds (sometimes it actually DIED) and then it would be fine for a while.

How hard is it to detect a bad diode? I only ask because I had read that in another post and took it to a auto parts store and had them test it. He said it looks good but would not be able to tell if it was a bad diode unless it acted up when he was actually testing it.