2011 GMC Sierra 1500 electrical problem

Craigy · July 7, 2017

I have a 2011 GMC Sierra 1500. As others have said on this forum, the truck started having weird electrical problems: the door locks would cycle locked and unlocked rapidly, different warning lights in the dash would come on and the tach and speedo would fall to zero then come back to where they had been. I cleaned the contact points of the negative battery cable (alt and frame) and the problem went away for a few months. Recently, the problem returned but with a new twist: when I shut off the engine, there would be no power until I jiggled the small ground wire on the negative battery cable--then it would start and run fine. I've read the fixes others have come up with on this forum and am wondering how long the fix lasted (weeks, months, years?); no one seems to bother to follow up with that information. I would appreciate it if someone would address this. Thanks.

dsr611 · July 7, 2017

Have you had the battery checked? If it's the original battery, it is getting close, and probably past, its lifespan. The battery in my '10 lasted about 5 years. Low batteries can cause all kind of electrical gremlins in these trucks.

HK GUY · July 8, 2017

I have a 2011 Silverado and had the same problems. I had it towed to the dealer who had it for 3-4 days and said it was a loose ground at the battery. Drove it for a few months and it happened again. I did some additional research and came to the conclusion it was the ground cable itself. I ordered a new one April 11th off Amazon, put it on, and haven't had a problem since then.

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Teddyshrew · December 23, 2022

My 2011 Sierra 1500 similar problems. I have a new battery. My door clicker stopped working had got it to work for short time then quit working all together. My battery gauge on dash reads 15 V most all the time. It will drain the battery it it sets for 3-4 days. The park lights sometimes come on in middle of the night or will stay on. Head lights ( switch on auto setting ) will flash. I gust purchase this unit a few months ago. If setting at store with it off and in a few minutes it dash comes on and says low battery voltage. Dealership can't help they say voltage is normal and can't find anything wrong with loss of batty voltage???? . My email is [email protected]

Any advice as to what I can do myself repair shops here are no help

Edited December 23, 2022 by Teddyshrew

asilverblazer · December 29, 2022

On 12/23/2022 at 12:06 PM, Teddyshrew said:

My 2011 Sierra 1500 similar problems. I have a new battery. My door clicker stopped working had got it to work for short time then quit working all together. My battery gauge on dash reads 15 V most all the time. It will drain the battery it it sets for 3-4 days. The park lights sometimes come on in middle of the night or will stay on. Head lights ( switch on auto setting ) will flash. I gust purchase this unit a few months ago. If setting at store with it off and in a few minutes it dash comes on and says low battery voltage. Dealership can't help they say voltage is normal and can't find anything wrong with loss of batty voltage???? . My email is [email protected]

Any advice as to what I can do myself repair shops here are no help

Door clicker sounds like a separate problem, maybe the coin battery in the fob or the contacts are dirty underneath.

Don't think of it as a "battery" gauge, it's a gauge of the voltage available in the truck, Anything over 12 volts is from the alternator and is to charge the battery.

The question you need to be figuring out is why are the lights coming on in the first place? If they are on long enough - they'll run the battery down even if its new.