Battery drain maybe cluster

[george2010]

2001 Silverado 1500 2wd 5.3 I have been having battery drain issues after two days. I just noticed that while sitting in the truck after turning off the motor and still have the key to off, after a few seconds the gauges come back to life for no reason. Take key out or open the door and they go off but again after waiting a few seconds they come back on. I would think this is a reason for battery draw? Fuel, temp, and volt gauges. It seems the oil pressure stays on no matter until I start the truck again. Please help as I am in two batteries already. Oh I did a test with a volt meter and pulled fuses until the only drop was when I pulled the TBC fuse. But now after seeing the gauges I have no idea where to look.

[Jsdirt]

I'd suspect the ignition switch, or a BCM (body control module) issue. That's an odd one!

[george2010]

2 hours ago, Jsdirt said:

I'd suspect the ignition switch, or a BCM (body control module) issue. That's an odd one!

It seems to me that when the BCM tries to shut off something else is waking it back up.  Open door, remove key both make it shut down but it turns back on after a few seconds. How do I track down what it controls that is making it stay on or can the BCM by itself wake itself up if faulty?

[Jsdirt]

I don't have an answer for you there.

 

Best bet is to get a good wiring diagram, and see what is connected to what. Don't think they had networks on '01 models, so you're ahead of the game there. 

 

Too many friggin magic boxes in vehicles today! Drives me nuts! 

[george2010]

1 hour ago, Jsdirt said:

I don't have an answer for you there.

 

Best bet is to get a good wiring diagram, and see what is connected to what. Don't think they had networks on '01 models, so you're ahead of the game there. 

 

Too many friggin magic boxes in vehicles today! Drives me nuts! 

This happened today. Was sitting in the truck, turned it off and left key in. Sat there for about 30 secs then the gauges went back up as usual. I decided to push the trip reset button in the cluster and when I did the gauges went back to off. I let up and within seconds they went up again. Any idea if this is a cluster issue or should I still pursue the Body Control Module?

[Jsdirt]

That issue sounds like a cluster issue. There are lots of cluster issues with these years, but usually involving stepper motors and backlighting.  The cluster on those years isn't as integral as it is on '07 NBS and up - on those models, if the cluster fails, the truck won't run.

 

Nice of GM to engineer that one for us. 

 

The other problem sounds like a BCM problem, but that said I'd be going over all the wiring first before condemning that. If you don't own a J-box, you won't be able to replace it successfully on your own anyway - will have to find a garage or mobile guy (NOT DEALER) that does this sort of thing. 

 

Was this vehicle in TX or FL during the hurricanes? These sort of problems are par for the course with flood vehicles. Going to be thousands of them out there on the market going forward ...

[george2010]

1 hour ago, Jsdirt said:

That issue sounds like a cluster issue. There are lots of cluster issues with these years, but usually involving stepper motors and backlighting.  The cluster on those years isn't as integral as it is on '07 NBS and up - on those models, if the cluster fails, the truck won't run.

 

Nice of GM to engineer that one for us. 

 

The other problem sounds like a BCM problem, but that said I'd be going over all the wiring first before condemning that. If you don't own a J-box, you won't be able to replace it successfully on your own anyway - will have to find a garage or mobile guy (NOT DEALER) that does this sort of thing. 

 

Was this vehicle in TX or FL during the hurricanes? These sort of problems are par for the course with flood vehicles. Going to be thousands of them out there on the market going forward ...

I unhooked the cluster in the back and unhooked the neg batt cable. Left for 30 mins. Came back and used my Multimeter and checked for current. It has dropped way down with cluster disconnected. Will another cluster from another 2001 Chevy truck work as a replacement if it has the same code on the back? DHRK and same #

15055362 Thank you for all of your help so far!

[Tahoe02]

You could check ebay for an instrument cluster. When I looked there was one with that part #. Not sure if that would fix your problem.

[Swimmer8366]

I would swap cluster with a buddy and see if anything changes before purchase.....

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[Jsdirt]

10 hours ago, george2010 said:

I unhooked the cluster in the back and unhooked the neg batt cable. Left for 30 mins. Came back and used my Multimeter and checked for current. It has dropped way down with cluster disconnected. .... 

 

You checked for parasitic draw at the battery? Not following what you're saying. These post '96 vehicle all have a little more parasitic draw than our old, simple cars had, since there's a bunch of modules in various states of "sleep" or "awake". That said, if it dropped significantly when you unplugged the cluster, you may have found an issue there.

 

What kind of numbers did you see plugged in vs. unplugged?

[george2010]

On 10/21/2017 at 6:38 AM, Jsdirt said:

You checked for parasitic draw at the battery? Not following what you're saying. These post '96 vehicle all have a little more parasitic draw than our old, simple cars had, since there's a bunch of modules in various states of "sleep" or "awake". That said, if it dropped significantly when you unplugged the cluster, you may have found an issue there.

 

What kind of numbers did you see plugged in vs. unplugged?

I installed a good cluster that was tested. It does the same as before so it is not the cluster making the gauges go back on. This is just the Fuel and Temp gauge that come back on. Any ideas?

[george2010]

Are there any other Techs here that are familiar with cluster or wiring issues?

[Dyno0202]

Hello all. I know this is an older post but my 2000  Sierra 1500 just started with gauges turning on a few seconds after the truck is off. Has anyone nailed down what this is? The previous poster indicated it was not the cluster but we never heard the final fix. Ideas???

 

Thanks

[george2010]

I never did find out how to fix it and ended up selling the truck.

[Jsdirt]

As I mentioned above, probably a body control module or ignition switch failure. Either the magic box is getting an input it shouldn't be from the ignition switch, or, the BCM is waking on its own for no reason., and only powering up the IC.