Chevy van.. weird electrical issues, any ideas?

[renegade_cowboy]

I have an 05 Chevy and I cannot locate a weird problem i am having.

Here is whats happen..

Dash lights went out
Battery gauge on dash doesn't work
The rear right tail light doesn't work (changed bulb)
Door chime don't work
Interior lights does not work
The radio got kicked into anti theft mode and locked up LOC

I bought the van over the summer and this started happening recently, not sure what went out in what order. I checked the fuses and they seem fine, checked for loose or exposed wire and found nothing.

Thanks

 

[steve g]

its a chevy thats just what they do

 

[Chris A]

Maybe check the main hot lead into your fuse block? After that I'd test your ignition switch. Do you have a multimeter?

 

[Jim Martin]

Take a grounding strap and go from the battery to the fire wall and then take another one and go from the fire wall to the frame..and let me know what happens.....make sure all connections are paint and dirt free........

 

[dealtimeman]

You have a short for sure. If you are good with a multi meter and have time you can find the short but like I said it will take some time.

maybe a rat chewed some wires or some wires are arcing?

or maybe you just have a bad body control module ( there is a short in the module).

A good mechanic should be able to locate short in two hours or less. You need a mechanic not a part changer.

 

[bob vawter]

10-4 on what he sED.......but COULD be the ignition switch!

 

[Jim Martin]

Steve G is correct......nature of the beast with Chevy.....they seem to lead the field in electrical problems.....

the 70's trucks weren't to bad....there biggest issues were the sockets for the bulbs.....
then in the 80's things started going down hill.....the 84's were popular for the dash cluster electrical mats shorting...
a lot of them shared ignition switch problems....harness issues....and piss poor connections....

but for everyone that I have ever worked on...( and I love working on the older Chevy's )......grounding to complete a circuit was always a problem.....there big idea was to ground the engine...and then take a braided grounding strap and hook from the engine to the fire wall..and called it good.... all this did was cause a weak ground and more problems then needed.....that is why you want to make sure that it is grounded correct before you do anything or you will do nothing but chase shadows........

I don't not know if they have changed this process over the years....working on things any more has just gotten to complicated to mess with.....computer this...electronic that....they are nothing but a cluster f#@k any more....

 

[GCCLee]

Taking the radio out is where I would start, Especially if it kicked into AT mode.
Wishing you luck bud, gremlins in the wires is a pain.

chris

 

[renegade_cowboy]

Well guys this electrical mystery has gotten above my pay grade. I am going to see about scheduling this van to go in a get fixed sometime in the next week or so. Thanks for the input, thinking I should of stuck with ford.

 

[knoxclean]

I had two with weird electric issues. Just take it to the dealer they will find it.

 

[Becker]

thinking I should of stuck with ford.

Live and learn...

 

[Jimmy L]

My radio is on the fritz , interior lights don't work and the horn stopped working.

03 chevy 3500

 

[Jim Martin]

My radio is on the fritz , interior lights don't work and the horn stopped working.

03 chevy 3500

lose nut in front of the steering wheel.....

 

[Charlie Lyman]

I had a crazy electrical problem on my FORD.
I would put on brakes and the headlights would come on. If the headlights were on, the signals would not work.
When putting on the brakes the radio light would dim.
I traced the wires through the whole van. Someone spliced in the light wires for the trailer plug and they ended up crossing causing a short.
I would suspect you have a crossed wire somewhere.

 

[Joshua Klopfenstein]

Brent,

I have an 05 and 06 Chevy with CDS's that had the same problem. It was a melted wiring harness under the dash.

 

[GCCLee]

My radio is on the fritz , interior lights don't work and the horn stopped working.

03 chevy 3500

Jensen has a cheap touch screen with Blue tooth, back up camera ability and DVD playback for around 100 bucks, pop right in your dash.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

If you have a Chevrolet 05 van that has had a history of perfect maintenance on it, how many miles can these vans go for? I only had fords.

Also when this van is warming up it runs like crap and sometimes will kick the check engine light on. The light goes off when I restart it. It runs perfect when its warmed up. Any ideas? I blocked off two day at the end of the following week to get it fixed, so hopefully they can get it fixed.

Plus the heater vents don't work, only the defrost.. always did that. Thinking it may of melted a wire under the dash like mentioned above.

 

[Chris A]

My 07 fried the blower resistor which then melted the harness going to it. Maybe check there?