Battery/electrical issues?

AMBER GRACE DURRENCE

MEMBER
2003 CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER
3,000,000 MILES

So, my batter has drained out three times in the last 2 weeks, but today it drained while I was driving it. Went to Orielly's and they checked the alternator and it's good, the batter was bad, so I bought a new one. Now my battery light comes on at random times. Also, the last few weeks my dash panel has not worked right. None of my gauges have been accurate. And one of my taillights and blinker lights on one side keep blowing. My radio also turns off and on sometimes. And sometimes my charger ports work and sometimes they don't. I feel like it's something bigger than the battery. Can everything that's been going wrong all be connected somehow? What do I need to do? I'm a delivery driver so my vehicle is how I make a living for me and my children. And today has almost got me and my oldest in a wreck because it decided to just shut off Iin traffic. It was terrifying

3 Replies

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
13,414 POSTS

From your description you have a major electrical fault. With the items you are describing it sounds like the main electrical fuse box under the hood or the battery cable that feeds it. The first step I would do is remove and clean the battery cables at both ends, both positive and ground and ensure that the engine to body ground and engine to frame grounds are also in good shape and clean, then I would check the individual grounds on the engine block as well. Now see if the dash and radio work properly. If they are still off then it's going to require testing the circuits themselves for that I would start at the fuse box under the hood, they are a weak spot on some GM trucks as they corrode underneath, and you cannot see it because it's all underneath the plastic. For that you disconnect the negative battery cable, then pop the cover off the fuse box. Now remove the three power feeds from the end and the two nuts inside. Next you pull up on the box until you can get to the connectors. They only fit one way so pull them off and remove the fuse box, now examine the connectors on the box and on the wire ends, you are looking for damage or green corrosion. Or rodent damage. This is a good video on the panel and its removal and inspection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpfTGUvuvGU

Now if you do this and it's still acting up you will need to isolate which items exactly do not work and then start determining what they share. The above should get you started. Let us know what you find, and we can proceed or if you take it to a shop, you will have an idea of what they might try. If you are in an area near saltwater or a region that uses salt on the roads corrosion in the boxes is common. As is the rodent damage.

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