Possible electrical problem.

[Keoni]

Okay so on Christmas day I tried to start my 2001 Suburban and it didn't feel like working. So heres what I did leading up to it not starting.
I opened it with the remote and everything worked fine, the dome lights came on when I opened the door and loaded everyone and everything into the car. Then put the key in the ignition and everything is normal but when I go to turn the key to start the car all it does is go click then everything turns off. No lights no dash no nothing. We think maybe the battery died for some reason but get out the multimeter and its fully charged giving off 12V. I did some minor checking of the fuses but didn't find one that I thought could be the culprit. So we changed cars and now the Suburban sits "dead" in the driveway. Also now the gas gauge is also hanging straight down pointing at the floor and the speedo is pinned to 100 mph. Does anyone have any ideas other than going through and checking all of the fuses and relays? Or at least an idea of which set to start on?

 

[zora]

I would check to see if the battery cables at both the battery, the starter and the ground are clean and tight? Do you get that 12V reading when you turn the key?

 

[Spriteman]

A battery can read 12v but still be bad - a battery has to have cranking amps to still be good. A multi-meter can only measure the voltage and will show 12v even if there's only 1 amp left in the battery and it takes 500-600 amps to turn the engine over.

Take it to Autozone or similar place and they can test the battery fully.

How old is the battery? Most batteries will only last between 3-5 years.

 

[Chuzz]

You need another battery. 12 volts can crank a car, but you really need 12.5 or more nowadays. Sounds like a dead cell or two in that one. Like Spriteman said, take it to your local Autozone or other chain store and have them load test it for you.

 

[Keoni]

Okay I will take the battery in today but just to me it seems like a light should be turning on or something because I checked the continuity of the fuses through the batter but I'm not electrical savvy by any means. My next step after taking the battery in will be to check all the relays in the car to see if thats a problem then to just continue on from there if I have to. Keep any ideas coming please.

 

[Keoni]

Oh and I forgot to add the battery was manufactured 8/12 so I don't think its past its prime but who knows till I get it tested.

 

[Keoni]

Okay now I have to come back with my tail between my legs in shame because all it was was the negative cable wasn't fully connected to the negative terminal of the battery. Thank goodness for dads right.

 

[Spriteman]

No problem Keoni - happens to the best of us.

We all wish that all of our problems were that easy to fix.

 

[RickPo]

Glad it worked out for you.