07 Silverado 3500 Low/Bad Battery cause Cluster Problems?

[fletch09]

Company truck,
07 C3500, 6.6L Duramax, Allison 6 speed trans. 116K
3 weeks ago replaced original battery. truck started right up, no warning lights, ran fine.
sat for about 2 weeks with out being run. (previously had sat for months at a time and never had a problem starting)
went to start after 2 week period, had dash lights but no turn over. put battery on charger, charged until charger turned off. started it up.
check engine, ABS, and brake lites on. took for a short drive, noticed no speedo, no lite on gear indicator, seemed like it was in second and would not shift, and had reduced power. stopped to turn around, shifted into R, seemed like i had thrown it into gear while moving, same when i went to Drive, even though i was completely stopped. got it back to garage, shut it off. went to start again, battery lite and all others as b4 on, would not turn over.

will a weak/bad battery cause all these problems to happen?
and will a new battery eliminate the problems?

will be pulling battery to have it checked tomorrow. it's not the first time i have had a battery go bad in a month.

 

[Sparky]

Very well could be. If the battery has a bad cell it can cause all sorts of power-related issues. My parent's old minivan when the battery internally shorted went totally berserk with the gauges going crazy (bouncing every which way, tach went all the way past redline and jammed up), idiot lights all flashing like a Christmas tree, climate control went to full blast and couldn't be changed, etc. New battery and everything went back to normal, except we had to tear the dash apart to spin the tach needle back to its normal spot as it was jammed up.

 

[Mooseman]

Definitely. I once jumped the TB and it was just berserk just like yours. Unbeknownst to me, the battery was frozen and not taking a charge (obviously). New battery, all good.

Have the battery tested. Likely shorted or something else wrong, especially if it died within 2 weeks unless you have a drain somewhere.

 

[fletch09]

after 2 weeks and no turn over, i too thought a parasitic drain. but then why would the original battery (07) not die sooner than 9 years.
it's just such a PITA to get it out or in. just like the TB it has the brace going across the battery. have maybe 2" between the female socket connections and the fuse box, and the windshield washer fill is squeezed in the front side of the battery.

 

[fletch09]

had the battery checked at the parts store where i purchased it. it checked fine. and was trickled charged by them over night. re installed it. truck turned right over. all warning lites except the dreaded check engine lite are gone. during several attempts to stop and restart, sometimes i got clicking, sometimes nothing and 1 time it sounded like the starter was not dis-engaging. thinking possible starter/ starter relay problem now. will re-watch the video's posted in the thread when i had starter problems w/ my TB.

 

[mrrsm]

I've been thinking about the causality here and everything seems to point back to the turning of the Key in the Ignition and an internal failure of the switch of some kind that is NOT actually disconnecting the power circuit when rotated to the OFF position. We have had a recent occurrence of this involving Wonky Reads to the Dash Panel...and while that Member had additional problems within his Starter Circuitry that proved to be a Dead Starter... Changing out the Ignition Switch AND the Key Cylinder actually solved his Electrical Battery Drain Problem as a Separate Issue... Here's Hoping this can be the very same thing... and easily repaired.

While not an exact set of circumstances as those involving your Company Truck... There may be some use in reviewing this situation for "sympathetic similarities":

http://gmtnation.com/forums/threads/engine-would-not-turn-off.16178/#post-516257

 

[Mooseman]

I would swap the ignition switch first. Rarely do the key cylinders fail mechanically.

 

[fletch09]

after it sat over the weekend, battery low again. after reading MRRSM's post and watching some video's, i do suspect ignition switch. i noticed before, and in particular this morning, turning the key it tends to turn over on the first click of the key, (at accessory position). opinions? switch or cylinder? both?

 

[Sparky]

Switch. Cylinder is extremely rare, and isn't what makes electrical contact with anything.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Agree with the switch first

 

[fletch09]

checked the ignition this am before replacing switch. (was on trickle charge over night because of low battery) first try, it did all 3 positions, on 3rd try it turned over on 2nd position. replaced switch.( note: on 07 3500 no screws holding column cover on, just snapped together) made sure to check position of gears of old one and set new switch to same position. ( per video's i looked at) checked for 3 positions before reconnecting battery, good to go.
reconnected battery, turned key, started on 2nd position. on several more tries sometimes it would turn over, (more often than not in the 2nd postion) some times no turn over. so no improvement. check engine light gone, but security light now on.
pulled relay to check (probably should have done as a first check) only have an ohmmeter at work, ohm- ed ok. need to bring in jumpers to put power to relay to check further. will re insert tomorrow or next day to see if battery has drained.
thinking possibly a bad starter now.
can a bad relay, or starter cause battery drain?

 

[Mooseman]

They shouldn't since they would have power only while cranking.

If it's cranking in the second "run" key position instead of the third spring loaded position, the switch is off probably by a tooth, which would explain why there is still power being drained as the auxiliary position is now in the "off" key position. You'll have to re-synchronize between the key cylinder and the switch.

 

[fletch09]

update:
since it's a company truck and did not really need it , it has been sitting.
recharged battery in late Nov. and left disconnected till 2 weeks ago.
reconnected and tried to start, turned over in 2nd position again, but with hand off key, would just keep turning over, trying to start, but to no avail.
had it towed to local garage. (place i have always used for our trucks)
he got it to start after removing horn relay, but after shutting off heard something in the electronic tranny control clicking.
after further investigation found that M***** F****** MICE had been chewing on wires. found some bare wires under the hood fuse box, and other places.
was able to pull like 10 codes, cleared them and is now able to get it started, and not drain battery while key is off. a work in progress at this point. truck is for sale!

 

[Sparky]

I'll buy it for tree fiddy