NEED HELP Cluster Lights Come Gauges Not Reading No Start

[z3rom3m]

My 2002 GMC Envoy is having problems that I'm having a hard time tracking down. It started 2 weeks ago while i was driving down the road the cluster lights came on and i lost all gauges except speedometer. It was running a little rough and acted like a alternator so i went out the next day bought one and put it on.

Next day comes around and the cluster is acting the same way all lights are coming on and all gauges are not working except speedometer. No big deal at the time as i thought it was just the cluster going out. However the other day i had to run to a friend's house when i came back out to leave all cluster lights were on with no gauges however when i went to turn the car on nothing. So i went to try to see what was wrong with it thinking that maybe the battery didn't have a good enough connection after about 5 minutes the cluster lights went off and the gauges went back to normal so i tried to start it and it turned over and got me home.

I am good with mechanical aspects of cars but this has me stumped as i'm not good with the electronics. I didn't think a bad cluster could keep a car from starting. The only other thing i can think of is the computer is going out. Does anyone have experience with this problem? I have tried googling it but nothing matches what is happening i cannot seem to find any information regarding the matter. The one thing i am afraid it is would be the computer as at that point I think it would be time to say goodbye to the ol friend.

Any help would be greatly appreciated Thanks.

 

[Blckshdw]

So i went to try to see what was wrong with it thinking that maybe the battery didn't have a good enough connection

Something similar happened to me years ago with the cluster going crazy while I was driving. Turned out to be poor battery connections. When trying to start, it would either start normally, or give me a click and nothing, like the battery was dead. I ended up changing the battery bolts as they were a little stripped, and allowing you to rotate the cables around the post, when they were at their tightest.

I'd say, next time it does that, try to wiggle the battery cables and then try starting it again. See if that causes any improvement consistently.

 

[christo829]

Seconding Blckshdw's suggestion. The odds of the computer going out are far lower than the odds of it being a battery related issue. Not long after I got my TB, I ran the battery down running a compressor (no, I do not remember why I didn't have the truck running while I was doing that). The cluster became very erratic. Some gauges worked, some lights came on, but not all that *should* have. Cycling the key just changed what was on and what was off. Once I charged the battery back up, everything came back, but the truck ran badly since some control parameters had been reset by the battery failure.

That led me to not only replace my battery, but forced me to do my first throttle body cleaning.

You don't mention how old your battery is. These trucks get really picky about their voltage levels, and an older battery might not be delivering what the truck wants.

Good Luck!

Chris

 

[Mooseman]

A weak or poor battery connection will cause weirdness like that. Have the battery tested. Beyond that, check the ground points as they can become flaky. The ignition switch can also cause electrical gremlins.

 

[z3rom3m]

Thanks everyone for your replies i will test my battery tomorrow also change the terminal screws and clean the battery posts. I will get back if it solves the issue.

Thanks Again.

 

[Blckshdw]

You may not need to replace the terminal bolts, check the connections for play first. If you can twist the cables at all like a ratchet, when the bolts are at their tightest, then yeah, time to change those out. But if they're firm and tight, then those aren't your problem.

 

[Mooseman]

Also check that the inserts inside lead battery terminals haven't loosened and spun. Although I haven't seen this happen in a long time, it's a possibility.

 

[JimInRadfordVA]

These trucks are definitely sensitive to voltage. I had a situation where the rear wiper would sweep at random, got an occasional no-start, and several times I could not remove the keys from the ignition switch. All were traced to a loose negative battery terminal.