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Detailed the engine / Now it won't start

InDepthAutoDetailing

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InDepthAutoDetailing

InDepthAutoDetailing

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I posted this over on GMFULLSIZE with no luck yet so I thought I'd post here to see if anyone else has had this problem.

 

When I bought this truck I had to make a second trip to get the truck because it wouldn't start. The boy had his mechanic fix it. He said something got wet and had to be dried out. That was Aug of 2010. No problems until today. I detailed the engine and then washed the rest of the truck. After everything was done I cranked the truck to clean the windows. No problem this time. I did one side and was going to turn the truck around to get the other side and it would not crank. It's doing the same thing it did when I bought the truck. Everything works, it just will not engage the starter to crank.

 

I have pulled every connector that I can get to apart and used the air hose to dry it out. Even the big PCM module. I think that's what it is called.

 

When trying to crank I noticed the gear shift indicator doesn't show that the truck is in park. It has the P R N D 3 2 1 but no indication as to where the shifter is.

 

Anyone ever experience this? Any suggestions on how to fix it? I'd like to fix it so that I don't have to worry about going through this every time I detail the engine or drive it in the rain.

 

Thanks

 

I found this:

 

http://www.automotix.net/autorepair/...?year_key=2005

 

If the truck doesn't know it's in park I don't think it would engage the starter to crank. I'm calling the dealer tomorrow and hopefully I can get this fixed under some kind of recall.

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NightMare Silverado

NightMare Silverado

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I was in the flood zones testing the limits of my 2wd with my kid and little sister in my truck when I looked down and had ZERO oil pressure.... I freaked out turned it off crawled under it(still dripping mud mind you) checked everything- oil filter, pan, gasket, drain nut and to my surprise I was not leaking anywhere so I checked the oil. It was perfect. Thought "well I'm ****** anyway and started her up. Perfect pressure for about 5 minutes of driving them zero again??? A few minutes on my phone and I found out the stepping motors go bad and speedo/oil are usually the first to go. My speedo was already dead but I was pissed my truck scared me this bad on oil pressure and put it in the shop the next day to have the entire gauge cluster changed out. No more issues.

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InDepthAutoDetailing

InDepthAutoDetailing

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I was in the flood zones testing the limits of my 2wd with my kid and little sister in my truck when I looked down and had ZERO oil pressure.... I freaked out turned it off crawled under it(still dripping mud mind you) checked everything- oil filter, pan, gasket, drain nut and to my surprise I was not leaking anywhere so I checked the oil. It was perfect. Thought "well I'm ****** anyway and started her up. Perfect pressure for about 5 minutes of driving them zero again??? A few minutes on my phone and I found out the stepping motors go bad and speedo/oil are usually the first to go. My speedo was already dead but I was pissed my truck scared me this bad on oil pressure and put it in the shop the next day to have the entire gauge cluster changed out. No more issues.

 

Thanks for the info. My speedo has already gone. It's not like it would be accurate anyway with 40" tires. I use a Garmin GPS for a speedometer.

 

My truck had a recall on the instrument panel up to 80k miles. Since mine has 110k they said it would be $525 to fix. I think I'll stick to the GPS.

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InDepthAutoDetailing

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When I bnought mine I signed a bill of sale on Friday evening and drove the truck home (about 45 miles). Speedo worked fine. Then on the way to meet them at the bank Saturday morning it went crazy. From 90mph to 35 mph didn't matter if you were moving or not. That's my luck. I knew it would be a money pit I just didnt think it would start before I actually signed the papers at the bank.

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bcampbe7

bcampbe7

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Those stepper motors can be replaced. I bought a set of 6 on eBay for my 2004 Yukon.

 

My engine temp went to the red on a 12 hour drive home one Winter. Was a bad feeling. I knew something was up when I shut it down and it stayed up around the red. Started it back up and it went past the red and was almost pointing straight down! Good ol' GM stepper motors. All other gauges are fine so far so I haven't actually replaced any of the motors. There is a local person that does micro soldering. I called them and it was around $50, or so, for all 6. I will probably just wait till some more gauges die. :)

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InDepthAutoDetailing

InDepthAutoDetailing

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Stephen I did use the garden hose. No pressure washer. I haven't had any problems with the other engine bays I've cleaned.

 

I plan on some kind of silicone to seal that puppy up. That'll come in a couple of weeks.

 

I sure am glad I wasn't off in a big mud hole when this happened.

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Superdutytd

Superdutytd

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It seems like the electronics of the pre 07's was always a little shoddy. My cousins 04 escalade had the speedo go out a bunch of times. It was always fun guessing how fast we were going. I've cleaned a few 5.3's and never had any problems, but maybe they were all post 07's?

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green6767

green6767

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It seems like the electronics of the pre 07's was always a little shoddy. My cousins 04 escalade had the speedo go out a bunch of times. It was always fun guessing how fast we were going. I've cleaned a few 5.3's and never had any problems, but maybe they were all post 07's?

 

I have an 07, new body, 5.3. I've never had any issues with electronics in this thing yet whether the engine bay was wet, muddy, raining, etc. I do avoid certain parts of the engine bay when Im doing my light mist with water before a detail. An old master Ford mechanic I had the pleasure of shadowing for like 3 months told me to NEVER hose off the inside of an engine bay. It is then you'll realize how bad the various seals are on most used to not so new vehicles, but by that time it could be too late.

 

I can definitely agree with that, but I think if done correctly and carefully....it can be done with no issues.

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Superdutytd

Superdutytd

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I have an 07, new body, 5.3. I've never had any issues with electronics in this thing yet whether the engine bay was wet, muddy, raining, etc. I do avoid certain parts of the engine bay when Im doing my light mist with water before a detail. An old master Ford mechanic I had the pleasure of shadowing for like 3 months told me to NEVER hose off the inside of an engine bay. It is then you'll realize how bad the various seals are on most used to not so new vehicles, but by that time it could be too late.

 

I can definitely agree with that, but I think if done correctly and carefully....it can be done with no issues.

 

Yea I've hosed out the engine bay of a couple of 5.3's and not had any problems, they were both newer surburbans from WA. I think all of our wet weather keeps seals from drying out :lol:

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Cook

Cook

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I can ship you a cluster for cheap if you want...the only problem is the mileage wont be the same and its usually a pain to have it reprogrammed when it already has miles on it. Im taking mine out of my truck and swapping in a brand new denali cluster so I have a trans temp gauge.

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DieselDude

DieselDude

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I think GMC is famous for problems with the cluster. My father's GMC truck everything except the speedo went out in his cluster. You got a good price if it was ~$525 for the cluster. I was quoted when I went to the dealership $700 for a new one. I still like GMC trucks even though this slight problem.

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Mysticine

Mysticine

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Do you have a blaster sidekick or something else you can do to blow air over the engine bay? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that it's just something temporarily wet and nothing has been shorted out.

 

On one occasion while cleaning the engine on my C5 Z06 upon starting the engine went into "reduced power mode" or something similar. By reduced it had no power whatsoever. I used my blaster sidekick over the entire engine compartment, also pulling all fuses and plugs and getting them as well. Car started up fine after that.

 

I'm not familiar with your truck, but does the shift indicator normally light up right away?

 

Edit: Have you tried disconnecting/reconnecting the battery or just making sure the terminals are tight? I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's always good to start small...

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Cook

Cook

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i dont think the P gets lit up when its in park anyways on our trucks. Put the thing in NDR321 and you should see it light up. I doubt the neutral safety switch got wet and isnt working.

 

did you put a meter on your battery when trying to crank? I would check that first to make sure its not just a simple battery issue.

 

if it checks out ok then I would get a meter and check for voltage at the starter. if that checks out try hitting the side of the starter, the solenoid or starter itself could be gone.

 

the only thing other than that is checking the ignition fuse and all other relevant relays/fuses in the electrical box under the hood.

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