97 Suburban erratic idle, stalling, ticking noise under dash

jsayer
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2014 1:09 pm

1996 suburban clicking under dash then everything dies

Unread post by jsayer » Mon Mar 31, 2014 1:15 pm

Hi
I have a 1996 suburban, while driving there will be a clicking sound coming from under the dash on the passenger side when this happens everything shuts down and the trucks dies. I know when it is going to happen as the gauges all drop. If I can hit a bump sometimes this fixes it. I have the dash all apart and am looking at a lot of wires. I would sure appreciate any advice!!

Thank you for your time.

User avatar
carriedi
Posts: 2573
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 12:42 pm

Re: 1996 suburban clicking under dash then everything dies

Unread post by carriedi » Tue Apr 01, 2014 8:45 pm

sounds like it may be an electrical problem. but, is it an electrical power problem or is it an electrical shorting problem??? Since the gauges turn off and everything shuts down but a banging around will avert it I would look for a loss of power.

you should drive it around with voltage meters or test lights on the power wires out of the ignition switch. I made an LED light box that has 5 LED lights in it. This way I can attach it to five different powered circuits and they all come together to a common ground. then you would drive around and watch to see what circuit cuts out. You're going to have to narrow it down from there.

I don't know of any quick fix off my head. Ignition switch is a place to start. you have 5 power circuits coming out of the ignition switch.

1. yellow - neutral safety switch and Crank fuse 10A (fuse 8)
2. white - trans fuse 10A (fuse 20) does trans and instrument cluster
3. brown - power wdo curcuit breaker 30A, wiper fuses 25A (#23, #11) and radio 10A (fuse 17)
4. pink - goes to the airbag, turn and gauges in the instrument panel (i/p) fuse block and the ign1, eng1, ecm1 and fuel sol in the underhood fuse panel.
5. orange - cruise, 4wd, brake, htr/ac, rr hvac in the i/p fuse block
Browse "SIMILAR TOPICS" At The Bottom Of This Page.

jsayer
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2014 1:09 pm

Re: 1996 suburban clicking under dash then everything dies

Unread post by jsayer » Thu Apr 03, 2014 7:06 pm

awesome thank you so much for the info, we were told the computer but how could that be if a bump knocks it back to where it is supposed to be!!
:)

User avatar
carriedi
Posts: 2573
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 12:42 pm

Re: 1996 suburban clicking under dash then everything dies

Unread post by carriedi » Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:23 pm

the computer is a possibility but it could be that the power to the computer has a bad connection. you have to find out what is happening before you start replacing parts
Browse "SIMILAR TOPICS" At The Bottom Of This Page.

pappydugan
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2014 10:34 am

97 Suburban erratic idle, stalling, ticking noise under dash

Unread post by pappydugan » Sat Aug 09, 2014 10:40 am

Driving down road and heard ticking noise from under dash. Suddenly engine started missing and the RPMs were jumping up and down. Stopped for :15 then restarted fine and ran for several miles without issue then happened again. After 2-3 stops I got home and it died. Would not start until hours later. Put in garage and next morning opened door, heard ongoing ticking noise and had a dead battery. I thought the erratic driving may be a dirty throttle body but now not so sure. Any ideas?

User avatar
carriedi
Posts: 2573
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 12:42 pm

Re: 97 Suburban erratic idle, stalling, ticking noise under

Unread post by carriedi » Sat Aug 09, 2014 11:55 am

I would look for the clicking noise first. sounds like you have a relay that is turning on and off. you should try to locate the source of the noise. listen to where it seems to be coming from and feel around until you can find where the clicking is coming from. then find out what circuit that relay or module controls. You will need to see if you have a bad relay or the relay is working correctly but the circuit that turns on the relay is not working correctly. Checking the power and ground to the relay's actuator side. Check to see if it is a problem of not enough voltage available to hold the relay down.

a bad power circuit from the ignition switch, a bad relay, a bad ground, a shorted circuit (not shorted to ground because that would blow a fuse, but to another circuit) or a combination. You could be losing your 5 volt reference so the computer doesn't understand the sensor data.
Browse "SIMILAR TOPICS" At The Bottom Of This Page.

  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post