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02 Suburban with strange problems

Ok I go to start my 2002 chevy suburban this morning and no electrical components worked and it wouldnt start. Today I get home at one and I opened the passenger door and tried startin it again. Nothing no light and no start or cranking. One min later I went to the drivers side to pop the hood and the lights came on inside so I tried starting it and it worked perfectly. Tried it many times after and no problems. I had my oil changed two weeks ago and ever since it has been running strange and making weird noises. What could this possibly be??? I would owe anything to the person that could help me. Thanks


  • kiawahkiawah Posts: 3,666
    Start by driving it somewhere and have the battery load tested. You may have a bad battery, loose cables on the battery, and/or a bunch of corrosion on the battery terminals.

    Many autoparts chains will do this test free of charge. But if your battery is 4+ years old you may want to consider replacing if it before winter anyhow.
  • Thanks for the quick reply but the battery was just replaced and all the terminals look 100%. What else could it possibly be. Thanks in advance
  • kiawahkiawah Posts: 3,666
    edited October 2010
    Could be lots of things

    - bad ground cable or connections loose at battery or other end attach points
    - bad key switch
    - lost programming in security system not matching security chip in key anymore (try different key)
    - bad BCM (Body control module)

    - just because you have new battery, does not mean there isn't something wrong with it. ie, could have bad cell, you could have bad alternator, so it's not charging battery.
  • Check your fuse box under hood possible mice nest or bad connection..
  • Hi, I also have an 02 suburban. I had the same thing happen to me. Turns out that those suburbans have a feature built into them that's actually pretty cool. If the computer sees that there is too much electrical drain such as lights being left on etc. the computer basically shuts off all load from the battery. It will seem as if the battery is completely dead. Then somehow it will reinstate the battery. I"m not sure what activates it, perhaps opening a certain door, or who knows, but it will come back on. That way you don't end up with a dead battery. Next time it happens just realize that your suburban prevented you from having a completely dead battery! Pretty cool.
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