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Strange electrical no power/no start situation

19270 Views 16 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  electbc
I made a post on the Facebook Traverse page on November 29th with what seemed to be alot of guessing and I can't have a guess....I need to fine a definite direction to go with this car..a quick overview about Nov. 29th and then what happened yesterday, Dec. 5th.
2017 Traverse 3.6 with roughly 36K miles.
On Nov. 29th the car started and ran fine in the morning but later in the day I went out to go somewhere and opened the door and noticed no dome lights and no lights on the dash that usually come on (the speedo and tach divisions usually light up)
After a couple of minutes of me fiddling around with the gear shift (out of frustration more than anything) it did start and ran fine but the check engine light came on.
I drove my errand and when I came home I shut the car off and restarted right away just to see what it would do....All was fine and the check engine light went out.
I called my dealership to go in for an oil change since it was due anyway and also to have diagnostics done to see if a code was stored in the computer, even though the check engine light was off.
Appointment wasn't until Monday 3 Dec.
In the days between Nov 30th and Dec. 3rd the car was fine.
Dealership did pull a P0449 Evap Canister Vent Valve code.
I had told service advisor about the no power, no start situation and the check engine light coming on and they said the only code was the P0449.
Couldn't explain the no power, no start and then after a couple of minutes it started.
Also couldn't really explain the P0449 code except that maybe it might have been stuck for a short while because the gas tank had been overfilled.
I told him that the tank hadn't been overfilled and was only at about 3/4 tank when I had the no power, no start and then when it did start the check engine light came on and then the light went back out for no apparent reason.
So I came away from that with my wallet a little thinner from the cost of the diagnostics with no new info other than the p0449 code that apparently went away all by itself. (Car is just out of warranty....36,200 miles)
.......OK...now yesterday, Dec. 5th....two days since the diagnostics were done...
I had an errand to run and it was cold out so I was going to use the remote start to heat up the car a little before I left....
I hit the lock button twice and had the appropriate parking light flashes and horn beep and then I hit the start button on the FOB and it began the start process and then stopped.
I tried to start it one more time using the remote start and same thing....it acted like the remote start was disabled because there was a code stored in the computer.
I went out to the car and used the key fob to unlock the car but it wouldn't activate.
I had to unlock the car manually and when I opened the door I again noticed that there was no dome light and no dash lights.
It was like the car had virtually no power at all.....nothing, completely dead.
I put the key in the ignition and of course it didn't start but I couldn't remove the key from the ignition.
I tried fiddling with the gear shift and still nothing......
Now here is where it gets really weird.....
In my way of thinking, I have a vehicle that is dead...no power at all, so why not hook up my battery charger to it and see what happens...
I first decided to try my little trickle charger....I popped open the hood and before I actually hooked up the charger I wanted to check to make sure the clamps on the charger would get a good bite on the positive and negative charging terminals. The clamps on the trickle charger didn't seem to open very far and I just wanted to make sure that I'd be able to get them on....
I connected the negative trickle charger clamp to the negative charging terminal and wiggled it to make sure it had good bite.
Then I took the positive trickle charger clamp and went to hook it to the positive charging terminal.
As soon as I touched the trickle charger clamp to the charging terminal, it was like everything came to life...the car alarm started going off and beeped the 5 times.
Again, I didn't even have the trickle charger plugged into the wall socket. All I did was connect the trickle charger clamps to the charging terminals (again, I just did this to make sure that the clamps would get a good bite on the charging terminals before I even attempted to plug the charger in).
Well....I got in the car, the dome lights were on, the dash lights were on and it started fine. No check engine light...
What I did notice is that the time on the clock was 17 minutes behind the actual time, so I know that the car had virtually no power at all for 17 minutes. The amount of time that had elapsed from when I first tried to start it until I had connected the trickle charger clamps (trickle charger not even plugged into the wall socket) and the car came back to life.
Initially I wouldn't suspect the battery because the car is a 2017 so the battery should still be good.
The charging system seems to be working fine. The dash gauge operates in what seems to be appropriate......
I'm sorry this post is so long but I am at my wits end with a car that seems to sometimes has virtually no electrical power and won't start and other times, it is completely fine.
My wife drives the car for UBER about 2 days a week and I don't want her to get stuck somewhere and then other than that, the car will sometimes not be driven for a day or two as I am disabled and retired and my wife is retired also, except for the couple of days a week with UBER and occasionally we will either take or pick up our granddaughter at school...so for the most part, the car doesn't get driven alot.
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My 1st thought would be to check the nut under the red flip up cap for tightness since just touching that seemed to have put power thru the system. The positive wire from battery makes it's junction there to the fuse box. Maybe even loosen it slightly and wiggle the terminals to make sure they are making a solid connection. Then re tighten the nut.
My 1st thought would be to check the nut under the red flip up cap for tightness since just touching that seemed to have put power thru the system. The positive wire from battery makes it's junction there to the fuse box. Maybe even loosen it slightly and wiggle the terminals to make sure they are making a solid connection. Then re tighten the nut.
I was kind of thinking that way myself so this morning so I checked terminals in engine bay and on battery. Everything was tight.
Everything operated as it should and it started okay this morning. I put a volt tester on the charging terminals in the engine bay and I was getting 14.5 volts.
Went and had a battery load test done. It showed that battery was good but that it was low....12.3 volts.
I guess for the time being, I'm just going to put the trickle charge on it anytime it's sitting in the garage.
This whole time when the vehicle is driving, the voltmeter on the dash seems to operate normally. It varies a little up and down based on how many accessories are being used. According to the owners manual it's normal for it to vary up and down to maintain a constant charge to the battery...
When I put the trickle charger on it when I got home today, it showed that it was charging.....I'm going to keep an eye on it and see if it brings it up to proper voltage and then switches over to maintenance charge.
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if you dont use your Traverse a lot the battery drains pretty fast. Mine is a 2017 and you can see the difference it can make by leaving the car unused after 3 days in cold weather. The OE batteries are not very good right from new. A good choice is repacing with a AGM type.
if you dont use your Traverse a lot the battery drains pretty fast. Mine is a 2017 and you can see the difference it can make by leaving the car unused after 3 days in cold weather. The OE batteries are not very good right from new. A good choice is repacing with a AGM type.
I put a trickle charge on the car overnight and it brought the charge up to 12.8 ....
I drove around for awhile and one thing I noticed is that the charging system gauge is now seeming to read at a higher charge rate than previously....
Used to normally show from about a low of 12 up to a high of 14 volts to maintain the battery. When I was driving around today, the gauge went up to over 15 volts.
Today when I got home from running around I immediately put a volt meter on the charging posts in the engine bay and I had a reading of 12.2 volts.
Charging system seems to be trying to keep the battery charged as I drive because the voltage on the gauge is reading higher but it seems that the battery is just not taking the charge. I'm assuming that because I only had a 12.2 volt reading immediately after getting home.
Seems that the reading should be higher than that if the battery was taking a charge.
As I mentioned, yesterday I went to Advance and had them load test the battery and they say that the battery was good but that it was low (12.3) ....
I'm really swaying towards my issue being a bad battery even though the load test that Advance did, showed that the battery was good.
Thoughts...????
btw.....in the interim, I am keeping a trickle charger on the battery any time the car is just sitting in the garage.
My next thing I'm going to try is to let the trickle charger take it up to full charge and then test it with a volt meter and then let it sit for an hour or two and test it again to see what the voltage says.
That should tell me if there is a parasitic voltage loss and/or that the battery is just not holding a charge....
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I put a trickle charge on the car overnight and it brought the charge up to 12.8 ....
I drove around for awhile and one thing I noticed is that the charging system gauge is now seeming to read at a higher charge rate than previously....
Used to normally show from about a low of 12 up to a high of 14 volts to maintain the battery. When I was driving around today, the gauge went up to over 15 volts.
Today when I got home from running around I immediately put a volt meter on the charging posts in the engine bay and I had a reading of 12.2 volts.
Charging system seems to be trying to keep the battery charged as I drive because the voltage on the gauge is reading higher but it seems that the battery is just not taking the charge. I'm assuming that because I only had a 12.2 volt reading immediately after getting home.
Seems that the reading should be higher than that if the battery was taking a charge.
As I mentioned, yesterday I went to Advance and had them load test the battery and they say that the battery was good but that it was low (12.3) ....
I'm really swaying towards my issue being a bad battery even though the load test that Advance did, showed that the battery was good.
Thoughts...????
btw.....in the interim, I am keeping a trickle charger on the battery any time the car is just sitting in the garage.
My next thing I'm going to try is to let the trickle charger take it up to full charge and then test it with a volt meter and then let it sit for an hour or two and test it again to see what the voltage says.
That should tell me if there is a parasitic voltage loss and/or that the battery is just not holding a charge....
Voltage changing is normal. Read Battery Load Management in your Owners Manual, page 162. Turning on your headlights will also boost alternator voltage output.
Voltage changing is normal. Read Battery Load Management in your Owners Manual, page 162. Turning on your headlights will also boost alternator voltage output.
Oh yeah.....I am aware of the Battery Load Management.....I guess what I was getting at, is that the needle on the voltmeter was reading much higher than it had been in the past, even with all of the electrical components going.
It seemed that the battery load management was putting out more juice to try and bring up the battery to a proper level but the battery just wasn't taking the charge.
Here's an update.....
Friday night I put my car on a trickle charge overnight and yesterday (Saturday) I went out to see if it would start.
I got nothing....no dash lights....nothing, even with the trickle charger still hooked up.
I got out my big battery charger that has the battery boost on it to start cars with dead batteries. As soon as I hooked up that charger and turned it on, I had dash lights and everything.
It started and ran fine but again the battery load management was reading much higher than what had been usual.
I did a voltage check on the battery before I hooked up my big battery charger and it only read 12.1 volts.
One of the guys on the Facebook Traverse group mentioned to me that in many cases, GM vehicles do really wacky things if the battery voltage gets down near 12 volts.
I went and had a new battery put in yesterday after I finally got it started and in driving around, the battery load management gauge was reading back in the area where it had been before..
It started fine this morning despite it only being 13 degrees outside.
I drove it around quite a bit today and started it randomly throughout the day and it started fine.
Tomorrow just for GP's, I'm gonna do a voltage check on it first thing in the morning just to see what kind of a reading I get.
I have a feeling that all is going to be fine though....
I have a pretty good thought that I had a battery that was on a fast track to death since the overnight trickle charge didn't even give it enough juice to start the car....
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Hey sir. Did you get this fixed and how? Because our 2010 just shuts off. For no reason. No power or anything while driving. Then will start back up. It's a death trap on wheels
I made a post on the Facebook Traverse page on November 29th with what seemed to be alot of guessing and I can't have a guess....I need to fine a definite direction to go with this car..a quick overview about Nov. 29th and then what happened yesterday, Dec. 5th.
2017 Traverse 3.6 with roughly 36K miles.
On Nov. 29th the car started and ran fine in the morning but later in the day I went out to go somewhere and opened the door and noticed no dome lights and no lights on the dash that usually come on (the speedo and tach divisions usually light up)
After a couple of minutes of me fiddling around with the gear shift (out of frustration more than anything) it did start and ran fine but the check engine light came on.
I drove my errand and when I came home I shut the car off and restarted right away just to see what it would do....All was fine and the check engine light went out.
I called my dealership to go in for an oil change since it was due anyway and also to have diagnostics done to see if a code was stored in the computer, even though the check engine light was off.
Appointment wasn't until Monday 3 Dec.
In the days between Nov 30th and Dec. 3rd the car was fine.
Dealership did pull a P0449 Evap Canister Vent Valve code.
I had told service advisor about the no power, no start situation and the check engine light coming on and they said the only code was the P0449.
Couldn't explain the no power, no start and then after a couple of minutes it started.
Also couldn't really explain the P0449 code except that maybe it might have been stuck for a short while because the gas tank had been overfilled.
I told him that the tank hadn't been overfilled and was only at about 3/4 tank when I had the no power, no start and then when it did start the check engine light came on and then the light went back out for no apparent reason.
So I came away from that with my wallet a little thinner from the cost of the diagnostics with no new info other than the p0449 code that apparently went away all by itself. (Car is just out of warranty....36,200 miles)
.......OK...now yesterday, Dec. 5th....two days since the diagnostics were done...
I had an errand to run and it was cold out so I was going to use the remote start to heat up the car a little before I left....
I hit the lock button twice and had the appropriate parking light flashes and horn beep and then I hit the start button on the FOB and it began the start process and then stopped.
I tried to start it one more time using the remote start and same thing....it acted like the remote start was disabled because there was a code stored in the computer.
I went out to the car and used the key fob to unlock the car but it wouldn't activate.
I had to unlock the car manually and when I opened the door I again noticed that there was no dome light and no dash lights.
It was like the car had virtually no power at all.....nothing, completely dead.
I put the key in the ignition and of course it didn't start but I couldn't remove the key from the ignition.
I tried fiddling with the gear shift and still nothing......
Now here is where it gets really weird.....
In my way of thinking, I have a vehicle that is dead...no power at all, so why not hook up my battery charger to it and see what happens...
I first decided to try my little trickle charger....I popped open the hood and before I actually hooked up the charger I wanted to check to make sure the clamps on the charger would get a good bite on the positive and negative charging terminals. The clamps on the trickle charger didn't seem to open very far and I just wanted to make sure that I'd be able to get them on....
I connected the negative trickle charger clamp to the negative charging terminal and wiggled it to make sure it had good bite.
Then I took the positive trickle charger clamp and went to hook it to the positive charging terminal.
As soon as I touched the trickle charger clamp to the charging terminal, it was like everything came to life...the car alarm started going off and beeped the 5 times.
Again, I didn't even have the trickle charger plugged into the wall socket. All I did was connect the trickle charger clamps to the charging terminals (again, I just did this to make sure that the clamps would get a good bite on the charging terminals before I even attempted to plug the charger in).
Well....I got in the car, the dome lights were on, the dash lights were on and it started fine. No check engine light...
What I did notice is that the time on the clock was 17 minutes behind the actual time, so I know that the car had virtually no power at all for 17 minutes. The amount of time that had elapsed from when I first tried to start it until I had connected the trickle charger clamps (trickle charger not even plugged into the wall socket) and the car came back to life.
Initially I wouldn't suspect the battery because the car is a 2017 so the battery should still be good.
The charging system seems to be working fine. The dash gauge operates in what seems to be appropriate......
I'm sorry this post is so long but I am at my wits end with a car that seems to sometimes has virtually no electrical power and won't start and other times, it is completely fine.
My wife drives the car for UBER about 2 days a week and I don't want her to get stuck somewhere and then other than that, the car will sometimes not be driven for a day or two as I am disabled and retired and my wife is retired also, except for the couple of days a week with UBER and occasionally we will either take or pick up our granddaughter at school...so for the most part, the car doesn't get driven alot.
I also have a 2017 traverse same issue and I believe same code. After going through a battery about once a year I believe I finally found the issue. I found a leak when it rains under dash on passenger side if dashboard. It drops right onto fusebox above glove box. This fusebox controls all dash instrumentation. I’ve had new battery’s go dead overnight. The leak finally became to large and was noticeable, but it created a short so there really wasn’t a code being produced. I know prior Traverses had firewall leak issues. I can’t find specific way water is getting but I know it’s somewhere between door and frame. Yes I already checked windshield and front firewall. Could only reproduce leak by pouring water over passenger door above side mirror. Took car in today to a shop and see if they can find hole. Very frustrated especially if there is severe corrosion on inside wiring.
I have the same issue with my 2010 Traverse. No electrical. does anyone have a resolve or suggestion?

TY
Youll have to specify what is going on.
I also have a 2017 traverse same issue and I believe same code. After going through a battery about once a year I believe I finally found the issue. I found a leak when it rains under dash on passenger side if dashboard. It drops right onto fusebox above glove box. This fusebox controls all dash instrumentation. I’ve had new battery’s go dead overnight. The leak finally became to large and was noticeable, but it created a short so there really wasn’t a code being produced. I know prior Traverses had firewall leak issues. I can’t find specific way water is getting but I know it’s somewhere between door and frame. Yes I already checked windshield and front firewall. Could only reproduce leak by pouring water over passenger door above side mirror. Took car in today to a shop and see if they can find hole. Very frustrated especially if there is severe corrosion on inside wiring.
My 09 Traverse Leaks water into the passenger side wall into the floor board. We do have a Sunroof and a roof rack, I think we just found out it was our Sunroof seals that is causing the leak. But also I had a theory it was the seals under the roof rack that could cause that too, there are multiple screws into the frame under the racks.
My 09 Traverse Leaks water into the passenger side wall into the floor board. We do have a Sunroof and a roof rack, I think we just found out it was our Sunroof seals that is causing the leak. But also I had a theory it was the seals under the roof rack that could cause that too, there are multiple screws into the frame under the racks.
The sunroof drains may be plugged.
Well I just bought a 2012 traverse L.s. and it's doing the same crap. 94,000 miles and looks and drives like new. I should have did some research first but it looked like a deal I couldn't refuse. Always had good luck with Chevrolets. Guess I finally got the lemon in my life.
I made a post on the Facebook Traverse page on November 29th with what seemed to be alot of guessing and I can't have a guess....I need to fine a definite direction to go with this car..a quick overview about Nov. 29th and then what happened yesterday, Dec. 5th. 2017 Traverse 3.6 with roughly 36K miles. On Nov. 29th the car started and ran fine in the morning but later in the day I went out to go somewhere and opened the door and noticed no dome lights and no lights on the dash that usually come on (the speedo and tach divisions usually light up) After a couple of minutes of me fiddling around with the gear shift (out of frustration more than anything) it did start and ran fine but the check engine light came on. I drove my errand and when I came home I shut the car off and restarted right away just to see what it would do....All was fine and the check engine light went out. I called my dealership to go in for an oil change since it was due anyway and also to have diagnostics done to see if a code was stored in the computer, even though the check engine light was off. Appointment wasn't until Monday 3 Dec. In the days between Nov 30th and Dec. 3rd the car was fine. Dealership did pull a P0449 Evap Canister Vent Valve code. I had told service advisor about the no power, no start situation and the check engine light coming on and they said the only code was the P0449. Couldn't explain the no power, no start and then after a couple of minutes it started. Also couldn't really explain the P0449 code except that maybe it might have been stuck for a short while because the gas tank had been overfilled. I told him that the tank hadn't been overfilled and was only at about 3/4 tank when I had the no power, no start and then when it did start the check engine light came on and then the light went back out for no apparent reason. So I came away from that with my wallet a little thinner from the cost of the diagnostics with no new info other than the p0449 code that apparently went away all by itself. (Car is just out of warranty....36,200 miles) .......OK...now yesterday, Dec. 5th....two days since the diagnostics were done... I had an errand to run and it was cold out so I was going to use the remote start to heat up the car a little before I left.... I hit the lock button twice and had the appropriate parking light flashes and horn beep and then I hit the start button on the FOB and it began the start process and then stopped. I tried to start it one more time using the remote start and same thing....it acted like the remote start was disabled because there was a code stored in the computer. I went out to the car and used the key fob to unlock the car but it wouldn't activate. I had to unlock the car manually and when I opened the door I again noticed that there was no dome light and no dash lights. It was like the car had virtually no power at all.....nothing, completely dead. I put the key in the ignition and of course it didn't start but I couldn't remove the key from the ignition. I tried fiddling with the gear shift and still nothing...... Now here is where it gets really weird..... In my way of thinking, I have a vehicle that is dead...no power at all, so why not hook up my battery charger to it and see what happens... I first decided to try my little trickle charger....I popped open the hood and before I actually hooked up the charger I wanted to check to make sure the clamps on the charger would get a good bite on the positive and negative charging terminals. The clamps on the trickle charger didn't seem to open very far and I just wanted to make sure that I'd be able to get them on.... I connected the negative trickle charger clamp to the negative charging terminal and wiggled it to make sure it had good bite. Then I took the positive trickle charger clamp and went to hook it to the positive charging terminal. As soon as I touched the trickle charger clamp to the charging terminal, it was like everything came to life...the car alarm started going off and beeped the 5 times. Again, I didn't even have the trickle charger plugged into the wall socket. All I did was connect the trickle charger clamps to the charging terminals (again, I just did this to make sure that the clamps would get a good bite on the charging terminals before I even attempted to plug the charger in). Well....I got in the car, the dome lights were on, the dash lights were on and it started fine. No check engine light... What I did notice is that the time on the clock was 17 minutes behind the actual time, so I know that the car had virtually no power at all for 17 minutes. The amount of time that had elapsed from when I first tried to start it until I had connected the trickle charger clamps (trickle charger not even plugged into the wall socket) and the car came back to life. Initially I wouldn't suspect the battery because the car is a 2017 so the battery should still be good. The charging system seems to be working fine. The dash gauge operates in what seems to be appropriate...... I'm sorry this post is so long but I am at my wits end with a car that seems to sometimes has virtually no electrical power and won't start and other times, it is completely fine. My wife drives the car for UBER about 2 days a week and I don't want her to get stuck somewhere and then other than that, the car will sometimes not be driven for a day or two as I am disabled and retired and my wife is retired also, except for the couple of days a week with UBER and occasionally we will either take or pick up our granddaughter at school...so for the most part, the car doesn't get driven alot.
I’m having a very close similar issue with my 2016 Traverse. was a solution found to the issue??
Looks like he hasn't posted on this thread since the new battery was installed. How old is yours?
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