1998 Chevy Suburban?SHORT

Tiny
BONTEMPO
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN
Electrical problem
1998 Chevy Suburban 200K miles

Started w fuel gauge clicking back and forth, then R turn signal is twice as fast as usual, now dome light is flickering on and off even if doors are securely closed. I hear a clicking noise? Under the steering column. Does my car need an exorcism?
Friday, January 15th, 2010 AT 7:52 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,815 POSTS
Hi Bontempo,

Thank you for the donation.

We at 2carpros are the ghostbusters for vehicles so rest assurred we can get to the botom of these.

There is a possibility the 3 items listed are separate issues and we shall start with that in mind.

1. Fuel gauge erratic. It could be due to a faulty gauge or the sending unit in fuel tank. Testings would have to be carried to determine if it is the gauge or the sending unit.

2. R turn signal flicking fast. Check if any of the signal bulbs are not working. Any blow bulb would result in the circuit having a lower resistance and increase the turn signal blinking speed.

3. Dome lights flickering. An intermittently opening and closing of door or hood switch would cause that. Check if any of the doors are out of adjustment or the door lock strikers are worn. This would cause the doors to not close tightly to keep the switches turned off and any movement of the doors or hood would result in the switches self opening and closing.
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Sunday, January 17th, 2010 AT 9:07 AM
Tiny
BONTEMPO
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Okay, so your suggestion is that these three seemingly electrical problem are unrelated? Hmm. Well okay. But I have checked the closure of the doors, and I have tested each of the 5 door switches ( with the door open, depressing the switch manually) and tripping the switch does not turn the dome light off. So, no, it is not because the switch is not depressed. I had to remove the fuse for the dome light to keep it from turning on by itself and to keep it from flicking on and off as I drive. I also even with the fuse out still hear the clicking noise behind the steering column. What is going on?
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Sunday, January 17th, 2010 AT 12:15 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
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I mentioned that we are starting off with the 3 items not related, that means we have to try to figure out if any of them is a separate issue.

You replied about the door switches but no mention was made of the signals. Test of the door switches indicates that there is a shorting of the dome light to door switch circuit.

Does the clicking noise occurs only while driving or when ignition is turned ON or OFF?

It seems to be a relay clicking and did you try to locate which component is emitting the noise?

What is your engine/model type? C1500, C2500, K1500 or K2500? The exact model is required for the correct information to be retrieved.
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Sunday, January 17th, 2010 AT 12:38 PM

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