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Need advice on my 2003 GMC 2500

Posted on 12/17/24 at 3:18 pm
Posted by WarCamEagle88
NC
Member since Feb 2018
294 posts
Posted on 12/17/24 at 3:18 pm
2003 GMC Sierra 2500, 230k miles.

My grandpa gave me this truck not long before he died several years ago, so it’s sentimental to me. But I can’t get the thing to start reliably for the last 2 years. If it sits without running for a 2-3 days, the battery is dead the next time I go to use it. The battery is only a year old, and the shop insists it’s fine, but they’re unable to figure out why it’s always dead. They just say that there’s a lot of possible reasons it’s doing this and figuring it out could take a very long time, but it’s likely shorting out somewhere due to the rusting underneath and on the body. None of the other vehicles I have are strong enough to jump it, and the trickle charger I’ve been using the last few days isn’t working on it either. Big tow trucks have been and to jump it, but that’s not a reasonable solution to a long term problem.

I’d like to keep this truck, but not if I can’t ever drive it. I hear that this particular model engine is valued by gear-heads, so I don’t just want to bring it to the scrapyard, but I also don’t know where best to advertise its sale, if I decide to sell it, so someone who knows its worth would actually see it.

Has anyone had a similar issue with keeping a battery charged and found a solution?

If I can’t find a solution and decide to sell it, where’s a good place to list it to find someone who would be interested in it?

Thanks in advance.
Posted by WeagleEagle
Folsom Prison
Member since Sep 2011
2485 posts
Posted on 12/17/24 at 3:21 pm to
Have a battery disconnect switch installed.
Posted by dstone12
Texan
Member since Jan 2007
38447 posts
Posted on 12/17/24 at 3:21 pm to
Probably baboons good time to talk about the NOCO gb40.

I used it twice today.

Used it 4 times in the last month.

That’s 100 dollars well spent.
Posted by DownshiftAndFloorIt
Here
Member since Jan 2011
70922 posts
Posted on 12/17/24 at 3:22 pm to
quote:

Has anyone had a similar issue with keeping a battery charged and found a solution?


Easy solution is to rig up a battery disconnect switch on the ground cable so you can isolate the battery while it's sitting. If it isnt the battery, then it'll hold charge just fine that way.

Complex solution - kill everything and see how many amps are on the ground cable with everything off. If it's more than a few mA something is shorted somewhere causing constant power draw, and you can pull fuses one at a time to isolate the problem circuit and go from there.
Posted by White Bear
AT WORK
Member since Jul 2014
17186 posts
Posted on 12/17/24 at 3:28 pm to
Parasitic drain might caused by bad component in the alternator. I’d disconnect the negative battery cable when parking it in the mean time, but some good info above. Unplug hot wire and and harness from alt to see if it’s the issue when parking.
This post was edited on 12/17/24 at 3:30 pm
Posted by GCTigahs
Member since Oct 2014
2439 posts
Posted on 12/17/24 at 4:16 pm to
Recently got rid of a 03 Tahoe that I’d had since 08. When it was having issues, it wasn’t a daily driver so the shop’s reply was similar to yours. They checked the usual suspects and couldn’t find anything. I went to leave their shop and it wouldn’t start, not even a clicking sound. He comes back out and changed the battery terminals and I never had the issue again.
Posted by N2cars
Close by
Member since Feb 2008
37882 posts
Posted on 12/17/24 at 5:14 pm to
Trickle chargers can go bad after awhile.
Batteries can get so old they won't take a charge anymore.

I've owned a bunch of stuff over the years, and I've learned the hard way about batteries.

New battery, new $50 trickle charger, and you're good to go.

Keep the truck.
Posted by HBomb
Dallas
Member since May 2012
270 posts
Posted on 12/17/24 at 6:32 pm to
I have a 98 Z71 that has a parasitic battery drain. I installed a remote battery disconnect and problem solved.

Also have this pass lock issue where the security doesn’t let me start it sometimes until I do a 10 minute reset, but that’s another issue with an old truck
Posted by highcotton2
Alabama
Member since Feb 2010
10335 posts
Posted on 12/17/24 at 8:41 pm to
Had a Chevrolet pickup doing that a few years ago. If it sat for 2 days you would have to jump it. It finally got to where even when jumping it it was hard to start. Finally decided to replace the starter and that fixed the problem. Starter seemed to be working fine so didn’t really think about that being the problem until it got hard to start with a jump.
Posted by BayouBengal51
Forest Hill, Louisiana
Member since Nov 2006
7293 posts
Posted on 12/17/24 at 8:53 pm to
Do you know if it has the factory alternator on it? It might have a diode going bad and draining the battery overnight.

A simple test is to disconnect the battery cables from the alternator. Then take a multi-meter set to the diode function, touch the positive test probe to the case of the alternator and the negative probe to the positive battery post (the big one) on the alternator. You should get a reading in a range of 400 to 800 milliamps.

If you get nothing, swap the probes around to where the negative is touching the case of the alternator and the positive probe is on the big post of the alternator. If you get any kind of milliamp reading other than 0 or slightly above 0, you have a bad diode.
This post was edited on 12/17/24 at 8:55 pm
Posted by WarCamEagle88
NC
Member since Feb 2018
294 posts
Posted on 12/18/24 at 9:43 am to
Thanks to everyone who commented. Definitely going to get the remote battery disconnect installed, and look into getting a new trickle charger.
Posted by footballdude
BR
Member since Sep 2010
1112 posts
Posted on 12/19/24 at 9:45 am to
Change the battery cables and connectors.

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