99 Tahoe died while driving

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seattle_helo

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Hi guys,

I've had my 1999 2-door Tahoe since it was new. Had something very strange happen today for the first time.

I was driving down the street at about 30 mph when the engine just died. I lost power steering and brakes while in traffic, but was able to lug it over to a side street and bring it to a stop okay.

When I attempted to restart it, the truck seemed to have power to some things but not others. For instance, the radio would power up and the vent fan had power. I could also easily hear the starter attempt to crank over the engine. But the engine would not start. I did not get that warning tone you can usually hear when you first turn the key in the ignition. I also noticed that the gauges would not move/initialize and I could not hear the classic fuel pump whine.

About two minutes went by while I started to look for my tow truck and service numbers. I attempted to start again and everything worked/lit up/engine started fine. It drove fine. I was a ways from home but made it back okay, and the thing starts fine now.

The battery is in great physical condition, with no corrosion on the terminals. The alternator seems fine, and batt voltage seems fine, and I never got any kind of warning (like a check engine) before the thing just died on the road.

When it works, everything works great. The shutdown was totally out of the blue. I love the truck and keep it in very good repair/regular maintenance, etc.

I'd certainly like to know what is going on so that I can have it fixed. I need a reliable vehicle for work and don't want this to happen again.

Any ideas? Many thanks for reading.

nick
 

Getwired

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I hope your vehicles issue is something relatively cheap like a fuse or something. I had something very similar happen on another non-GM vehicle, and it wound up being the main electronics bus for instrumentation and the computer, which was not an inexpensive repair. Good luck, and hopefully someone here knows whats up!
 

Mike97

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I hope your vehicles issue is something relatively cheap like a fuse or something. I had something very similar happen on another non-GM vehicle, and it wound up being the main electronics bus for instrumentation and the computer, which was not an inexpensive repair. Good luck, and hopefully someone here knows whats up!

I also hope it's something inexpensive, but I can tell you it's not a fuse. When a fuse blows, it doesn't fix itself. You have to replace it. About all I can suggest is make sure that both ends of your battery cables are in good condition, not just the ends connected to the battery. Your problem sounds like a bad ground in one of your main circuits. Good luck, and I hope you don't get stranded.
 

seattle_helo

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Thanks guys. The battery and battery cables seem to be in great condition and nothing is loose or obviously wrong. Yeah, it does not seem to be a nice, simple fuse. But maybe a relay is going bad? I think the biggest problem here is that I can't reproduce the problem on demand for the tech. I'm real worried it's some intermittent issue that will be difficult to find. I'm going to try to get it in a shop tomorrow and I'll post back if they find anything.

nick
 

seattle_helo

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marinekilz, your link seems to have stopped working. Any chance you can post that service report you had?

After many months of running fine, the truck died again while driving on the highway at 70 mph. Luckily I was able to get to the shoulder just in time to avoid a major incident.

I took the truck to two dealers who could not find anything wrong. No trouble codes and nothing obvious. This is a pretty bad situation since the issue, whatever it is, is very intermittent and I can not force the truck to do it on command. I'm not sure what to do next. It's not reassuring having a vehicle that will potentially die at any time.

This most recent incident happened at night. Headlights were on, of course, as was the stereo and a GPS plugged into a power port. When the engine died, all of the above stayed on. So, I don't think the battery or its cables are a problem.

Does anyone have any additional ideas I can take to a mechanic to help find out what might be happening?
 

mygreen98

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agree, fuel sonds like its cutting off. pump might overheat, fail, then work again after it cools down. either that or a spark problem.
 

Brandon6127

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I had this same problem. Fuel pump was the problem. How much gas do you usually have? If you run less than a quarter of a tank you risk overheating the pump. If you have power and checked everything cheap like battery, alternator, and fuses. Chances are its your fuel pump which is about $700-$900 around here unfortunetly.
 

Rollin Thunder

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I had this same problem. Fuel pump was the problem. How much gas do you usually have? If you run less than a quarter of a tank you risk overheating the pump. If you have power and checked everything cheap like battery, alternator, and fuses. Chances are its your fuel pump which is about $700-$900 around here unfortunetly.

i think you got major screwed there, fuel pump for my 99 from my local shop (not dealer) did the entire thing for 200 bucks.
 

TrailFiend

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check the alternator

this same thing happened to my ford taurus right before i sold it. it was the alternator. thats my 2 pennies!
 

mygreen98

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if you have access to a fuel pressure tester, first check your pressure with key on only, then when it runs, record your findings. then when it wont run, see if the readings are the same with key on, and what it is when cranking it. if they are they are not, suspect bad fuel pump.
 

madspeed

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mines done that a few times as well. new fuel pump year or so ago. when it does happen, the ses light resets, the clock resets to 12:00, but everything else works fine. beats me, but i also think it may be ground wire related...
 

madspeed

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not noticeably. is there a test for the fuel pump? I mena this thing was replaced less than 2 years ago along with a new fuel filter...
 

clean95

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heres a good one for u check the wiring to the fuel pump and replace the fuel pump relay.. had this problem on my hoe what would happen was the relay would get hot and stop working the pump was goin out and would pull more amps and over heat the relay causing it to shut off... try that no promises but it worked for me altho i also replace the pump and some wiring was corroded to good luck hope it works out for you...

Chris-
 

Hardwarz

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i would check your fuel pump.

+1 on the fuel pump.

Have someone stand outside your truck and put their head by the gas tank. You turn the ignition to the forward position (not starting it) if they hear the whirl of the fuel pump priming, then it should be OK. If not, then it's time to drop your tank.

Hardwarz
 
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