Have a strange problem. When I open the driverside door all my interior lights start flashing and the #2 relay in the fuse panel in the cab clicks in unison with the lights flashing. I thought it was a bad relay, so I replaced it. It didn't help. When I close the door, it stops. I tried to start the truck but it's dead in the water. No start. When I turn the key on, the inserment cluster lights up, but it's really dim. Like I said, when I try to start it, there's nothing. Does anybody have any ideas? Please help!!!!

 

You have a dead battery.

 

+1....... or very very loose terminals

 

sounds like battery or loose terminals like you guys said had both happen to me lol

 

So why would the truck go ape ****. Wouldn't it just not do anything

 

It would send surges

 

It would send low voltage surges to the GEM. The GEM contols all the interior lighting. Including the relays and such.

 

Same reason as when you have a bad terminal connection(or not tight enough); you can hear the starter relay have enough amps to close the circuit(clicking), but not enough to turn over the starter. Or it could be so bad that the current/voltage caused discontinunity so that the relay cannot be maintained continuously, even for a few seconds.

The connection may have the voltage to turn the relays in complete circuits, but not enough to sustain them continuously

 

Heres what I would do;
1: Check your battery terminal connections for corrosion and fitment (tight). If their is some corrosion use a wool/steel brush to clean the lugs off. You can then use cleaner if you desire to make it an even better connection.

2: If that doesn't work, get a $10.00 DMM from wal-mart or an autoparts store to check the battery voltage. It should read from 12.4-12.8 Volts, with nothing pulling on the system. If it is below that incrimental range, it could be one of two things.
- Battery is just .... well dead, and will need replaced.
- Battery is weak but not dead, and just needs charging. If this is the case, it is more than likely your altenantor..... read on

3. To check to see if the alt. is not working, hook the battery back up to the terminals and let the truck run for a while. Then apply the DMM to the battery while the truck is still running. It should read ~14.2 - 14.8 (average is 14.4). If it is well below those numbers, your alternator is probably no good.

Hope this helps some.

 

Thanks guys. I guess the simplest solution is the the easiest!!!