04 Silverado Cold Weather Power Issues
I have a 2004 Chevy Silverado that I am having cold weather start/power issues. This truck does have the premium Bose stereo in it. Last year I ran into the issue of my truck acting like the battery is dead. I would turn the ignition 3-5 times and flip the key around, then it would start right up like it had no issues. Or I would get out and turn my negative cable ever so slightly and the power comes back almost instantly. Now a couple weeks ago, I installed a new stereo receiver in the truck. had no issues until this morning when the temp fell below 45. Truck acted like it was dead, I jumped out and forced the negative cable to move and all the power came right back. However, all the lights kept dimming and brightening and at one point I lost all electrical power, but it came right back. Any help with this would be awesome. Please note that I replaced the battery back in July of this year. This is also super weird but may help to diagnose. When ever it gets cold, for some reason when I turn on the fog lights or the left turn signal, the horn ever so briefly comes on.
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AT the least I'd clean the other end of the cable on the block and elsewhere and retighten the bolts. I'd check the cable to be sure it was not partly corroded inside. I've read of people having the cable inside the plastic near the end corrode. Cut back the plastic insulator to check. Same for the red negative cable were I doing it, because in moving the negative cable on the battery your may have been causing some battery movement which affected the red negative cable as well.
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Are you running other power from the battery to a user installed stereo? I gave up on questions where high power subs and such have been added, upsetting electrical systems. Or is the Bose factory?
The symptoms with the horn might be from low battery voltage. That could be from a defective connection, a partly dissolved cable core, a bad battery power or bad plates. But you replaced the battery earlier. Same symptoms before and after the replacement?
Symptoms don't sound right, but it could be a bad ignition switch. NOT the key lock cylinder, but the actual switch that makes contact on different circuits to enable AUX, ON, CRANK etc. Occasionally the wear on the brass contacts can make or break the circuit. When you said you turn over the key, taking it out and reinserting, and turning the key which moves the switch (usually on top of the steering column just below the instrument gages).
Good luck. This can be solved.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
OF course positive cables can arc if your wrench hits a ground. And one the leSabres and Bonnevilles a few found the cable itself had dissolved inside the plastic, so I'd strip the plastic down a few inches. Supposedly that was due to battery acid.
If you don't have a plastic sound shield under the steeering column side, you might try to identify and wiggle the wires at the ignition switch. But there's no way to check it internally for corrosion or burned contacts.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,