covetsthesun
missouri
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Hello All, We've been off on a weird life journey the last few years... but that's done.
So. Same truck. 2004 Chevy Silverado 1500. About 400k miles now... it doesn't owe us anything. We did get it a new transmission though. Three problems.
1. Intermittent power problem with driver's seat. Driver seat won't move and neither seat warmer works. We have to reach under the driver seat and jiggle the wiring box. That works for awhile. Until it doesn't and we have to do it again.
2. Some of the steering wheel control button lights have stopped working. Is this an easy fix? What could cause this to suddenly happen?
3. The passenger seat heat quits working intermittently. Again. A few years ago I found some "codes" and the dealership used them to get the seat heating again. Now... it's doing it again. The element was replaced a few years ago.
Could all these issues be related somehow?
A bit bummed because my go to truck tech left to go work for another company in another town. Had the truck in to check the wiring/box jiggle issue and seat warmer... they couldn't get it to repeat. It did the next day though...when the dealer was closed.
I love my truck so not getting rid of her!
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Turtle n Peeps
California
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Joined: 06/23/2008
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I would see what codes come up and go from there.
If I had to guess I would say something going wrong with your body control module. If your windshield leaks on the drivers side even a small amount this can cause problems with the BCM.
They are around 100 bucks or so for your BCM.
A shop with a good scan tool that can command different modules to do this should be able to fix you up.
Let us know what you find out.
Oh, the lights going out are more than likely just that. The lights are burned out. I have quite a few that went out on my 06. The steering wheel switches are a PITA to replace. It can be done but I hate doing the job. There are Youtube vids on doing it.
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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What you’re describing to me just sounds like oldtruckitis. Lights or fiber optics whatever lights buttons, burn out.
Jiggling a connection means a short or intermittent connection.
And 400k out of seat heaters is better than most.
Best bet is find a good little private shop that won’t hose you to fix some little stuff.
Don’t touch the steering wheel. Those little lights aren’t as important as it is expensive to get to them.
That’s my suggestion.
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valhalla360
No paticular place.
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Sounds like why I usually let an old truck go.
Yeah, you can keep chasing little glitches but 400k miles of bouncing and jiggling, means the wires will all be work hardened and prone to breakages.
If you don't know what that means, take a paperclip and bend it 180deg. If you bend it back in shape, it will be fine. Do that 10-20 times and eventually it will break due to work hardening. If you only bend it a little bit, it takes many more bendings but with 400k miles, you probably have many millions of little bendings everywhere the wires have the slightest give.
Switches are similar though slightly different. Every time you make a contact, there is a small arc as it engages/disengages. This leaves a little charred spot. Eventually, that starts to mess with the connection (hence, jiggling sometimes works).
If it's sentimental, of course, you can dump money into her and keep her going. Look at some of the rusted out 1930's pieces of junk, that are rebuilt to like-new condition.
But financially, it will probably be far better to replace her.
Tammy & Mike
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covetsthesun
missouri
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Yes...the truck has "old truckitis". It's not so much sentimental as it is this has been a great truck. And...for almost 20 years (and 400K miles) it has been a road warrior. It's comfortable...but a little cranky from time to time. It is nowhere near being an old rust bucket though. My Dad was a pilot...his favorite craft was a DC3. He always said...take care of your machine... and it will take care of you. Planes can fall out of the sky, so being finely tuned to what your machine is doing can save your life. I've been very finely tuned to this truck since I drove it off the lot with only 12 miles. We have friends with much newer vehicles who are constantly having issues...and selling out of frustration. We also have friends who have 20+ year old vehicles and will never let them go.
My truck will eventually go to a grandson...so, keeping it sound and rust free for him is a good thing.
DH found a local and well respected small shop and talked to the owner. He had similar issues with an old truck and seemed eager to dig in and find the problem. He's not known for overcharging or blowing smoke...so I guess we are going to let him have the truck for a bit.
Thanks for the advice! As always, very much appreciated. ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile")
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mkirsch
Rochester, NY
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Joined: 04/09/2004
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The ideal solution would be to replace the wiring harness with new, or you will just be chasing after little "gremlins" until you run out of
Unfortunately a new wiring harness for this truck probably does not exist.
Putting 10-ply tires on half ton trucks since aught-four.
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valhalla360
No paticular place.
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covetsthesun wrote:Yes...the truck has "old truckitis". It's not so much sentimental as it is this has been a great truck. And...for almost 20 years (and 400K miles) it has been a road warrior. It's comfortable...but a little cranky from time to time. It is nowhere near being an old rust bucket though. My Dad was a pilot...his favorite craft was a DC3. He always said...take care of your machine... and it will take care of you. Planes can fall out of the sky, so being finely tuned to what your machine is doing can save your life. I've been very finely tuned to this truck since I drove it off the lot with only 12 miles. We have friends with much newer vehicles who are constantly having issues...and selling out of frustration. We also have friends who have 20+ year old vehicles and will never let them go.
My truck will eventually go to a grandson...so, keeping it sound and rust free for him is a good thing.
DH found a local and well respected small shop and talked to the owner. He had similar issues with an old truck and seemed eager to dig in and find the problem. He's not known for overcharging or blowing smoke...so I guess we are going to let him have the truck for a bit.
Thanks for the advice! As always, very much appreciated.
This post screams sentimental.
And that's OK. If you really like the truck, have it fully rewired, reupholstered, etc... so it's in like new condition. If you have them chase each glitch, expect it to be an ongoing process.
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covetsthesun
missouri
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mkirsch wrote:The ideal solution would be to replace the wiring harness with new, or you will just be chasing after little "gremlins" until you run out of
Unfortunately a new wiring harness for this truck probably does not exist.
We've thought about replacing the wiring harness more than a few times. The dealership (s) have never said we couldn't get a new WH. They've just said since they can't recreate the issues...they didn't want to replace a WH and then find out that wasn't the problem. Given the other comments about wiring... it would seem prudent TO replace an old WH. When you renovate an old house...or even a vintage vehicle... you do have to do some restoration and replacements.
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covetsthesun
missouri
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Valhalla...well maybe just a bit of sentiment. More for the Grandson. He thinks the truck is awesome. What's funny is...my DH who is so far removed from sentimentality, has suggested that we hand the truck over to someone who can restore it! His thinking is that making it like new would be "productive". I...would love to have a new(er) truck. Or a good sized SUV.
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camperdave
northern, California
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Joined: 10/16/2003
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I hate intermittent electrical gremlins. Were it me, I'd probably buy a set of manual front seats from ebay and call it good.
My 1998 Ford Van is totally rust free and runs great as well (but many less miles at only ~200k). I'll keep on fixing little stuff because no way can I afford a new truck these days. The difference in registration and insurance fees alone for a new truck probably makes up the cost of repairs to keep an old truck on the road lol.
2004 Fleetwood Tioga 29v
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