I've got a 2001 Tahoe LTZ. This weekend, I had to replace the transmission shifter linkage inside the steering column ($250 for the part -- ouch). That's all back together, but now all my electricals are dead. I'm guessing a blew a fuse or shorted something when I was dismantling the dash. This is our only vehicle that will hold our entire family, so I need to get it working ASAP.

Headlights, dome lights, dash indicators, door locks, nothing works. When I hit the door lock button on the drivers door, I hear the relays inside the other doors click, but the locks don't move. When I turn on the hazard button, I get a solid buzzing from the interior fuse panel. It doesn't matter what position the ignition key is in. My dash gauges used to work part-way through the steering column disassembly process, but now they're all dark.

Battery shows 12.2V. I checked all the fuses both by the drivers door and under the hood, and all are good. The relay box (?) on the firewall above the e-brake pedal is emitting a click on regular, 5-second intervals. I tried removing each of the four relays, one at a time, but none made any difference.

What did I do, and what needs replacing to fix it? This really sounds like I either yanked out a wire or shorted a connection & blew a fuse, but I can't find where. I need ideas ASAP!

Disassembly photos are online at
http://photos.jedi.com/2010/20101009/
in case you see something that I don't.

 

My wife just informed me that Saturday (when the truck refused to start), she turned the key, and the dash lit up for only half a second before going dark. Perhaps this wasn't my fault after all. I still need to fix it ASAP, though.

 

As an I.T. guy, I've been trained to be very suspicious of coincidences. However, this time, that's exactly what it was. It turns out that the positive battery cable was pretty corroded, but that wasn't visible (side post connection) until the terminal was disconnected. Once I cleaned that up with a wire brush, everything sprang to life. It was purely coincidence that the corrosion become "too" bad at the same time that I was monkeying with the steering column. I wasted way too many hours on that one.

 

Welcome to the forum.

Glad you got it fixed and thanks for letting us know the cause. Would never have thought of that.