Ok so about two months ago I noticed my 2011 Tahoe LT 5.3L was hesitating some on acceleration....well it has progressively gotten worse and about a month ago I noticed my voltage on my battery gauge was being very erratic. I’ve turned my a/c off, radio off etc nothing seems to make it different it’s just all over the place. I’ve taken it to two dealerships and a couple of mechanic friends. No one seems to have a clue. It’s not showing any codes at all. Plz help. It is a mom car sooo definitely do not want to walk with kids!!!!

 

What voltage does your battery show when turned off all night long (12 hours) What voltage does it show when the motor is driving the alternator (engine on?) Might be a bad ground or a faulty voltage gauge too. Does the Chevy run normally when driving?

 

When I get in it I’m the mornings it will show one of three things. 14v totally normal.....or in between 9-14v or it’s dead.....when I drive it it literally bouncing all over the gauge. There is nothing that changes it at all.

now the hesitation started after I put 4 tanks of E85 gas in it. Since then nothing but regular. I added Lucas oil tx for high engine miles and lucas fuel/injection cleaner to my tank. I have to be careful in traffic or pulling out into traffic because I’m unsure as to when it will hestitate enough to be dangerous. After it gets above around 45-50mph it’s fine. Oh and I just replaced the negative battery cable. Not because it was bad but a “tech” said to so lol yeah girl move....I replaced it

it has almost 169k miles 😳🤦🏻‍♀️

 

 

Sounds to me like an electrical problem, not a fuel problem, because of the voltage needle jumping around. First, check your battery cables. Make sure they're nice and tight. Second, take it to an auto parts store and have them check (it's free) the battery and charging system. My money's on a bad alternator.

 

Has anyone used a different voltmeter to verify that the voltage is really changing and matches what is being seen on the dash voltmeter?

 

yes they have....

 

Welcome to the forum.

I had an IROC-Z that was hard to get up to 30 mph but then ran fine. Turned out to be fuel pump. Might check fuel pressure.

 

You mentioned that in the morning, the gauge can be normal, half way or "dead". Did you mean the gauge shows a dead battery but the battery is not dead or that the battery was dead?

 

i mean the battery was dead...