Shorted Steering Column 2005 Surburban

[Alex Currie]

Good afternoon! I have a 2005 Suburban 1500 LT, 5.3. Right now the dash is pulled out to replace blend door motors and the AC evaporator. I dropped, but did not remove the steering column. Something on the column shorted, causing a total loss of power. They key is now dead, battery has good volts though. I trouble shot the ignition and PCM fuses, all were good.

Any advice?

Thanks!

Topic

[Richard Kirshy]

Exactly what brought you to believe something on the column shorted, causing a total loss of power?
Was there sparks when it happened?
Or did you attempt to turn the key when you removed the dash?
If there was no sparks at the time you dropped the column and the dash and cluster are removed, chances are reasonable something is disconnected causing your issue.

[Richard Kirshy]

Your statements contradict each other…
First … ” They key is now dead, battery has good volts ”
Second … ” The battery is also completely drained (3.5V), leading me to believe there is some draw on it. ”
Tough to come up with a diagnostic plan when you offer two contradicting explanations .

If there is a current draw you need to find which circuit is causing it.
Checking all the fuses for current should narrow it down and you’ll need a wiring diagram for your specific vehicle.

[Alex Currie]

No sparks, it just appeared like issue happened when the ignition area contacted some metal dash parts. The battery is also completely drained (3.5V), leading me to believe there is some draw on it. I checked the ignition relay last night, it’s good. Maybe a bad switch? I plan to double check all the connections when I put the heater box back in this weekend.

[Jeffrey Voight]

The doors were open probably for a very long time. I would unhook battery, fully charge it, then complete the job. After battery is charged, have it checked. If there were no sparks you may have just run down the battery while doing the repairs.

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