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battery light/ radio dash lights stay on when key removed

notacos4u

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Feb 25, 2009
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I have a 2006 chevy avalanche and when we remove the key from the ignition, the battery light stays on and the radio and dash lights even after you open the door. Any idea what might be causing this and how to troubleshoot it? I appreciate any and all help in this. Thanks Jim
 
Just had a similar issue fixed on my 2007 LT.  It is one of the door lock assemblies in the driver's door.  The part number listed on my invoice is 2811737.
 
My mechanic had the same problem on his Silverado, so he knew what the repair entailed.  I've searched the GM parts list and could not find the part number he listed. His charge for the part was $185, so you should be able to find it for quite a bit less if you are going to do the repair.

It looks like this might be what GM calls the "door lock actuator" and, after doing some searches this morning, I expect that your 2006 Avalanche will have a different part number as the parts seemed to be grouped into 2007-2013 and 2002-2006.

The trim level on my Avalanche is LT3.  There seems to be a lot of YouTube videos of fixing various Chevy truck lock actuators that may be of some help to you. There also seem to be a whole lot of different part numbers for the same part.

 
ok, so a couple little updates, If we pull the 10amp fuse labeled TBC BATT, it shuts off the issues. I read somewhere about turning the wiper switch on. so reinstalled the fuse, removed key and battery light, dash lights stay on, turn the wiper switch to high and it turns off all the lights.  If we turn the switch lower, battery light stays off but the dash lights come back on and cannot turn the lights off until you open the drivers door. Any idea what might cause that?
 
It seems this is a different problem than what I had.  On my 2007 LT3, the lights and radio stay on until a door is opened, then they are supposed to shut off, or after a period of time with the doors closed and the key off they will shut off. Neither was happening.

Are your lights and radio on your 2006 (I think Z71) supposed to go off when you remove the key or later when you open the door?  My searches today indicate there is a big difference between your door parts and the 2007 door parts.

Hopefully, someone with a 2002-2006 has had a similar problem and can answer this better than I can.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful.
 
its supposed to go off once you open the door. I think tomorrow we might remove the connector to the wiper motor and see if they shut off. If they do we'll probably try to clean up the connectors and see if that fixes the issues, but would love to hear what others might think as well.
 
May be an issue with your radio. Try pulling the fuse for the radio and see if it goes away. If so you may want to try disconnecting the radio and see if the issue stays away. If so then you are likely looking at needing a new radio.

Rodney
 
The TBC (truck Body Computer) controls power to the DDM (Driver Door Module) and PDM.

I know someone mentioned changing the driver door latch where the mini wedge switch is. The mini wedge switch tells the BCM through DDM that the door is open.

PS if you open 2 post foe the same problem it is very confusing to  follow  what you have done so far.
 
My 02 did that when my drivers door window switch shorted out..

I replaced it with a new one and the problem went away!
 
If you open the door when the truck is off, does the dome light turn on? Or if you open it when the truck is on, do you get a message on the dash that the driver's door is open? It could be the door open pin switch is bad.

Pretty sure in the 07+ that switch is built into the door latch, but not sure how it works on the previous generation.


Just something to check
 
The 2006 down works the same way also.
 
Must have been two threads merged because there wasn't any messages in the thread on my original posting...

Now that I have a little better understanding...

When key is removed the battery light should not be on... Nor should the dash lights... The radio should be the only thing on.. .
If it was a door switch the lights would still shut off in 10 minutes regardless... If everything does not turn off then it can NOT be the door switch... The RAP will only keep the radio active for ~10 minutes. (My truck is at the mechanics so I can not verify that the dash lights don't stay on but I believe they don't But again, regardless RAP power will only stay on for ~10 minutes)

Next easiest thing to check is the radio and amplifier if equipped. (BOSE on the door panels)
Pull the fuse for the amplifier and the radio. If the issue goes away then replace the amp fuse, retest, remove the amplifier fuse and insert radio fuse, retest... If the problem goes away with either fuse pulled then it is likely that component that the fuse was removed from. I would suspect the radio because the radio could back feed into the dash light circuit if it has an internal issue. Not likely with the amplifier since it is not connected to the dash lights. Even if it doesn't go away I would suggest try unplugging the harness from the back of the radio. That should break the circuit to both the Amplifier and the radio.

Last thing I would consider is the ignition relay. If it goes bad you can have issues but is the hardest to check since really all you can do is replace it. This is NOT the item in the steering wheel but actually in the dash that the ignition switch moves around. Weird things happen when this relay goes bad.

Beyond that it would have to be an issue in the wiring in the truck likely due to rodent damage (Check under underhood fuse panel)


 
After reading your above post about the battery light and not shutting off after 10 minute RAP timeout, it sounds more like the ignition still thinks it is in ACCY rather than being turned off. Reading above about the wiper motor having (some) power to it..sounds even more like ACCY as those get power in ACCY.

Or rodent damage - all kinds of craziness happens then. Interested to hear what the mechanic figures out.
 
notacos4u said:
its supposed to go off once you open the door. I think tomorrow we might remove the connector to the wiper motor and see if they shut off. If they do we'll probably try to clean up the connectors and see if that fixes the issues, but would love to hear what others might think as well.

What are the latest developments on finding the cause of the problem?  Any luck yet?

Thanks
 
I Was having the same problem described above I.E. : when key removed /truck off, the radio, wipers, windows still had power w/battery light on. I suspected that it was behaving as if the key was in accessory position. I determined that the ignition switch was in the wrong position. The Ignition switch is not the lock cylinder. It is below the Lock "Ignition" cylinder (where the key is inserted}. It tells the computer what position the key is in. I found install instructions for the switch and determined that the gear on the top of the switch was in the wrong position. I would suggest checking this if you are having the conditions described.. could just be that your ignition switch has gone bad. Slightly tricky to get to the switch but easy to replace. Hope this helps someone!
 
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