05'chevy frailblazer gas gauge and high power radios..

giguchan · Post by **giguchan** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 6:16 pm

Hello all,
I have a question....has anyone heard of the fuel level sensor(dealer found this to be the problem) going bad in a vehicle possibly due to HIGH rf power from a 2 way radio?I have my 2 cdm's remotely mounted in the compartment under the floor of the cargo area in my chevy.

My gas gauge went south(among many other things) about a month ago and after the dealer told me what the problem was i got to thinking..the transmitter portion of the radio is mounted right above the fuel tank, is there a chance that my cdm's (50w on high 20w on low both uhf and vhf) might be causing this problem? the antennas, naturally are on the roof. I know that when around here you guys talk about big power 100w or better - i can see that might be a problem... but what about lower power- such as in my case? the mini uhf's are hand tight and then some.

any ideas?
thanks for the consideration

kb0nly · Post by **kb0nly** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 7:20 pm

I doubt that RF caused the problem with the fuel level sender. They are nothing more than a variable resistor that the gauge, or in the case of newer vehicles the computer, uses to determine the level.

They go bad sometimes, it might just be a coincidence. Now, if the new one goes bad again in the same way then i might be wondering what is going on.

giguchan · Post by **giguchan** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 7:50 pm

thanks for the reply...
I don't know why i am having such troubles with this vehicle Maybe i have to get use to driving a chevy.

But ANYHOW... the dealer said that they do go bad as a matter of fact the reason that i have to wait for my part to come in(they are on back order) is because they just replaced one the previous day...

I have heard of RF doing funny things I just hope this isn't one of them

thanks gig

thebigphish · Post by **thebigphish** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:15 am

from what i have heard from a variety of people, is that the trailblazer is a nightmare when it comes to bizarre, mundane electrical problems. I've had some friends at work that own several different year models that each have problems such as gauges dying without cause, senders going out of whack...fuel pumps that stop and start at will. Seems to be that the bugs aren't worked out all yet.

But, this is the first time i've heard a corrolation between RF and a failure...did the dealer actually tell you this? Or did he say "oh that's not OEM, so it must be the problem"?

giguchan · Post by **giguchan** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:33 am

Hello and thanks for the reply.
No.the dealer did not tell me that was the problem, I thought this up on my own hahahaha,All the dealer told me that YES the fuel level sensor was infact broken and since the radio and the tank are kinda in close proximity of each other i thought there might be a chance that THIS might be the cause of the problem.

But as i said before this is what i now have to get used to.. being a new chevy driver...I guess the sensor being IN the tank might provide enough protection from any outside electrical or FR noise that might cause a problem..

If i look on this on the brightside I get to know my service advisor on a more friendly basis I see her more often that i see my parents i'm surprised that i dont get invited to family functions...

thanks for replying.

007 · Post by **007** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:08 am

Welcome to the not-so-wonderful world of GM electronics.

As stated, the SnailBlazer has had a history of bizarre electrical problems, mostly with lighting issues. Google it, and you'll probably get a wealth of information. It appears from my everyday travels that that entire line of GM SUV's is prone to lighting issues.

We briefly looked at a SnailBlazer before buying an Exploder, and I'll never look back. The power distribution box under the 2nd row of seats really struck me as a poor design, along with crappy chassis grounds and the unprotected 4wd relays hanging from the frame.

The fuel gauge sender has been a sore point for at least 20 years on most GM vehicles, esp. the B and D body sedans from the late 70's thru 1996. There may be 1 car in 500 that has a functional fuel gauge, with the rest being woefully inaccurate. I doubt that your CDM installation has anything to do with the crappy gas gauge issue.

kd5wyu · Post by **kd5wyu** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 10:41 am

This isn't limited to the Snailblazers either-- older Blazer and Jimmy models are also effected.

My dad's 96 Blazer has always had weird problems with its fuel gauge especially when it gets down around 1/4 of a tank. It goes all stupid like you are describing.

I do believe they have had the sensor changed out a few times as well to no effect. It still goes stupid on them occasionally.

Otherwise it is still a really nice truck.

This truck has never ever had a radio in it besides the factory AM/FM. It's just the way of things, and definitely not caused by your CDMs. If the dealer says it is, he's lying.

My 95 GMC Sonoma however has never had weird gremlins like that, and I do transmit at 50 watts on 2 meters and 35 watts on 70 cm from my Kenwood occasionally. Its only problem is its getting to the age where it's nickel and diming me to death now. (heater cores and crap like that

)

-b-

kg4ere · Post by **kg4ere** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 2:24 pm

giguchan · Post by **giguchan** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 10:49 pm

wow!!!
thanks for all of the replies...
I just wish my service advisor was better looking i'll bet she could take ALL of youin a fight at the same time!!

I'm glad that it was not my cdm's that did that. I just thought it might have been my install, because of the time proxmity that was all.... I was worried about the RF and all that , but i'm sure with all the chevys used in public service mounted and installed roughly the same way(we still have some small FD'S still on low band riding around with the "barney fife 102" whipper on the bumper and the 1ADAM-12 in the cockpit with upwards of 70W screaming can you hear me now!) and BTW i dont know if i want to be in a brush truck with a head moving towards me and trying to remember "did we fill up or not"?

The part has been ordered from chevy and naturally it's on backorder.. so i set my trip odo(yes IT still works) every time i fill up- around 200 mi or so... this is what we chevy drivers have to do huh? good job..

People....
thanks for all of the replies i'll keep you posted.

kb3jkp · Post by **kb3jkp** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 10:54 pm

hehe.. it's a chevy...what can one say??

oh..yeah.. get a toyota

giguchan · Post by **giguchan** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 11:00 pm

OH!!!
I should have mentioned this FRAILblazer is not mine(it's a company vehicle) I DO own a toyota 4 runner to be exact... problem is that there aint no room in it fer radios!!
it is said that SOME people just can be satisfied..... guess i'm one of em!

apco25 · Post by **apco25** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 9:32 am

Other than the bad fuel gauge sender and the passenger side door module failing I've not had a single problem with the 03 burb. My 95 Yukon only required a wiper motor circuit board replacement, no other electrical issues.

I'd take a GM over a FORD any day. Just look at how fast crown vic's start showing their age and fall apart.

kb3jkp · Post by **kb3jkp** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 9:44 am

lol..apco.. I dont want to turn this into a ford/chevy thing, but I'll disagree....

the only time I see vics "falling apart" is when they're poorly maintained.. or driving like hell through city streets FULL of potholes.. doing "batman" turns... and other crazy stuff.....

with the exception of the '03 vics, who's front brake pads were being killed in 5k miles, and rotors in 10K, that was fixed in the '05 MY..

you have to remember these cars are on the road, subjected to dirt, grime , IDIOTS, everything, for sometimes more than 8 hours a day, how often is the avg car on the road per day?? maybe 2 hours a day??

back to the topic at hand...

apco25 · Post by **apco25** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 2:00 pm

Ok how about this one

Driver's doors SAG on civie and P71 package crown vics in short order.

Or what about steering wheels that rub through after a year?

kb3jkp · Post by **kb3jkp** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 3:00 pm

drivers door SAG is caused by officers ......

1."kicking" open doors
2.using OPEN doors as leaning posts
3.opening/closing doors a LOT

(I've only seen that issue on ONE non-fleet use CV, and that was a "traveling salesman" that put upwards of 35K a yr on his car)

steering wheels that rub through in a yr?

again, it's related to mileage, and how the car is used.....
my car has 62K miles now, when I got it @ 55K, the steering wheel had some chunks out of it..it still does.. its also due to the fact that officers(and regular people) that wear rings, tend to dig a small notch, then they'll pull at the notch, making a bigger hole... same thing with the wheels being "worn down" and "black".....officers wear gloves.....

although I agree, that given that fact, they could use a harder material to make the steering wheel out of , practically eliminating the "issue"

again, its based on usage, a high usage item is going to see a lot of wear.

thats like saying, that,because I have a 1995 crown vic, that is in MINT condition, the crown vic is a "perfect" car, because even after 11 1/2 years(remember the MY is usually built the yr before), everything is original, in mint condition, and the only maintenance that has had to be performed since it was new,was a new battery, and oil changes....

well.. if I said the car only had 10K miles on it..then you'd understand why...

some depts. cycle out their cars, so other officers use it on the next shift, they run the cars 22 hours a day, idling most of the time, and rack up 30K+ miles a year, then of COURSE you're gonna have issues with "wear items"........

I'm not saying vics are perfect by any means......but their reliability record has spoken for itself......and I'll qualify that statement, with the assumption that the vehicles are being properly maintained....

oil changes every 6K miles, keeping brake pads on until the rotors are marred/warped,etc is NOT keeping the car properly maintained.

you can count on your hands how many cars can actually make it to 300K with very few issues, other than normal "wear" items.....fluids,brakes,shocks,springs,etc

the transmission is the weakest point on that car....... usually requiring a rebuild/replacement anywhere between 80K-120K depending on how it was maintained/used....

and APCO... are you still looking for MRK controllers?? I got a few UHF-LOW split MRK II-Scan's, with 512K boards....

/shameless threadjack

I'm gonna say it's just something that happened...

my car's fuel level sender went belly up....around 45K miles...been that way ever since.... its just one of those things...it doesnt effect anything, and since I have to replace the fuel pump to replace the sending unit,I"ll just keep refilling based on the trip meter, instead of the gas gauge... I come out about right anyway..

about the RF causing the issue... I call BS.... you have at least THREE decently sized pieces of metal.....between the antenna, and and the fuel level sender unit, the roof, the "floor" and the tank itself....

go ahead and get under the truck and measure how much RF is actually getting down there.....

there shouldnt be that much voltage on the line to screw up the sender even IF it was mounted just under the antenna, you still have all that metal to penetrate, and as we all know... metal doesnt like RF

dbcomm · Post by **dbcomm** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:38 pm

I had the same problem in my 03 Tahoe. I replaced the sending unit, and it went away.

giguchan · Post by **giguchan** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 10:19 pm

Goodnews!
No, the frailblazer did not burn! But I got the notification that the replacement part(fuel level sensor) came in I had to make an appt for this friday they will drop the tank install the part and hopefully that will be that...
thanks for all who replied to all of my questions..

N4KVE · Post by **N4KVE** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 1:37 pm

Hello. I work for a GMC dealer here in West Palm Beach. I sell 4 or 5 tank units a day. They are way overpriced for what they are but I love it. I don't want to sound like a jerk but all those tank units I sell generates me a very nice commission check which pays for my life & buys me nice Motorola gear & weapons. I also sell tons of power window motor & regulator assemblies, power door lock actuators, & just today alone, 3 instrument clusters. I could rant about all the ways cars are built so crappy for hours but why bother. It provides me a comfortable life. I won't even go into the problem Ford has with their AC compressors. No vehicle is perfect be it Dodge, Ford, or GM. 73's to all. GARY N4KVE

giguchan · Post by **giguchan** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 5:35 pm

Primary reason (forgive me Dad) I don't buy american vehicles.My company does but that's THEIR tough luck.
I don't mean to knock american anything but when i spend good money on a vehicle I would like a positive return on my investment. I dont mind spending extra money as long as i get my money worth.

ffemt1764 · Post by **ffemt1764** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 7:41 pm

Gee, I am glad that I dont have ANY trouble out of my 95 burban, at least no trouble on the GM parts end...and the same goes for my 95 P71...I like them both, and the only problem I have is the EGR valve on the P71 needs cleaned/replaced and if I can figure this fool thing going on with my spectras in the burban things would be 110% okie dokie. Of course, both are former state vehicles and for some reasons SC maintains the fleet exceptionally well...with the exception of body work...I have never obtained an old state vehicle that has caused me any trouble....of course now that I have said all this both will need something in the next 2 days, hours, minutes, etc...

giguchan · Post by **giguchan** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 8:57 pm

I'll bet older is better... it a simple saying that goes "They don't make 'em like they used to"
I wish i had your kind of luck... I would have never switched... the old man hated me for it but he understood where i waa coming from.
Continued good luck.