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2006 chevy Silverado Hi beam indicator won't go out
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morehops
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Jan 26, 2012, 6:32 AM
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2006 chevy Silverado Hi beam indicator won't go out
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My Silverado V6 basic work truck battery went dead. Jump started it to get to my mechanic who put a new Interstate battery. Now when I turn off the ignition and everything is turned off, the Hi-beam indicator on the instrument panel comes on in about 20 seconds and will stay on until some circuit is activated. The intensity of the light is only about 1/2 of what it is when the Hi-beams are actually on. As soon as another light comes on such as opening a door , the indicator goes out. I've left the truck sit for a couple of days and that indicator light is still lit ( I looked thru the window). My mechanic called the local Chevy dealer and they had no ideas. Thanks in advance for any help.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
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Jan 26, 2012, 7:30 AM
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Re: 2006 chevy Silverado Hi beam indicator won't go out
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I'm in the same boat with your Chevy dealer but will ask if you have any clue why battery went dead or was it just old?
Also a maybe and just take a look at new battery - any chance it somehow got wires under it being pinched or something?
For lack of anything else I'd ask your mechanic to simply take battery out and put it back in looking for anything that may have been disturbed??
T
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morehops
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Jan 27, 2012, 4:04 AM
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Re: 2006 chevy Silverado Hi beam indicator won't go out
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The battery was old and I had left the dome light on. I figured if the battery died in Dec it probably wouldn't make it thru winter & i'd rather replace it now. I've found my mechanic to be very reliable and fair and have used him for many years. When I told him of the problem he rechecked everything. He didn't take out and reinstall the battery though.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
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Jan 27, 2012, 5:24 AM
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Re: 2006 chevy Silverado Hi beam indicator won't go out
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I don't have one answer but some food for thought on this;
* New batteries don't like going totally dead never mind old ones so that part is fine to toss it.
* Did it go dead enough to lose any clock or presets in anything?
* Was a "memory saver" used when replacing battery?
* Do you have an alarm or aftermarket alarm that might involve headlights at all?
* If (think it does) use a relay for headlights I'd just toss it (see below**)
* Other is battery is probably close to where headlights plug in - check there.
_______________________
** Different vintage but I own a '97 and damn if once in a blue moon a relay underdash would just buzz and NO headlights! I plead I have no clue why and it could just quit that and all is fine! Had to wait for that problem to stay long enough to go hunting for why. Dang if it wasn't the plug right at the left front sealed beam (that model still used sealed beam lights) and hasn't happened again yet but with it unplugged lights would go out for both but the buzz stopped. For now and been a while I just jammed a small paneling nail in the one that is stressed for better contact and it is fine but I keep wires on board to give me even one headlight to get home in an emergency.
In fairness it's wired for and I use it for snow plowing and when hooked up the trucks headlights quit and plow lights take over. How that is wired and done isn't available to me but clearly was engineered that way by the snow plow maker. I'm very reluctant to solder in a new/used plug that looks cheap to me and have a used one but wire color doesn't match which is fine but can't afford to be without till season is over.
That may be a goose chase for you issue and nothing like it but the relay that can buzz might be still (dunno) real points that touch inside when triggered to work and just the slightest current may be getting thru a fault in the dang thing. Have found that before with power door locks in another. They would try but not move?! Well over a year on that one without any more troubles.
Just note that low voltage can heat up certain things that try but can't fully operate and hurt them. That's the reason a low battery will normally just "flutter" a starter motor to save it.
Sorry that I can't pin this down for you but those are some funky things among countless intermittent problems that of course when tested just begin to behave causing major hair loss for further diagnosis.
Yours it NOT seemingly intermittent so it should be easier to isolate. If you have " driving lights" separate and especially aftermarket that wiring is highly suspect IMO.
Just tossing out some wild azz guesses as to some maybe reasons that don't cost much or anything to check by yourself. A relay if that should be cheap enough to just toss for new and hope that's it IMO.
Hope that's of some help to fix that,
Tom
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
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Jan 27, 2012, 6:05 AM
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Re: 2006 chevy Silverado Hi beam indicator won't go out
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There is probably a problem inside the instrument panel cluster (IPC). The body control module (BCM) tells the instrument cluster to turn on the high beam indicator over a data bus when the high beams are commanded on. The BCM cannot tell the IPC to make the high beam indicator half lit, so the problem has to be inside the cluster itself.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
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Jan 27, 2012, 7:37 AM
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Re: 2006 chevy Silverado Hi beam indicator won't go out
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Good one DS as usual. I just don't quite get why this happened with a battery swap right away? Was it done wrong or from going dead in you opinion?
Tom
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
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Jan 27, 2012, 9:17 AM
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Re: 2006 chevy Silverado Hi beam indicator won't go out
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If that is indeed the problem, there is no telling why it could of failed without knowing what component inside the cluster went out. I do know that sometimes solid state components seem to fail during power up. Another possibility is a voltage surge may have done something in. Time will tell.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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morehops
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Jan 27, 2012, 9:57 PM
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Re: 2006 chevy Silverado Hi beam indicator won't go out
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well I'll check some wiring and relay your other ideas to my mechanic. I'll let you know what we find out. Thanks for the ideas.
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re-tired
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Jan 27, 2012, 11:15 PM
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Re: 2006 chevy Silverado Hi beam indicator won't go out
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Check grounds both under hood and under dash . It sounds like a poor ground and voltage is hunting for a different path to ground .
LIFE'S SHORT GO FISH
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
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Jan 28, 2012, 8:21 AM
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Re: 2006 chevy Silverado Hi beam indicator won't go out
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Cluster ground is G203 and is located on top of the IP underneath top IP cover near the A pillar. Good luck getting to it.
You can voltage drop from the back of the instrument cluster at the connector PIN B12 black/white wire to battery's ground post with everything turned on. You should see less than .03 volts.
You can also make a temporary bypass to a known good ground point or even make it direct to the battery negative and see if your problem goes bye bye. I have a feeling the ground may be good or else you would be seeing all kinds of weird things going on in the cluster, but it doesn't hurt to check.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Jan 28, 2012, 8:24 AM)
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re-tired
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Jan 28, 2012, 10:56 AM
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Re: 2006 chevy Silverado Hi beam indicator won't go out
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I once had a car with the same complaint . Turned out to be no ground on a parking lite . When it's searching for the least path of resistance elecrtrical current can take strange routes . The temporary ground is a great way to diagnose . Thanks for mentioning it.
LIFE'S SHORT GO FISH
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