1997 GMC Suburban from North America - Comments

I bought a 99 GMC Suburban used, really good price for what I got. I've had it for 10 years and runs like a champ. Initially, it would have electrical problems, draining on its own and not starting. It also would sometimes just die while being driven. Luckily, I bought it for short distances in the neighborhood where there wasn't much traffic. Took it to the mechanic several times and they couldn't fix the problem. Turned out that the alternator was dying, self grounding in the process, draining the battery, etc. When it finally gave up, then another mechanic diagnosed it, replaced it, and it's been a champ ever since.

One note, and I don't know if it's just this car. After I bought the car and brought it home, I noticed that one of the bolts IN the car that held the 2nd row seat down was rusted completely. I thought that perhaps the previous owner had gotten the car under water, not sure. The body frame underneath was also heavily rusted, but it's thick enough that I don't need to worry about it. However, I've discovered other components inside the car since that are also, and oddly, rusted. Perhaps the body insulation fails causing a lot of the electrical problems in these pages? Along these lines, I just pulled off the fuse relay box cover trying to diagnose a dead rear turn signal and realized how flimsy the box was, how susceptible the fuses were to moisture, and how the fuse seating was not even properly fitted that one of the fuses couldn't sit properly where it should be, perhaps causing some of the other failures here noted. It is possible that moisture can get in to this area, and short the fuses to each other through heavy moisture, causing the cross-flashing/cross-shorting between relay lights of different components (signal, etc.) Maybe a simple moisture-insulating cover over this entire box might help? It would have to be resistant to fire, heat, and melting, however. Or just rubber insulation on the cover's edges AWAY from the fuses could work.