I think i’m having trouble with the articulating running boards. Every so often the driver side running gets stuck in the extended position when leaving the car. If I reopen the door and close it and provide a little assistance with my foot, the running board will retract. This never happens when the engine is running. I have lubricated all of the joints on the running board to no avail. Also, I have noticed that the battery will be dead. But this doesn’t happen all of the time. The dealer reprogrammed the running board controller, several times now. The most recent reprogramming was the result of the running board on the drivers side being stuck in the extended position and the passenger running board was fully retracted and neither were operational (yes I have made sure that the switch that disables the running boards was in the “Run” position and not “Off”). My guess, and that’s all it is, is that the battery is causing the problem because it’s getting weak. Its a 4 year old Interstate with a 6 year warranty. Does anyone have any ideas what may be going on here? Could it be that the running boards are a symptom and not the cause?
You could get the battery tested and I don’t just mean the voltage. The battery needs to be tested on a machine that puts a very heavy load on the battery.
But I doubt that this is the problem with the running boards. If the battery were failing it would show up more at high demand situations like the starter.
I think the either you have a bad connection somewhere in that circuit or dirt and road debris is binding the rails.
Have the battery tested though, then you’ll know how good your 4 year old battery is.
Yosemite
I just had to come back and comment.
A Yukon Denali with power running boards.
Could you imagine in the Yukon…at - 30 degrees and you push that button. All you’d hear is a short groan and then the popping of a fuse.
Wouldn’t slush and snow accumulating in the winter bind these things up. I’ve never heard of them until now.
Yosemite
Well, I’ll be darned:
Well @insightful I guess we both need to get hip with those new newfangled contraptions.
Wait…what…they are putting 12 volt batteries in the new cars. Someones going to get electrocuted
Yosemite.
You guys need to visit Georgia. Every jacked up 3 foot in the air pickup has them south of the Mason Dixon.
Sounds as if the motor is continuing to drive and drawing down you battery. More than likely a bad actuator motor.
It appears that the battery may be the issue. It failed the Load Test even after it was fully charged. Time will tell…
We gave the truck the “acid” test in the last 24 hrs. The test is to use the vehicle the way we always use it and “Everything” works just fine. The Running Boards work great and the trunks starts when it should. Looks the 4 year old Interstate battery was done. The moral of this story is; Just because a battery has a 6 year warranty doesn’t mean it’s going last that long. 