I have had my 2003 wagon for several weeks now and sorting out a few minor issues but so far the truck has always started right up for me. On Friday afternoon we left Vegas heading to Cedar City, Utah (about 2 1/2 hours away) and this is quite a bit longer than any other drive we have done.

Here is what happened.

1. Friday afternoon (after glow plugs warmed up) I turned the key and the engine cranked over for 3-5 seconds before starting. This was unusual because it always fires up immediately. I noted it but wasn't overly concerned.
2. We stopped at a gas station after about 30 minutes to grab some waters and when I started the truck it did the same thing, cranking over for a few seconds before the engine fired but then drove fine.
3. 2 hours into the drive we stopped for dinner and went into a restaurant for about an hour. When we came out the truck would not turn over at all. Dash and interior lights were all illuminated fully. Engine was not even turning over.
   1. I put my small jump starter on the batteries but nothing happened. We kept trying and suddenly it just fired up without cranking over at all . . . just turned the key and it fired like normal.
4. We continued our drive and when we got to Cedar City I parked at the hotel. When I turned it off I waited 30 seconds and then tried to restart it. It did absolutely nothing so I turned the key off. I then turned the key back to start and it fired right up.
5. We left the truck overnight and when we came out this morning it would not turn over at all for us. We tried the jump start remote, we tried jumped cables. Nothing worked and the batteries have plenty of power in them so I am assuming it is either a bad starter or a starter relay (is there one on a 2003 H1?)

I borrowed a friends car to drive home and left the Hummer at the hotel (which is owned by friends so it will be safe). Hoping to find a diesel mechanic on Monday who can go check it out, but figured I would ask here and see if anyone has any thoughts or has had this happen to them before. It is a 2003 H1 with 6.5 TD and has 49,600 miles.

My thoughts are:

1. Bad starter
2. Bad starter relay
3. faulty ignition switch / key cylinder

Thanks in advance for any insight or advice you can offer.

Bill

 

My daughters H1 does the same thing. I needed to move it the other day after we just put new batteries in and its totally dead. I asked her what she left on and she shook her head and said there's a trick dad you just have to move the shifter from park to drive and then back. In actuality its probably the park switch or Park pawl? Hope that helps let me know if you find a fix.

Thanks Have a great day

Everett Carson
Carson Footwear

 

Check the PMD (Pump Mounted Driver). If you seem to get getting power from the batteries this could be the issue. It has been a very long time so my memory is probably failing but I recall having this issue once and it was a bad PMD. Easy swap but of course you have to have one lying around to test.

 

As a general practice I leave V8 and more cylinder vehicles running on idle for 10-15 mins before and after using them for driving, this for heat changes of the metal to be as slow as possible; and reduce wear and tear.