High country gauge weirdness? Fuel & Volts?

Pyrojodge · July 29, 2019

SO have noticed over the past few months that I never seem to fill my HC according to the gauge. It always shows a tick low unless I fill from over a half tank. If it's over a half tank when I fill up then it will show on the FULL line. If I fill from under half it always shows a tick below the full line? I also started to notice that my voltage swings widely. I can go from almost 15v and it will drop to 13 for awhile then back to 14.5 then back to 13. It's constantly moving which seems strange... Anyone else noticing anything weird with the gauges like this?

Edited July 29, 2019 by Pyrojodge

Pyrojodge · July 29, 2019

Also, for the voltages. I'm not using the 110 outlets or any other outlets that would draw on the system either.

crankman · July 29, 2019

Cant help you on the fuel gauge issue but the voltage moving around is normal for quite a few years. There are a bunch of threads explaining the reason but mine does it to.

BlancoSilverado · July 29, 2019

The voltage swing happens on all the trucks. As long as it stays above 12 you are golden.

For the fuel filling, have you tried to wait 10-30 seconds and put more fuel in? The only thing i can see is that there is too much pressure build up in the tank and it clicks off before actually fill to the top. Next time you fill up from under half a tank, once it clicks off, wait 10-30 seconds (longer the better) pulling the hose out slightly to verify pressure is relief and then try filling the rest of the way up. if the same problem has occurred then take it to the dealer.

MaverickZ71 · July 29, 2019

Lemme guess--you used to drive a Ford pickup? (Their gauges move to a normal operating position and never seem to ever move from there.)

What you are describing is normal. For the fueling, try a different gas pump and let the handle click off by itself, wait 20 seconds, and then you can usually add several more clicks worth of fuel. Be careful it doesn't overflow.

On the gauges, on GM vehicles, the gauge needles seem to move around a lot more than some other makes. On our trucks, the needles point straight up for normal operating position on the volts, oil pressure, and coolant temp gauges, and anything within the area between the 10:00 and 2:00 hash marks is within normal operating range. You don't have to worry about if anything is too high or too low on the gauges, because you'll get a warning chime and message in the Driver Info Center screen if anything is wrong.

Edited July 29, 2019 by MaverickZ71

Pyrojodge · July 30, 2019

On ‎7‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 12:26 PM, MaverickZ71 said:

Lemme guess--you used to drive a Ford pickup?

Um.... NO. Ford is my key account at work but not my go to brand for automobiles. My dad worked for GM for almost 39.5 years. Since I was able to drive I've driven Chevy vehicles. None of my other GM vehicles have I noticed the wild swings with the voltage.

I have tried to wait 30 seconds or so once the pump stops then try and see how much more I can fill her up. Just seems like a strange happening... Thank you all for the replies...

Billet Bowtie · July 31, 2019

Your not doing anything wrong. My gas gauge does the same thing in my High Country. I literally noticed it driving off the lot. I thought the dealer was just cheap and didnt fill it up with gas all the way. Later I found out when I would fill it up it shows a tick off of full.

OnTheReel · July 31, 2019

Same here with the fuel gauge, seems like only sometimes I can get it to show all the way full. Just figured it was digital gauge quirkiness.

The volt gauge cycling is normal as said. The alternator has a clutch that disengages it to save fuel. Couple that with the auto-stop feature and the overall battery maintenance programming and the gauge is all over the map.

eppieguy · July 31, 2019

Here is my take on this, I have found after the pump clicks off it will take almost 2 more gallons when my needle showed a little less than full. The next time I got gas I put the nozzle on slow (in NJ there is 2-3 settings on the automatic handle), and when I do that the truck fills up much more and the gas gauge shows full every time.