I have a 2006 Z-51 with a LS2 motor, the car has had long tube headers, a cold air induction and a mild tune upgrades since 2008. Lately the car has acted a little funny, The tire pressure monitor pops up once in a while, the right head lamp went out, auto index driver side stoped working. One day I started the car and it had a bad miss fire, tack not working and power steering felt like it was struggling. So I limped it home put her in the garage. It took a few days pass before I could get her into a shop. The night before I took the car in I charged the battery. In the morning the car ran fine, tack working, power stearing works and no miss fire. At the shop the guy plugged his scanner in and the car would not do anything except say ( no fab ) as soon as he unplugged scanner car started fine. So he sent me to an electrical shop, he plugged a scanner in and retrieved a O2 sensor, mass air flow and throttle position code with out any problem. On the drive home I notice the volt meter fluctuating from under 13 volts up to 14.4 volts. Could all my problems be caused by a bad alternator? Yes the car shows check engine because of the o2 sensors and the others , but would that cause the described problems. Thanks in advance and sorry for the long read but I thought it was necessary for good diagnosis.

 

You don't say anything about the age or condition of the battery. These cars are very sensitive to low or erratic battery voltage so unless you know for sure that your battery is relatively fresh & fully charged, I would start there.

 

QUOTE from OP ...

The tire pressure monitor pops up once in a while ... Install new TPMS sensors

The right head lamp went out ... Change the bulb

Auto index driver side stopped working ... Re-index both windows (after you replace your battery)

One day I started the car and it had a bad miss fire ... Re-insert all plug wires into both the spark plugs and the coils

Tach not working and power steering felt like it was struggling ... Replace the battery

The night before I took the car in I charged the battery. In the morning the car ran fine, tach working, power steering works and no miss fire ... Replace your battery

I notice the volt meter fluctuating from under 13 volts up to 14.4 volts ... Again, replace the battery

Could all my problems be caused by a bad alternator? ... I don't think so

 

I think alternator! In for the fix...

 

The battery was changed 16 mo ago and it test good. So I guess it still could be the cause, but I am skeptical, Thanks for the advise, does anyone think it could be related to the O2, Mass air flow or Throttle position sensor issues. Yes I will fix them all eventually, just looking for a good place to start.

 

Check and clean all battery connections and grounds is the first thing I would do.

 

Multiple codes are usually caused by a common power supply problem. I think your fluctuating volt meter is the clue, electrical noise will raise havoc in these cars & generate false codes.

 

And the two shops you took it too, couldn't tell if the alt was working properly or not? I think I'd find another shop as this would be the first thing I would look at.