I have a 1984 Chevy C-20 Suburban with a 6.2 diesel. Sometimes I loose all power to the truck. When I say all power I mean everything. If I leave the truck alone for a day or two the power returns. I've checked all my grounds under the hood and my fusible links and fuses. Does anyone have any ideas on what might be causing this issue?

gremlins...dont drive it after midnite :-)

Keep it away form my 83 3/4 diesel burb.........I just got it running 2 months ago!

I had a similar gremlin with a sons' Jeep, and a new battery fixed it. The old battery tested"OK", just a little weak. So, I would start with battery terminals, and batteries.

I have a 1984 Chevy C-20 Suburban with a 6.2 diesel. Sometimes I loose all power to the truck. When I say all power I mean everything. If I leave the truck alone for a day or two the power returns. I've checked all my grounds under the hood and my fusible links and fuses. Does anyone have any ideas on what might be causing this issue?

When you say it loses power, is that when it is running? After it sits a while?

I would recommend that you take a voltmeter and check the battery and alternator while it is running to make sure that there are enough volts being generated by the alternator. Then check the battery when it is sitting (doing a load test on the battery wouldn't hurt).

If it goes dead while running, it sounds like a heat issue to me. In that case, check all of your battery terminals and lugs to make sure everything is in good shape. It wouldn't hurt to just replace your pos and neg battery cables with new ones. And check your alternator connections as well.

I had a work van a couple years ago that would start in the morning fine, but then after it ran a little, the charging would drop off (fortunately it was a diesel so it would keep running). At the shop they diagnosed it as a busted alternator connector.

when you say you checked your grounds did you take them apart clean them to shiney metal and put them back together tightly?? also doing the same procedure with both battery cables ???

I've replaced both batteries and the alternator as well as the terminals. I was told it could be a bad ground in the column. Any thoughts on this idea about the column grounds?

It looses power when I run the the truck then shut it off. Usually when I'm as far from home as possible.

I've replaced both batteries and the alternator as well as the terminals. I was told it could be a bad ground in the column. Any thoughts on this idea about the column grounds?

It could be the ignition switch, or one of the contacts thereof. There is a possibility for corrosion or shorting that could crop up when the switch is cycled from run to off.

I'm can't say for sure, but I don't see how a column could become ungrounded from the truck on its own. It would have to have been taken apart and put back together incorrectly to lose a ground. For a lot of the parts on trucks, the physical contact between components (column to dash, light housing to body, etc.) provides the ground by bolting the two parts together not with an independent ground wire. Like I thought above, check out your ignition switch!!