New 96' Tahoe! with a couple lil probs

[wonder squirrel]

Hey guys and gals. Just bought a 96' 2 door Tahoe LT 4x4. 150,000 miles on it, but runs great with no leaks, no burning oil (as of yet). I read through about 40 pages of threads on this site before I bought, and I went ahead and took the plunge. I'm pretty mechanically inclined, and owned an 89' chevy so I know a lil bit about these.

Anyways, I have a couple questions that I didnt see exact answers for.

First of all, daytime running lights arent working. I read several posts about this, some with answers and solutions, some dead ends. But atleast I know where to start at.

The dash light shows them as working, and both high and low beams are fully functional. Checked and replaced fuse, no change, and now need to check the diode/ heatsink assembly under the dash. Am I suppose to remove the entire heatsink assembly, or just the orange/yellow wire plug from the top? I cant get my hands in there to feel any bolts/ screws to take off, and it feels like its connected to the bracing that runs from kick panel to kick panel. How does this come off? (dont wanna do any extra work if not needed)

I checked the Haynes manuel, but it didnt seem to list anything about the removal/ replacement.

While I was under the dash, I found a female ethernet plug (not stock, it was added by someone for?) with a cable that runs somewhere behind the heater box assembly. I checked underneath the truck, and around the firewall, but cant find where this goes, and I have no idea what its used for.

There is also a coaxial style cable that runs up the A-pillar on the passenger side that doesnt have anything hooked to it. I'm not sure if these are related or not, maybe they were used for a cb radio or something?

My truck has a floor mounted shifter for the transfer case, and it seems like everything I've read says these were electrcally shifted? It looks stock, so I dont think it was added later. Anyways, I wanted to remove the shift knob for one of my own, but the damn thing doesnt want to unscrew, and theres no fasteners or anything holding it on.

The drivers side door handle bucket is busted, so I'll be switching that out tomorrow (assuming the part gets here tomorrow). Seems to be pretty straight forward though.

Can anyone tell me the glove box code that designates the limited slip in the 96's?

Sorry for such a long message, just things keep popping into my mind.

[bryfry]

The RPO code should be G80 that denotes the limited slip. At least that's what it is on my '99. Should be the same though.

[wonder squirrel]

Just thought I'd throw an update in here.

Changed out the driverside, outside door handle. It wasn't too difficult, but space is at a premium no doubt. Had a bindup problem at first because I apparently bent the actuating rod taking the old door handle out. Fix'd as good as new now though.

Do any of you guys know of a book/ website that could decode the glovebox factory codes for installed options on a 96' Tahoe? Just curious.

[Paul Peaden]

I have a '96 K1500 that the daytime running lights don't work on and the reason is that my paw-in-law removed the buzzer that screams when the keys are left in the ignition or when the lights are left on. I still have the light on the dash that indicates that they work, but that is just an idiot light I guess. May want to check for the buzzer to see if it has been removed.

[wonder squirrel]

Originally Posted by Paul Peaden

I have a '96 K1500 that the daytime running lights don't work on and the reason is that my paw-in-law removed the buzzer that screams when the keys are left in the ignition or when the lights are left on. I still have the light on the dash that indicates that they work, but that is just an idiot light I guess. May want to check for the buzzer to see if it has been removed.

Theres deffinately a buzzer when the keys are in the ignition and lights are on, so its not my problem. Thanks for the idea though/

[MI_Jim]

Any chance your parking brake is slightly engaged or the switch is faulty? You can shut off the daytime running lights by engaging the parking brakes (not while driving, of course!) so maybe that's got something to do with it. Maybe not, but at least it's easy to check!
I just replaced the inside & outside driver's door handles this weekend. There a sure a lot of sharp sheet metal edges to work around. I sliced my finger pretty good on one!

[wonder squirrel]

Well the DRL light is on, on the dash, and I did try to put on the emergency brake and take it off sevral times, and tried to see if the switch was looking out of place, but I didnt try to really troubleshoot it beyond that.

Could anyone verify if the little heatsink diode under the dash heats up while the daytime runners are on? Not just ambient heat or from the heater, etc. (it has a heatsink, so I assume it gets pretty darn hot while functioning properly).

The heatsink on mine doesnt get hot at all. Not sure if that confirms it as the possible prob or not. I dont have a multi tester (do have a regular test light though) but I'm not sure exactly what to test there.

The daytime runners use the same lightbulb as the regular low beam bulbs (the one in the same) right? So that would elimante the bulbs atleast.

Anyways, if any of you guys happen to be out for a drive, feel the lil diode and see if its hot or not, thanks in advance.