[Carrotop79]

Hey all, just returned from overseas and now have a battery issue to contend with. I replaced the battery 3 months ago (AC DELCO) when it went dead and wouldnt hold a charge very well, drove it for a few weeks, then off to desert. The wife drove it at least once a week, give or take a day, to keep it running while I was gone. I get home and the TB, which had sat for 5 days, was dead. And I mean dead.....no click click click, no dome, nothing! So I charged it up to full and started tshootin. Alternator working and regulating like it is supposed to. Voltage on the batt is good.

I disconnected the positive cable and then in series probed the terminal and the cable itself to see what draw, if any, it had. I have a .4 milliamp draw all of the time. At least I think that is milli......can this possibly be killing my batt after a week?

 

[Carrotop79]

Oh yeah, I disconnected my 6K's and also the wiring harness for the electric fan going to the trans cooler. This is the extent of my elec mods so I started there. I cant think of anything else that would be running it down! Frustrating. Any advise on more tshooting would be helpful, thanks all!

 

[DVelasco68]

if you don't have onstar, pull the fuse on that... The onstar module is responsible for this many a time...

 

[TmanSC07TBSS]

Hey thanks, I need to pull this OnStar fuse myself.

 

[Carrotop79]

Well it has OnStar but I don't use it due to this is my car and the wife has the Acadia with it. I will check that out sometime today. As of yesterday (10 sep) the battery was fully charged and I took the charger off around 11am. Voltage was 13.22. Checked it again at 10p and I was at 12.75. Will check it again later today.....after some sleep. Thanks

 

[spadz93]

having the same problem with stock battery, but i have all my aftermarket stuff hooked up to switched ignition power

 

[Carrotop79]

Well after charging to full, I started the week of letting it sit. I started with 13.22v on last Sat, I checked it periodically throughout the week and had to open the door twice during the 7 days (but that shouldn't be worth much). I checked it yesterday before driving to Tuscaloosa and it was 12.46v. I cant see why it went totally dead on the wife after only a week of sitting? I pulled the OnStar fuse before the trip and will leave it out I guess. Anyway, thanks all.

 

[spadz93]

well, i came back from college to a dead ss (parents said they drove it a week before i came home), i jumped it, then drove it to a friends house, did a fun little WOT stretch, and hungout for an hour or 2. came out, thing was completely dead again. jumped it again, drove around more, left my ss on as much as i could (i have a viper system so i used the remote start feature where you leave the car on with the keys out), and it was fine sleeping through 2 nights. im back at college now, so i guess ill have to see what happens when i get back. if not, new battery time. who recommends what?

 

[Carrotop79]

Have you checked how much draw the truck is pulling while the keys are out? Thats how I started troubleshooting. A lot of people like the Optimas but I went back with a Delco. Sorry to hear about that, it sucks coming home to problems!

 

[spadz93]

how would i check how much the truck is drawing when the keys are out? where would i put the voltmeter?

 

[Carrotop79]

Well I am no spark chaser but this is how I was taught. Take off the positive battery cable. Using a mulitmeter start high like the 10 or 20 amp setting. Take one lead of the meter and probe the now empty positive receptacle. Take the other lead and touch the positive cable and now you are in series. Whatever the meter reads is what draw your truck has on it without power. You will here a click right by the fuse holder but that is normal. If the reading is super low, for instance .00xx then switch the meter setting to milli amps. Mine was .4 milli. Not enough to drain according to forums.

 

[spadz93]

duly noted for when i go back in two weeks

 

[CDSS]

did you guys find the issue?

 

[Carrotop79]

Not yet, but I have let the truck sit for up to 6 days and it is a little sluggish but not dead like before. I just have to find time to pull fuses and wait for the drop.

 

[DVelasco68]

This is what I got on Sale for $34.95:

Sunforce 50022 5-Watt Solar Battery Trickle Charger by Sunforce

Amazon has them 1 for $48, 2 for $77 (free shipping either way)

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