Battery issue w 2008 GXP
05-14-2009, 08:08 AM
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Battery issue w 2008 GXP When the car sits for a few days, it will not start. Since I started having problems over the winter, here's the list of what dealer determined the problem to be and the solution....
1) Battery leaking......change battery
2) Positive cable loose......tighten cable
3) Wrong battery......get brand new battery
Car has been sitting for about a week and a half (been trying to save $$ on gas by driving my wife's car since she's out of work and drives a 4-cyl)......decide to drive it today and it won't start.
The last time the dealer had it, they said they can't find anything putting an unusual draw on the battery.
Any suggestions?
1) Battery leaking......change battery
2) Positive cable loose......tighten cable
3) Wrong battery......get brand new battery
Car has been sitting for about a week and a half (been trying to save $$ on gas by driving my wife's car since she's out of work and drives a 4-cyl)......decide to drive it today and it won't start.
The last time the dealer had it, they said they can't find anything putting an unusual draw on the battery.
Any suggestions?
05-14-2009, 08:15 AM
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Yeah, it sounds like you have an issue with parasitic draw on the battery, but that should be easy to tell (from a dealer standpoint). They should not be telling you to live with it. 
Do you have anything aftermarket installed? Radio? Radar? Phone charger plugged in? Aftermarket alarm?
As a DIY'er, you need to see what the current draw on the battery is:
1. After shutting off the car.
2. About 15min after that.
3. After 30-60min after that (all systems should be asleep by then)
If the draw is still high, start pulling fuses until you see it drop.
Do you have anything aftermarket installed? Radio? Radar? Phone charger plugged in? Aftermarket alarm?
As a DIY'er, you need to see what the current draw on the battery is:
1. After shutting off the car.
2. About 15min after that.
3. After 30-60min after that (all systems should be asleep by then)
If the draw is still high, start pulling fuses until you see it drop.
05-14-2009, 08:18 AM
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Yeah what Buffalo said...test the draw at those intervals, and if you have aftermarket stuff, start yanking it out one by one to try to find the culprit. Shouldn't be too big a deal since you're not driving the car much. Even silly things like Wal*Mart iPod chargers could be the cause, if they're manufactured shittily enough, there could easily be faults.
05-14-2009, 08:50 AM
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If you have no idea what you're doing, here's a good "How to" for testing parasitic draw:
http://www.bbbind.com/Bulletins_Atta...ery%20draw.pdf
http://www.bbbind.com/Bulletins_Atta...ery%20draw.pdf
05-14-2009, 10:21 AM
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It could be you just got bad AC Delco batteries.
I had it replaced by dealer less then a year ago and if the car sat for 2-3 days it would barely turn over. Longer than 3 days I had to jump it. Ont op of that the Battery had leaked and the tray underneath was rusting.
Got an Optima yellow top battery. Car sat at airport for week and a half when I came back it started right away.
Another thing I have noticed is my remote start range has increased a bit as well.
I had it replaced by dealer less then a year ago and if the car sat for 2-3 days it would barely turn over. Longer than 3 days I had to jump it. Ont op of that the Battery had leaked and the tray underneath was rusting.
Got an Optima yellow top battery. Car sat at airport for week and a half when I came back it started right away.
Another thing I have noticed is my remote start range has increased a bit as well.
05-15-2009, 08:10 AM
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Never really thought about the bad battery part...it could very well be...but again, they could test for it.
My battery was replaced as well...since you couldn't use any accessory power for more than 5 minutes or so. However, I never had the opportunity to leave it sitting for 2-3 days (my DD), so I never put 2-and-2 together.
My battery was replaced as well...since you couldn't use any accessory power for more than 5 minutes or so. However, I never had the opportunity to leave it sitting for 2-3 days (my DD), so I never put 2-and-2 together.
