Dead battery, ugh!
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 234
Likes: 0
From: Columbus, NJ
Dead battery, ugh! I tried to start the Buick today and nothing. No lights, no dings, just silence. I tried ro remove the key and it wouldn't budge. The shifter was also locked it park with no way to roll the car out of the garage for a jump. I don't recall leaving anything on just maybe I left the key in the ignition which I do all the time. But this time I may have not pulled it out past the first click, just enough to cancel the "key in ignition" message from the DIC.
I got a hold of an old school Schumacher bench-top charger and threw it on the top posts for about an hour and gave it a crank. It cranked slow but finally started and the alternator was making a whining sound probably due to a low charge. I let it idle for a while to put some life back into the system and all seems fine at the moment. I put a trickle charger on the car overnight just to be safe.
Looking back in hindsight I took a peek at the owner's manual and I see that they want you to connect the (-) cable to the battery ground and the (+) to the fuse block positive post. I guess I should have checked that first.
Anybody experience this before?
I got a hold of an old school Schumacher bench-top charger and threw it on the top posts for about an hour and gave it a crank. It cranked slow but finally started and the alternator was making a whining sound probably due to a low charge. I let it idle for a while to put some life back into the system and all seems fine at the moment. I put a trickle charger on the car overnight just to be safe.
Looking back in hindsight I took a peek at the owner's manual and I see that they want you to connect the (-) cable to the battery ground and the (+) to the fuse block positive post. I guess I should have checked that first.
Anybody experience this before?
junk that POS Delco battery and get an Optima. the batteries in these cars are like the trans, a ton of people have had to replace from the delco's just failing and some people have no issue
Launching!
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 291
Likes: 1
From: Toronto, Canada
They say not to use the battery positive to prevent ignition of the battery incase of a spark, that is if it is leaking. Never done it this way myself. I'll be replacing mine real soon with an Optima, it's got a pretty weak charge. I don't drive it that often and hve had to recharge it once. So with the cold weather I'm expecting the worst. Not looking forward to it from what I here !!!!
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TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 646
Likes: 0
From: Sicklerville, NJ
I tried to start the Buick today and nothing. No lights, no dings, just silence. I tried ro remove the key and it wouldn't budge. The shifter was also locked it park with no way to roll the car out of the garage for a jump. I don't recall leaving anything on just maybe I left the key in the ignition which I do all the time. But this time I may have not pulled it out past the first click, just enough to cancel the "key in ignition" message from the DIC.
I got a hold of an old school Schumacher bench-top charger and threw it on the top posts for about an hour and gave it a crank. It cranked slow but finally started and the alternator was making a whining sound probably due to a low charge. I let it idle for a while to put some life back into the system and all seems fine at the moment. I put a trickle charger on the car overnight just to be safe.
Looking back in hindsight I took a peek at the owner's manual and I see that they want you to connect the (-) cable to the battery ground and the (+) to the fuse block positive post. I guess I should have checked that first.
Anybody experience this before?
I got a hold of an old school Schumacher bench-top charger and threw it on the top posts for about an hour and gave it a crank. It cranked slow but finally started and the alternator was making a whining sound probably due to a low charge. I let it idle for a while to put some life back into the system and all seems fine at the moment. I put a trickle charger on the car overnight just to be safe.
Looking back in hindsight I took a peek at the owner's manual and I see that they want you to connect the (-) cable to the battery ground and the (+) to the fuse block positive post. I guess I should have checked that first.
Anybody experience this before?
Same thing happened to me. Nothing worked. The locks, the trunk, no sound. Nothing. I put the key in the ignition and it wouldnt budge until i charged it. The batteries for these cars are not cheap at all either
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Launching!
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 234
Likes: 0
From: Columbus, NJ
I'm just kinda PO'd that just leaving the key in the ignition would cause the battery to be dead the next day. 2 1/2 year old battery BTW.
I thought that these cars had the "rundown protection" to prevent this from happening.
I thought that these cars had the "rundown protection" to prevent this from happening.
may i ask what brand battery was in your car?
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,137
Likes: 0
From: nj
agreed that battery sucks *****. i had the same thing happen to me. battery died and i decided to push the car to the center of the driveway to rotate the tires while i waited for my replacement battery to come in. i didnt know that the key would lock in the ignition if the battery was dead. next thing you know i have a dead battery, and the key stuck in the ignition. i decided to check and see if the spare key would work in the door lock since now my key is stuck in the ignition, and that key doesnt even go into the door lock. it was a shitty day. turned out i had to lube the key and lock since the keys were never used on the door and wait a day for the optima to come in.
Teching In
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: Port Washington, WI
I'm almost to the point where I'm going to buy an Optima and put it in before the Delco fails, just to be safe... of course I can't imagine how I'm going to get the battery OUT of that spot it's wedged in.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,137
Likes: 0
From: nj
its definitely a tight fit. with the fuse block out of the way though its not that bad. mine gave me a couple days warning before she gave up. slow starts, and i left my hazards on for 10min while i ran into a store and she wouldnt start with out a jump after.
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 234
Likes: 0
From: Columbus, NJ
I shouldn't need a battery yet!?!? Right?
This was just a bonehead move on my part by leaving the key in the ignition and running it down once. If this was another 2 years down the road I would be concerned.
This was just a bonehead move on my part by leaving the key in the ignition and running it down once. If this was another 2 years down the road I would be concerned.
Just buy a interstate and be done with it if ur looking for a cheaper route out of all the parts stores the duralast gold from auto zone was the battery we used to use at the shop due to we had less returns under warranty than advanced or orileys
