The battery on my 2005 is slowly dying. I can't leave the car idle for more than about 7 days before Priority Start shuts everything down. But for some unknown reason on the last two occassions that I had to use Priority Start, I would push in the cigarette lighter and instead of starting, I would blow the 20 amp lighter fuse. Is there some other way to put a load on the electrical system in order to activate Priority Start, without using the cigarette lighter?

 

I know very little about priority start (fortunately the original battery on my 2005 still works fine) but did you ever consider after 2-3 years you might just need a new battery? Have you had your present battery tested recently? Just a thought.

 

I agree with Wayne O, it sounds like you need a new battery. Mine quit at 22 months.

 

Yes, I need a new battery, my OEM GM battery experience is poor, i.e. 24 months and they are on the way to the deathbed. Just bought a Optima yellow top today.
But if I have to depend upon Priority Start for those situations where my battery drains down to where Priority Start shuts it all down, is there some other way to activate Priority Start without using the cigarette lighter? Is that the only way?

 

I had the priorty start on my 05 also. I had to use it several times, then last month it really started acting up, so I just bought an Optima. To damn stressful!
I know my VR ragtop will start when I go to the garage each morning!

 

OK, I will answer my own question. For many of us who have "garage queen" cars the Priority Start device is sort of a failsafe gadget that prevents your battery from discharging to a level where the car cannot be started.
But pardon me if I get a bit irritated when I push in my cigarette lighter and blow the lighter fuse instead of activating the Priority Start. What do you do then? Okhman's Law would suggest that the lighter element is faulty and replacing it would solve the problem. Unfortunately, about 1 out of a million people carry an extra cigarette lighter element. If I don't have one, then what do I do? Call AAA?
The answer is that if you disconnect the ground wire on the Priority start it resets itself (just like pushing in the cigarette lighter). I disconnected the ground wire and reconnected, and I could hear the gears working as the gadget reset itself. At that point the power came back on, alarm went off, etc.
So, for those of you who own a Priority Start and it fails to breathe life back into your car's electrical system, you can probably it it working by unhooking the ground wire and hooking it up again. This thing is a good gadget to have but it is not 100% failsafe. I discovered this by pure trial and error

 

You got the method. Pulling the ground on the Priority Start then reattaching it will engage the priority Start.

 

I've tested a couple of the Priority Start systems and they recommend turning on the headlights to activate the Priority Start module. Have you tried this instead of the cigarette lighter route? I think you also have a problem with your cigarette lighter circuit. You shouldn't be blowing the fuse unless the wrong fuse has been installed or there's a wiring short.

 

For some reason, turning on the headlights makes no difference, nor does hitting the brake. I think you have to be in the accessory mode to make those things work and you can't get into the C6 accessory mode without power. I don't use the cigarette lighter for anything except the Priority Start, so I am reluctant to go searching for a short. I will change the lighter element to see it that makes a difference,

 

Thanks for the answer to your own question. I have an 05 and had put a priority start after first DBS. Then this spring the battery totally died. Pulled the priority out before going to dealer. Dealer put new battery in, upgraded a bunch of software and told that drain on battery was significantly lower.
I haven't put the priority start back in and I can't figure out why I haven't. I guess I want to believe that I'll get no DBS again or that Priority was causing some of the problem. Of course it could be that I'm lazy and don't want to take the 10 minutes.
Nice to know about pulling the ground cable out and back.

 

Let me give you a followup. I installed a Optima yellow top today. I did some experimenting regarding how to activate the Priority Start without using the cigarette lighter. After Priority Start shuts down all power you can activate it by doing the following:
1.) Turn on your headlights using the switch on the stalk - because there is no power - nothing happens.
2.) Press the accessory switch
3.) At this point the total load on the system (accessory plus headlights) is enough to activate the Priority Start.

I first tried just hitting the starter switch but that did nothing, I think you have to first be in the accessory mode to put a load on the system.