HMK46

Hello. I have a problem with my 2006 c6 base which is the battery. The car won’t start because of the drains in the battery, i did changed the battery twice in one week because i thought the problem is the battery but it is not. I went to several garages in my town and someone worked on my car for 3 weeks. He ordered a piece that helps the car save the voltage on it that what he said . The name of the piece is KILL BATTERY SWITCH something like that and this device is setting on the battery and it has a switch, if i sit the switch to the left the car will start and if to the right the battery will stop working at all. The mechanic guy said we can fix the problem with this thing and he said there is a problem with the radio because of that it won’t start ( battery drain ). After 3 weeks as i said we tried the car. BUT it has the SAME problem and after all that the mechanic guy said I can’t find any other solution. So, what would you guys help me with this thing, in the garage they said you have to change the Radio and something with the Security system and it will cost me $3000, but to be honest i am hesitant to pay more because i payed $800 for nothing so i want to know more in this thing to have a little background to know what should i do exactly.
Thanks.

owc6

How often do you drive the car?

Do you keep it on a tender?

HMK46

i drive the car 5 days a week.

Welker1

Not sure which one it is, but try pulling the fuse for the radio and leave it out to see if the problem goes away. I also have an 06 and several years back I started to have battery drain issues I nor anyone else could find; car would not start if it sat for a day. Shortly after the issue started I decided to change out the OEM radio for a Kenwood with built in Garmin nav so I wouldn't have to buy new nav disks and to add some updated features such as USB & camera options. After installed, my battery drain issues went away; never had the radio tested, but I'm guessing it had a short or some other fault that was causing the drain. Pulling the fuse is a simple way to rule the radio in or out as the culprit of your issue.

HMK46

I tried to pull the fuse of the radio out and it has the same problem but the battery stays longer than if the fuse in. But either way the car won’t start after let’s say 5 hours or less. So do you think if i change the radio to Kenwood or something different the problem will be solved?

dlcain

Replace the Body control module.

Welker1

If your battery is still draining and the car won't start after 5-6 hours even after pulling the fuse, the radio isn't the real source of your issue. If your battery is draining that quickly you have a major short or fault in the system somewhere, could be the BCM, but tracking down electrical problems can be a nightmare .. good luck and hope you find the source soon.

farmington

Find someone who actually knows car electrical systems. Have him measure current draw with car off and doors closed. Then start pulling fuses to find where drain is coming from.

ProCycle

Any draw that can drain the battery in 5 hours is a major current draw. It should be a snap to narrow down the source of the problem by doing what @farmington says.
You can also unplug individual components like the BCM or power seat connectors.

HMK46

I went to the garage today and I talked with the electric guy about changing the radio to Kenwood or something like that. He said i think we will solve the problem with this thing but you will lose the alarm on the car because my problem is with the radio and something with the security. So do you think guys it is okay if i will lose the alarm but the battery will not drain again based on what he said? I am confused.

VinceC5

Like some one already said, find a new shop that knows how to troubleshoot. Where are you located?

ProCycle

Right. The problem is obviously not just in the radio. If it were mine I would want to find the source of the problem BEFORE buying and installing new parts. And there's no reason you would have to lose the alarm if you fix the actual problem.

To say that a different way - if the problem IS in the security system then a competent shop would replace whatever component is faulty and the security system would still work. If they can't figure out where the fault is then some other better shop should look at it.

Welker1

With all the above, before spending any money replacing things or permanently disabling features, especially the security system, find a reputable shop that can test & trouble shoot electrical issues and have them find the root problem (and fix it). In my case, fixing my electrical problem by replacing the radio was a welcome, but unintended solution; i.e. I did not replace the radio in an attempt to alleviate the battery drain issue, I did so because I wanted to 'upgrade' my radio/nav system. I also did not lose any features, such as my security system in the process.

HMK46

i am in Morgantown, West Virginia

RogerRamjet21

Does your car have OnStar? If so, you might want to try pulling that fuse as OnStar, even if you don't subscribe to the service, can cause battery drain.

PushrodV8

^^What RogerR said!^^ OnStar fuse is in the panel behind the passenger footboard. You could pursue this yourself with a volt-ohm meter with an ammeter feature that will read to milliamps. I bought one on Amazon for $35, best electrical tool I ever got for the $$, reads to milliamp level, can sense the earths magnetic field! That just requires zeroing the meter just before clamping over the wire in question.

Clamp the meter around the battery cable and you will see how much current drain is, then start pulling fuses. As I recall, my C6 was at about .13 amp before I pulled the OnStar fuse, which was most of my drain. I don't use OnStar, so no loss to me.

Any reputable auto electric guy should be able to walk you through this, clamp a meter on the wire, show you the magnitude of battery drain and say whether the reading shown is normal or too high. If too high, ask him what would be the possible loads and listen to his answer. If it makes sense, consider paying for further work.

Yeah, there are a lot of wires and stuff on this car, but its not rocket science to pursue the basics, and you will learn how to diagnose and decide if the advice you are getting is good or BS.

Good luck!

dr_gallup

That is written rather poorly but if I understand you correctly he installed a battery isolator switch which completely disconnects the battery from the electrical system. If this doesn't stop the batter from draining then the PROBLEM IS WITH THE BATTERY. Or the guy is incredibly incompetent and can't even hook up a simple series switch.

cgladish

for what's worth, my 2¢ are with the others. get with someone who knows how to track down electrical gremlins.
losing a battery quickly is not normal.
I had mine drain overnight, due to the passenger seat electrical adjustor motor getting stuck.
I wouldn't notice while driving. but if you happened to sit the car for a minute or so, you could hear the motor
click every 5 - 7 seconds. once I figured that out, problem gone!
sometimes you get a lucky / easy fix.
hopefully your fix is as easy too!

ProCycle

Even if the isolator is installed properly it's still evidence of incompetence. I can only imagine what kind of havoc repeated connecting/disconnecting of the battery will cause with all the electronic stuff in this car..