Dead as a door nail...AGAIN
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 989
Likes: 297
From: Brimfield MA
Dead as a door nail...AGAIN
Hey Folks.....I am totally frustrated with my C7.
2016 Z51 7 speed convertible.....everything is stock... 9300 miles
original delivery. 4/16.....everything was fine until 9/18...(29 months), always use the factory battery tender when the car is not driven for more than 2 weeks.....
9/18....car would not start....no juice at all...did the security key, opened the car....jumped it and brought it to the Chevy dealer....they could not find anything wrong with it....I explained to the service manager that I could not be comfortable driving the car with the thought of it going dead again. They agreed to keep it overnight and perform a parasidic over night test (to see if anything is drawing juice) .They replaced the battery....Here we are 1 year later and the car is dead again....call GM road service, they come out and jump the car......I bring it back to the Chevy dealer....they test the battery and state it’s ok.....they keep the car overnight and perform a parasidic test, again no luck...
Can anyone shed some light on this problem....the dealer can’t tell me why ? Very frustrating....
any input would be welcome.....Before I contact GM directly....
Thanks
Frank
2016 Z51 7 speed convertible.....everything is stock... 9300 miles
original delivery. 4/16.....everything was fine until 9/18...(29 months), always use the factory battery tender when the car is not driven for more than 2 weeks.....
9/18....car would not start....no juice at all...did the security key, opened the car....jumped it and brought it to the Chevy dealer....they could not find anything wrong with it....I explained to the service manager that I could not be comfortable driving the car with the thought of it going dead again. They agreed to keep it overnight and perform a parasidic over night test (to see if anything is drawing juice) .They replaced the battery....Here we are 1 year later and the car is dead again....call GM road service, they come out and jump the car......I bring it back to the Chevy dealer....they test the battery and state it’s ok.....they keep the car overnight and perform a parasidic test, again no luck...
Can anyone shed some light on this problem....the dealer can’t tell me why ? Very frustrating....
any input would be welcome.....Before I contact GM directly....
Thanks
Frank
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,271
Likes: 182
From: Manassas VA
I don't think your dealer knows what he is doing.
First off a parasitic test doesn't take overnight. It can be accomplished in 5 minutes by taking a
milli ammeter and hooking it in series with the positive or negative battery post connection. I don't know exactly what your car should read but with everything off it should be in the 10-25 ma range. If it is over that then start disconnecting connectors/pulling fuses until the current draw is within range.
Usually but not always this problem is caused by one or more of the diodes in the alternator rectifier excessively leaking when reverse biased.
If indeed disconnecting the alternator stops the excess current draw and the diode rectifier bridge is not serviceable then you need a new alternator. When this happens the alternator will charge the battery just fine but will drain it when the car is off. Since reverse leakage in excess of the diode spec is a malfunction it's rate is kind of whatever it is.
First off a parasitic test doesn't take overnight. It can be accomplished in 5 minutes by taking a
milli ammeter and hooking it in series with the positive or negative battery post connection. I don't know exactly what your car should read but with everything off it should be in the 10-25 ma range. If it is over that then start disconnecting connectors/pulling fuses until the current draw is within range.
Usually but not always this problem is caused by one or more of the diodes in the alternator rectifier excessively leaking when reverse biased.
If indeed disconnecting the alternator stops the excess current draw and the diode rectifier bridge is not serviceable then you need a new alternator. When this happens the alternator will charge the battery just fine but will drain it when the car is off. Since reverse leakage in excess of the diode spec is a malfunction it's rate is kind of whatever it is.
Last edited by ronsc1985; Sep 25, 2019 at 01:43 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 19,965
Likes: 6,770
From: Bonneville Salt Flats
Start with a BETTER quality NEW battery (not one setting around at a dealer's for who knows how long) and clean all the connections appropriately. Btw, I've had new batteries fail and the vendor swore one was good; it wasn't.
Only then can you get serious about any other diagnostics, if still needed. Good luck!
(btw, I'd forgotten that I once had a cable with molded-on ends go bad. The inside of the molded part at the battery had worked loose and corroded inside leading to intermittent failures that drove me nuts. Wiggling the cables as someone tried to start the car finally disclosed the weird problem)
Only then can you get serious about any other diagnostics, if still needed. Good luck!
(btw, I'd forgotten that I once had a cable with molded-on ends go bad. The inside of the molded part at the battery had worked loose and corroded inside leading to intermittent failures that drove me nuts. Wiggling the cables as someone tried to start the car finally disclosed the weird problem)
Last edited by Avanti; Sep 25, 2019 at 05:49 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 4,303
Likes: 2,055
From: Margate, FL
btw, I'd forgotten that I once had a cable with molded-on ends go bad. The inside of the molded part at the battery had worked loose and corroded inside leading to intermittent failures that drove me nuts. Wiggling the cables as someone tried to start the car finally disclosed the weird problem
Pro
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 706
Likes: 344
From: CA
I had this happen to my previous 2016 Stingray.
the dealer found a faulty ground cable near the battery causing it not to fully charge and discharged. After they replaced, did not have problem again.
I don’t know if I still have the paper work, since I no longer have the car, but I will check when I get home.
good luck.
the dealer found a faulty ground cable near the battery causing it not to fully charge and discharged. After they replaced, did not have problem again.
I don’t know if I still have the paper work, since I no longer have the car, but I will check when I get home.
good luck.
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Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,859
Likes: 1,865
From: St. Louis Metro East IL
Disconnect any and all cell phone chargers, dash cams, etc. I had a lighter plug to 5 v USB adapter go bad and repeated pull down the battery in my Acadia. Replaced the adapter and all is well.
Ron
Ron
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,226
Likes: 1,029
From: Thomas Texas
I had a replacement battery die in 2 days short of the 30 month full replacement warranty and got a new battery for free. I always buy a battery with a minimum of 30 month full replacement warranty.
Recently, I saw an article that showed the average battery life was 30 months in south Texas, parts of Arizona, and Florida. Hot climates kill batteries faster than cold climates.
Yes, remove any aftermarket connections and check battery cables as stated above. I also would be suspect of your battery maintainer. It should shut off once the battery is fully charged otherwise it can cause the battery to fail if it keeps charging.
If you think something is draining your battery, you can check the amount of current draw by pulling the negative cable off the battery and use a DVM between the battery terminal and cable. If it says there is (I'm guessing now...) more than .5 amps draw, pull fuses until it drops below .5 amps. That will narrow down what circuit is pulling juice from the battery. You can do the same thing by pulling fuses one at a time and measuring the current draw with the DVM connected to the fuse terminals.
Recently, I saw an article that showed the average battery life was 30 months in south Texas, parts of Arizona, and Florida. Hot climates kill batteries faster than cold climates.
Yes, remove any aftermarket connections and check battery cables as stated above. I also would be suspect of your battery maintainer. It should shut off once the battery is fully charged otherwise it can cause the battery to fail if it keeps charging.
If you think something is draining your battery, you can check the amount of current draw by pulling the negative cable off the battery and use a DVM between the battery terminal and cable. If it says there is (I'm guessing now...) more than .5 amps draw, pull fuses until it drops below .5 amps. That will narrow down what circuit is pulling juice from the battery. You can do the same thing by pulling fuses one at a time and measuring the current draw with the DVM connected to the fuse terminals.
Racer
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 475
Likes: 300
From: Utah
I don't think your dealer knows what he is doing.
First off a parasitic test doesn't take overnight. It can be accomplished in 5 minutes by taking a
milli ammeter and hooking it in series with the positive or negative battery post connection. I don't know exactly what your car should read but with everything off it should be in the 10-25 ma range. If it is over that then start disconnecting connectors/pulling fuses until the current draw is within range.
Usually but not always this problem is caused by one or more of the diodes in the alternator rectifier excessively leaking when reverse biased.
If indeed disconnecting the alternator stops the excess current draw and the diode rectifier bridge is not serviceable then you need a new alternator. When this happens the alternator will charge the battery just fine but will drain it when the car is off. Since reverse leakage in excess of the diode spec is a malfunction it's rate is kind of whatever it is.
First off a parasitic test doesn't take overnight. It can be accomplished in 5 minutes by taking a
milli ammeter and hooking it in series with the positive or negative battery post connection. I don't know exactly what your car should read but with everything off it should be in the 10-25 ma range. If it is over that then start disconnecting connectors/pulling fuses until the current draw is within range.
Usually but not always this problem is caused by one or more of the diodes in the alternator rectifier excessively leaking when reverse biased.
If indeed disconnecting the alternator stops the excess current draw and the diode rectifier bridge is not serviceable then you need a new alternator. When this happens the alternator will charge the battery just fine but will drain it when the car is off. Since reverse leakage in excess of the diode spec is a malfunction it's rate is kind of whatever it is.
when the battery is first hooked up as interior lights come on and computers boot-up, time out and go to sleep. This can blow
the fuse on a milliammeter or give inaccurate results. So after you disconnect the battery, run a jumper wire from the battery
terminal to the disconnected battery cable then hook your meter from the battery terminal to the disconnected battery cable.
After about ten minutes, when all the computers have gone to sleep, disconnect the jumper cable while leaving the meter
hooked up and you should get an accurate reading for parasitic draw. You can use a jumper cable for this if you have nothing
else that will work.