Guys I am really at my wits end on this one, I bought my 2015 Z51 Cp new in March of 2015, I don't drive it often but I do have 17K miles on it, the car has been through 4 batteries so far, two while under warranty. The dealer tested the charging system & says it is working exactly to specs, I tried using a battery tender & it does not keep the battery charged. If I drive the car every day, it will stay charged, but if the car sits for more than 2 days, the battery dies & the tender will not charge the battery even after a day or two. I understand that the car is always using voltage but to burn out 4 batteries & now needing a 5th is getting ridiculous, does anyone have any suggestions? Also on a side note, I bought an Exide battery & it is supposed to have a 3 year free replacement, but the customer service people don't bother to answer my attempts to contact them, "A warning to those who are considering buying a battery from Exide".

 

I am just wondering if you have some accessory like an old version of the Range device that does not have the battery drain fix?

That aside, finding the drain will require some electrical detective work. Measuring the amp draw and removing each fuse till the offending circuit is identified is quite the choir, but the standard way these problems are troubleshooted.

 

The car is 100% stock as delivered by GM, for my information, what is a "range device"?

 

To burn thru that many batteries, there MUST be a power drain or short somewhere. I agree with @Flame Red regarding electrical detective work being required. Your dealer's inability to diagnose the problem points to something difficult to isolate.

Range devices permit users to adjust Active/Dynamic Fuel Management system functionality.

 

Thanks for your input Norton, I'm going to have to find a qualified electrical guy here near me, I have rewired cars many times, but these modern cars are beyond my abilities.

 

I have found that some charges just float the voltage. You need a maintainer that charges your battery and then maintains it. I have my second excide and the first one would not takae clamp on load at three years exactly. My second excide needs charging constantly so i bought a Schumaker model SC1279 8 amp charger at the Home depot. Try Walmart for they have a large assortment. This solved my battery drain problem.

 

What kind of battery tender and how did you hook it up? Do you get any warning messages on the DIC and what are they?

The fact that you can drive the car every day and keep the battery charged is an indication the charging system is working properly. If the battery is drawn down within two days that means there is a significant current draw or your battery has been ruined by too many deep discharges.

Do you have anything plugged into any of the pluggable connections on or in the console, behind the display screen or in the glove box?

Have you left a light turned on? I haven't had the issue on my C7 but on the C6 it was easy to leave the inside lights on if the dimming **** was turned too far.

It seems like your local Exide retailer would be the one to replace the battery under warranty.

Bill

 

Thanks for the input Bill, I'll work backwards, I bought the Exide battery from Home Depot, it is the exact battery the car calls for, but the Home Depot manager says that they are NOT a warranty exchange outlet for Exide and the warranty store nearest to me is over 160 miles away in North Carolina. Now as far as anything staying plugged into my car, the answer is no, I learned a long time ago that it is good practice NOT to leave anything plugged in on any car, as electrical things like to get very hot & sometimes like to set your car on fire. (had that occur on my new 2008 Z51, GM claimed they were under bankruptcy & not legally responsible, thanks to "Obama", it wasn't worth the cost to litigate). I bought a Vector brand battery tender, I have 5 of them, all work properly on my riding mower, my 65 Vette, my 72 Vette (both of which I personally rewired) & my extra battery that I keep for the neighbors who need an occasional hot shot and finally my 06 Dodge Ram with a 10 year old battery that still starts every time, even after 2 or 3 days of sitting. I'm going to have to find a competent automotive electrician here, but after dealing with 3 very poor Chevrolet service departments in my area, my car will not be going back to any of them ever again. I am a transplant from Philly & I am used to people doing what you pay them for, that isn't the case here in South Carolina, they'll be happy to charge a labor fee of $75 an hour, but they are also good at telling you they can't figure it out & by the way, here's the bill! Sorry for my rant, but I've never seen so many people who just plain do not want to perform their work.