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 Born not Made
Posts: 2937
   
Location: North Dakota |
Has anyone had troubles with their battery dying repeatedly?
We have a 2014 GMC 2500 pickup (gas engine) with about 20,000 miles on it. It's primarily used as the "extra" vehicle and as my vehicle to tow my horse trailer.
I hopped in it this morning because I was going to take it to work today. We haven't driven it in about 2 weeks. Tried to turn it over and nothing. Battery is dead.
This exact same thing happened a few months ago. It is still under warranty so we took it to the dealership and they put a new battery in it. It had sat for a couple weeks and the battery died.
We have an appointment set up for Friday at the dealership but it sounds like they are already dismissing it. They claim there are so many computer programs/systems that run in the newer vehicles, that if we don't use the pickup every day, it's going to drain the battery and this is going to happen.
I don't believe it. There has to be something going wrong that is drawing too much power and causing the battery to drain. (Quite a few years ago, the battery died on my brand new Ford Fusion. Turned out the radio unit was shorting out and that is what caused the battery to die.) There has to be something that is causing it. It's ridiculous that I can't let the pickup sit for 2 weeks without driving it.
Has anyone had this happen to them?
Any ideas or what the problem was in your situation? |
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
 
Location: Texas | what about your alternator? Mine kept going out in my older Ford truck and my battery would die several times a year. |
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  Ms. Marine
Posts: 4642
Location: Texas | Have you ruled out the alternator? |
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Location: Over by those oil wells, TX | Did you by chance have airbags put on or buy it with air bags? I had a motor home that did the same thing and turns out that they incorrectly let one of the plastic air hoses lay right across the exhaust so the hose had melted... That caused my air compressor to constantly run because it was trying to balance the air pressure in the airbags. Of course that drained my battery several times. It was frustrating to discover the cause! Good luck. :-) |
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 Total Germophobe
Posts: 6443
Location: Montana | Its possible that the battery has frozen...they won't hold a charge if the battery has been frozen. Seeing you are from North Dakota, that is why I mention that first, but typically the battery has to have low charge before it will freeze. Also, if the battery has a loose plate in it, it won't start or hold a charge.
Also make sure that no electronics are left on, such as the dome light, cargo lights, etc.
I had a brand new 2012 Chevy Cruze with 600 miles on it quit due to the battery being bad. Nothing else, just the battery. It did weird things, though, besides eventually not starting. We were guessing at the time that Chevy got a bad batch of batteries, because we weren't the only ones that had an issue at that time. We were also really disappointed that warranty didn't cover it, but we blame it on that particular shop.  |
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Never Named
Posts: 1837
Location: Southern Alabama | There could be numerous things causing this issue -
?Alternator going bad, dead cells in the battery, wiring malfunction, pretty much anything.
?When you are in the truck and you stop at a stoplight, stop sign, etc... do you notice the dashlights getting dimmer and the volts getting lower? If so, time for a new alternator. My truck did this for a while. Turns out one of the starter bolts were loose and it was grounding out, killing the battery. |
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 Popped
Posts: 20421
Location: LuluLand~along I64 Indiana | do you leave it hooked to your trailer that something on the trailer is draining it?
I dont agree with what you have been told by the shop. i would call another dealers service dept and see what they tell you. do some undercover PI work. |
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Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | Love the ideas guys. Keep 'em coming. I'm going to grill the dealership if they don't come up with something on Friday. They didn't find anything the first time we took it in, and I figured it was just a matter of time until it happened again.
I will definately have them check the alternator. I have not noticed the lights dim when I am stopped at a stop light.
I'm not sure about the question about air bags? We have not installed anything extra in it; only what it came with.
Loose battery plate ... not sure what that means. LOL (I am not auto savvy!!) But I"ll have to look it up.
A couple of points -->
Pickup is kept in a HEATED garage. So the battery is not dying because of the cold.
Pickup is NOT kept hooked to the horse trailer.
No interior lights or anything has been left on. (Just like last time, after we jumped it and got it started, nothing was left on ... we checked.)
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | r_beau - 2016-12-27 4:28 PM
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they are correct.
you have a half dozen things that are powered in that truck even with the key off.
you can drive it more often or invest $40 in a battery tender and not have to worry about it.
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Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | 1DSoon - 2016-12-27 4:05 PM r_beau - 2016-12-27 4:28 PM
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they are correct.
you have a half dozen things that are powered in that truck even with the key off.
you can drive it more often or invest $40 in a battery tender and not have to worry about it.
Hubby's pickup is a 2009 GMC 1500 and that also sat for weeks on end this summer (he was driving the pickup in question). Never went dead.
My brother has a 2014 Ford 150 and my dad has a 2015 Ford 250. They both sit for weeks on the farm when they don't go anywhere. They don't die.
I just don't believe that I can't drive a vehicle for 2 weeks without it dying. Something is not right. Vehicle engineers have a few screws loose if they can't figure that problem out when they design a vehicle (that the battery WILL die unless you use the vehicle constantly). I didn't haul this year since I did have a baby, but last year I'd pretty much only use it on the weekends to pull the trailer and it would sit in the garage during the week. It never happened, but I'd be furious if I went to drive it Saturday morning (after parking it Sunday night) and it was dead. At this rate, I now wouldn't be surprised if it happened, if they don't get this figured out.
Edited by r_beau 2016-12-27 4:18 PM
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Total Germophobe
Posts: 6443
Location: Montana | r_beau - 2016-12-27 3:04 PM Love the ideas guys. Keep 'em coming. I'm going to grill the dealership if they don't come up with something on Friday. They didn't find anything the first time we took it in, and I figured it was just a matter of time until it happened again.
I will definately have them check the alternator. I have not noticed the lights dim when I am stopped at a stop light.
I'm not sure about the question about air bags? We have not installed anything extra in it; only what it came with.
Loose battery plate ... not sure what that means. LOL (I am not auto savvy!!) But I"ll have to look it up.
A couple of points -->
Pickup is kept in a HEATED garage. So the battery is not dying because of the cold.
Pickup is NOT kept hooked to the horse trailer.
No interior lights or anything has been left on. (Just like last time, after we jumped it and got it started, nothing was left on ... we checked.)
Inside the battery there are plates (also called cells), and if one of them is loose or shorting out, it can't conduct or store electricity properly.
As for what the dealership said about the computer system draining the battery, I will say that I have to tend to agree with the dealership. We have a used car dealership, and the more electronics that are on a car (say like a Prius) the more likely they go dead quicker. The fewer electronic systems (like a Chevy Cavalier or Cobalt) the slower they go dead.
From what you are saying, about your truck being kept in the garage, no trailer left hooked up, and no lights left on, I would say that you probably have a bad cell in a battery or in someway the battery has gone bad and it needs a new one. If it is an alternator, it would be like what another poster said, that you would notice some other electrical issues, like the lights in your dash going dim, etc. |
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | mtcanchazer - 2016-12-27 5:23 PM r_beau - 2016-12-27 3:04 PM Love the ideas guys. Keep 'em coming. I'm going to grill the dealership if they don't come up with something on Friday. They didn't find anything the first time we took it in, and I figured it was just a matter of time until it happened again.
I will definately have them check the alternator. I have not noticed the lights dim when I am stopped at a stop light.
I'm not sure about the question about air bags? We have not installed anything extra in it; only what it came with.
Loose battery plate ... not sure what that means. LOL (I am not auto savvy!!) But I"ll have to look it up.
A couple of points -->
Pickup is kept in a HEATED garage. So the battery is not dying because of the cold.
Pickup is NOT kept hooked to the horse trailer.
No interior lights or anything has been left on. (Just like last time, after we jumped it and got it started, nothing was left on ... we checked.)
Inside the battery there are plates (also called cells), and if one of them is loose or shorting out, it can't conduct or store electricity properly.
As for what the dealership said about the computer system draining the battery, I will say that I have to tend to agree with the dealership. We have a used car dealership, and the more electronics that are on a car (say like a Prius) the more likely they go dead quicker. The fewer electronic systems (like a Chevy Cavalier or Cobalt) the slower they go dead.
From what you are saying, about your truck being kept in the garage, no trailer left hooked up, and no lights left on, I would say that you probably have a bad cell in a battery or in someway the battery has gone bad and it needs a new one. If it is an alternator, it would be like what another poster said, that you would notice some other electrical issues, like the lights in your dash going dim, etc.
she doesn't agree with that.
Her Edsel used to sit for months and had no issues.
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Porta Potty Pants
Posts: 2600
| Do some googling or look on service bulletins for your particular vehicle. You might see that one has been issued .... meaning that you aren't the only one having the issue. There are many forums that discuss this kind of thing. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Sometimes a new battery can be a bad battery.. |
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Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | Southtxponygirl - 2016-12-27 5:02 PM Sometimes a new battery can be a bad battery..
This is true.
Since this is the second time this has happened in only a couple months, I'm leaning toward the issue NOT being a bad battery. But can't rule it out, of course.
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 Expert
Posts: 2674
Location: Silver Lake, MN | How long of trips do you take when do you do drive it? I work at a shop and for vehicles that sit an extended period of time we sell a lot of battery tenders. We live in a small town and people drive a lot of short trips. Is yours a gas or diesel? Sorry if you mentioned that. There are a LOT of electronics that run in these newer vehicles, I'm scared what it is going to be like in 10 years when they start failing.
ETA: these new vehicles have over 100 computers running things, and it's possible there is a draw if one is not shutting down properly. Don't be afraid to ask questions especially if the vehicle has been there before. Did they do a draw test on it?
Edited by CarrieH77 2016-12-27 5:24 PM
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | r_beau - 2016-12-27 5:17 PM Southtxponygirl - 2016-12-27 5:02 PM Sometimes a new battery can be a bad battery.. This is true.
Since this is the second time this has happened in only a couple months, I'm leaning toward the issue NOT being a bad battery. But can't rule it out, of course.
Hope someone can find the problem fast for you, these electical problems in a truck can really get costly trying to find the source.. Good Luck to ya,,  |
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Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | CarrieH77 - 2016-12-27 5:18 PM How long of trips do you take when do you do drive it? I work at a shop and for vehicles that sit an extended period of time we sell a lot of battery tenders. We live in a small town and people drive a lot of short trips. Is yours a gas or diesel? Sorry if you mentioned that. There are a LOT of electronics that run in these newer vehicles, I'm scared what it is going to be like in 10 years when they start failing.
ETA: these new vehicles have over 100 computers running things, and it's possible there is a draw if one is not shutting down properly. Don't be afraid to ask questions especially if the vehicle has been there before. Did they do a draw test on it?
If we do drive it somewhere, we live out of town so it is going 10 miles minimum into town one-way, plus then to our destination.
It is a gas.
Just chatted with my brother who is a mechanical engineer (too bad he isn't here to check it) and he agrees something isn't right. Of course, possible it could just be a bad battery (again?). Two weeks ago my hubby took the pickup hunting so we know that the battery had to be fully charged from the long drive. And then it's sat since then ... and now dead.
I'm also convinced something is drawing power from the battery that isn't supposed to be. I used to drive a 2007 Ford Fusion and it wasn't even a year old when the battery went dead after 10 minutes of being parked and turned off. Turned out my radio was shorting out and killed the battery. Replaced the radio and the battery and good as new.
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| r_beau - 2016-12-27 4:04 PM
Love the ideas guys. Keep 'em coming. I'm going to grill the dealership if they don't come up with something on Friday. They didn't find anything the first time we took it in, and I figured it was just a matter of time until it happened again.
I will definately have them check the alternator. I have not noticed the lights dim when I am stopped at a stop light.
I'm not sure about the question about air bags? We have not installed anything extra in it; only what it came with.
Loose battery plate ... not sure what that means. LOL (I am not auto savvy!!) But I"ll have to look it up.
A couple of points -->
Pickup is kept in a HEATED garage. So the battery is not dying because of the cold.
Pickup is NOT kept hooked to the horse trailer.
No interior lights or anything has been left on. (Just like last time, after we jumped it and got it started, nothing was left on ... we checked.)
My other half has a chev diesel that did this last year, battery tested okay, altinator tested okay, but he changed both and no more problems.
One other question is do you leave the keys in the ignition? The reason why I ask is we have a lemon 08 dodge that even if the keys are slightly in the ignition it kills that battery in 2 days. Pull the keys out and the battery is good for months of not using it (extra vehicle) |
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| One reason you have problems with all car dealers fixing warranty work is very simple.
When the government did the car bailouts they allowed the mfg's to pay the dealers an average amount for each vehicle they sold for warranty work the dealer now has to pay for. The dealers think the money is theirs to keep so they delay repairs waiting on warranty to expire. Haven't you noticed if you call the warranty 800 number they bless you and send you back to your greedy dealer...??
Tell the idiots at GMC to replace the alternator since it contains your voltage regulator that is now burning your batteries up by over or under charging them.
Or if it is not charging above 10 volts it will shut everything down.
Looks like your husbands trip burned the 2nd battery up ...
Also to check the alternator fuse block to make sure the bolts holding it in place are not creating a short and running your battery down and replace it ..
Here is the silly one ... ignition switch problem if your key ring has more than one key on it .. weight of key ring can sag and when you turn engine off and remove the key it can leave ignition switch in accessory mode without any lights left on. GM fixes it with a plastic plug in your key ring so you can only use one key on the ring in your ignition switch .... talking about stupid and cheapskates .. the ignition switch is the problem not the key ring ..... grrrrrr
Simple detective work ... unplug or take the light bulb out of the engine light located on the inside of your hood ... it could be staying on.
Ghost or parasitic loads leaking battery power ....
If you have your cell phone charger plugged in .. it is still drawing power when not hooked to phone or computer chargers etc etc .....
TV screen or anything with a remote stays on all the time .. including the built in GPS systems ..
Your stupid key fob .. you car is active all the time to recognize when you push a button or walk up within a certain distance to turn on lights and unlock door ...
The more electronic crap on your vehicle the more crap you have to go wrong .. the goofy little computers to make a car run today are so overpriced it is sinful and are ghosting power all the time ...
I have to laugh at everyone paying another 20-30,000$ for junk inside the truck when standard featured truck can be bought for 30k ...... looks like a lot of people have an awful expensive ego to contend with ... lol ... when all this made in China crap goes bad or not working on a trade in ... you are going to take a beating on trade in price ... lol
Think on it ... all the crap you want in a car or truck costs more than all the furniture you have in your entire house ... lol
Also .. since Obummer shut down all the lead plants in the USA .. batteries are now built for the Northern states and the southern states ... most will have an N or an S in the model number ... Right now .....Walmart's "N" battery is the most powerful built. ... for starting amps and amp hours...
HAVE FUN ... BE SURE AND WEAR YOUR NRA CAP!!
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