[Banshee.2SS]

Well my car has been having battery problems all summer.. It is a 2017 2SS, I thought it was the notorious "warm start slow crank" issue. At first the car would crank over really slowly when starting it up in parking lots after driving. One day it did not start, had to pay 60 bucks for a jump start. The tow truck guy said my battery seemed good i believe his jump starter had a built in battery tester. He did say I might want to get my battery tested at a parts store possibly.

So I then add a 1 gauge ground cable from the ground post to the belt tensioner pulley as seen in SS Dan's post. This seemed to fix the issue for a week or 2. But the battery still seems like it is not holding a charge. I had to buy a jump pack to keep in my car. The car has probably died on me another 4 times so far in parking lots.. Yesterday the car cranked slow not on a warm start, but on a cold start.. which i thought was weird because I just had it on a trickle charger the day before and didn't drive it for a whole day. made 2 stops running errands, on the first stop it cranked kinda slower than i would like, on the second stop sure enough it cranked once or twice then died. Had to jump start again in the home depot parking lot. Came home, parked the car for the rest of the day. I go to start it this morning, and nothing. The interior lights were all lighting up but the starter just clicks, doesn't turn over. I said screw this.. not today, so I drove the daily driver instead. I was thinking about installing another ground cable directly from the negative battery post to the body of the car in the trunk?

I did install the VLAND sequential turn signal tail lights on my car about 2 years ago, after doing some research I have heard some people saying that these tail lights were causing batteries to drain. I am thinking about going back to OEM genuine tail lights instead. Overall haven't been very happy with them, they look cool.. but the hyper flash issue is annoying.. This was the first "mod" I installed on my car shortly after purchasing it so they've been on the car almost the whole time I've owned it. The car always has cranked over kinda slower than i would like, but never have had issues like this until this summer. I remember when i first got the car the starter seemed to crank faster, not sure if this has something to do with the tail lights. Car is also kept on a trickle charger in the winter when i am not driving it.

Anyway.. I wondering if anyone has any advice where i should start. Thinking of either adding a ground cable in the trunk like i said, changing to OEM tail lights, or replacing the battery. I really don't wanna replace the battery if i don't have to I'm hoping this is a simple fix like just adding another ground cable. I have owned the car since 2021 and i have not replaced the battery. I am assuming it is the original battery but i could be wrong. Looking for any advice it would be appreciated. Really don't want to take my car to the dealer and get the run around.

[SSDan]

Sorry to hear you are having these struggles. Adding another ground cable in the trunk can’t hurt but likely won’t be enough. My advice is swap out the tail lights and replace the battery. You may need to change out the starter. A starter that has a lot of slow cranks on it probably has damaged windings as a slow cranking starter gets really hot. Also consider using a trickle charger over night between drives. Our cars just don’t get a full charge on the battery if you have a lot of short trips (30 minutes or less). Good luck and keep us posted.

[Banshee.2SS]

Originally Posted by SSDan

Sorry to hear you are having these struggles. Adding another ground cable in the trunk can’t hurt but likely won’t be enough. My advice is swap out the tail lights and replace the battery. You may need to change out the starter. A starter that has a lot of slow cranks on it probably has damaged windings as a slow cranking starter gets really hot. Also consider using a trickle charger over night between drives. Our cars just don’t get a full charge on the battery if you have a lot of short trips (30 minutes or less). Good luck and keep us posted.

Sounds good i will probably try the ground cable and tail lights first. If that doesn't do it I will try the battery. Really hoping I don't need to replace the starter because that sounds like a job for the dealership. I love the car but this issue is becoming a money pit. I'm really hoping its just those dang vland tail lights causing this and I am overthinking it. Car only has 59,XXX miles.

[ctrlz]

What is your resting battery voltage when fully charged, and what is it after you experience the problem? it is also useful to keep the voltmeter connected while you crank the car to see how much the voltage dives.
The battery should have a date on it, but, like you, I would suspect it is original. I replaced mine (also a 2017) a few months ago. I was starting to get occasional slow crank, particularly Monday mornings. I usually don't use this car on weekends. replacing the battery eliminated the slow crank issue.

I did take the old battery in for recycling and they load tested in and said it was fine. I took the $10 core credit and told them to keep it. I have not read enough about it, but I think these load testers may not be as useful for AGM's compared to flooded cell.

[CalgaryZL1]

I have been using a AGM compatible battery tender as soon as I know I won’t be driving the car for longer than 3 days so I will see if it will be a benefit in the long run, I have about 4-6 months of stand by over winter and it’s been 3 years with no issues yet so let’s see

[Banshee.2SS]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

What is your resting battery voltage when fully charged, and what is it after you experience the problem? it is also useful to keep the voltmeter connected while you crank the car to see how much the voltage dives.
The battery should have a date on it, but, like you, I would suspect it is original. I replaced mine (also a 2017) a few months ago. I was starting to get occasional slow crank, particularly Monday mornings. I usually don't use this car on weekends. replacing the battery eliminated the slow crank issue.

I did take the old battery in for recycling and they load tested in and said it was fine. I took the $10 core credit and told them to keep it. I have not read enough about it, but I think these load testers may not be as useful for AGM's compared to flooded cell.

I just ordered a battery tester online, I figured it would come in handy not just for the Camaro but for other vehicles. I will have to check the date on the battery next time i'm in the garage.. I did take about a 30 mile cruise yesterday after having it on the tender. The voltage was fluctuating from what looked to be around 12 volts, to just over 14 volts. (as you know the gauge in our cars doesn't say the exact number it just goes by hash marks.) It's good to hear that your car just needed a new battery to solve this problem, I don't think it would hurt to try that. I was looking at he ACDelco Gold 48AGM battery. I believe this is the OEM replacement? I was also not aware these cars had AGM batteries until now . Im guessing my battery tender may not designed for these.. It did sit on the battery tender all winter long.. That could be part of the problem.

[ctrlz]

Banshee, if you have a Harbor Freight nearby, their $3 voltmeter is just fine for getting a good measurement to two decimal places. Fully charged, a good AGM will sit at about 12.8-13.0 Volts, whereas a flooded cell is fully charged at 12.6 V.
While cranking, that voltage should not dip below 10.

I replaced my battery with the AC delco OEM which I got for around $148 including shipping online. Took my old one to Advance auto parts for the $10 core credit on a gift card.

When shopping for tenders/chargers your best bet is to find one with a dedicated AGM mode. AGM "compatible" is not the same thing. AGM's like a slightly higher charging and float voltage.

[Banshee.2SS]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

Banshee, if you have a Harbor Freight nearby, their $3 voltmeter is just fine for getting a good measurement to two decimal places. Fully charged, a good AGM will sit at about 12.8-13.0 Volts, whereas a flooded cell is fully charged at 12.6 V.
While cranking, that voltage should not dip below 10.

I replaced my battery with the AC delco OEM which I got for around $148 including shipping online. Took my old one to Advance auto parts for the $10 core credit on a gift card.

When shopping for tenders/chargers your best bet is to find one with a dedicated AGM mode. AGM "compatible" is not the same thing. AGM's like a slightly higher charging and float voltage.

Yes, think i am in need of a new battery. Got the battery tested, it came back as 127, or 200 CCA or something like that. The screen on the battery tester showed "REPLACE" in bold letters. Also tested the alternator at the same time, said the alternator is good, also tested the starter, and it said it is cranking slow, I believe it is safe to assume this would be due to the battery..

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by Banshee.2SS

The screen on the battery tester showed "REPLACE" in bold letters.

You got a 2017, so you are probably on year 6 or 7 of that battery. That's a good run. Replace it.