Battery Drain - Page 3

Showguns · 10-09-2019, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GM-ACE

I know it sucks when you have a dealer that half-asses repairs, especially when you're without the car for weeks, and bare in mind, some techs will do this ESPECIALLY on warranty repairs because it doesn't pay well. So, two things, hopefully (irony) the car is still doing it, give them as much detail as you can i.e., your daily routine, then bring up the number of service visits for the same issue and emphasize if they can't find it, you want GM to send a field engineer. They give you any issue, call GM's customer service (go over their heads). Not all dealers have great electrical techs, so I hope this helps.

Thank you for the advice

BlueinTN · 10-14-2019, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Showguns

I noticed the other day that when driving, the battery gauge reads 13.5 or 14. This is good. Then another day it read 10.5 or 11 the whole 15 mile drive and then wouldn't start the next try. Looks like it isn't charging (some of the time). The alternator and battery were said to tested fine.

10.5VDC on a running modern car is NOT normal. that will kill electronics quick. There is something wrong with your charging system.

TJay74 · 10-14-2019, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueinTN

10.5VDC on a running modern car is NOT normal. that will kill electronics quick. There is something wrong with your charging system.

No there is not, at least not a GM vehicle. GM uses a variable smart charging system. It only outputs 14v when the battery needs charged, when the battery is not charging the system drops the output voltage in order to reduce load on the alternator which in turn reduces load on the engine and increases fuel mileage.

ChevyRules · 10-15-2019, 01:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJay74

No there is not, at least not a GM vehicle. GM uses a variable smart charging system. It only outputs 14v when the battery needs charged, when the battery is not charging the system drops the output voltage in order to reduce load on the alternator which in turn reduces load on the engine and increases fuel mileage.

I would say 10.5 would be abnormal as it is now allowing the battery to discharge. And 12.5V would be normal as that would maintain the battery. Chances are it is outputting 12.5V though since the gauge doesn’t do a good job of scale and the poster is interpreting it as 10.5 or 11.

If it truly is only outputting 10.5, that 15 mile drive should have caused enough drain to trigger the system to charge it.

KirkH · 10-15-2019, 01:26 AM

How accurate is the dash gauge? Some lines aren’t even numbered.

My car does the same thing.

ssmofo · 10-15-2019, 10:21 AM

I've had issue's with GM alternators with bad diodes, it's an electronic check valve (in laymans terms) have you had the alternator tested. This can drain the battery.

TJay74 · 10-15-2019, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChevyRules

I would say 10.5 would be abnormal as it is now allowing the battery to discharge. And 12.5V would be normal as that would maintain the battery. Chances are it is outputting 12.5V though since the gauge doesn’t do a good job of scale and the poster is interpreting it as 10.5 or 11.

If it truly is only outputting 10.5, that 15 mile drive should have caused enough drain to trigger the system to charge it.

Again 10.5v is not abnormal for the GM system, that have been doing it this way since around 2010 that I know of. If the system charges enough or not depends on if the drives are long or short. If a person only drives short drives it could allow the battery to only be partially charged.

I charge the batteries in our cars once every 3 months to a full charge, I can do that on the 17 Camaro SS and my 16 GMC Sierra. A week or two later if I only do a bunch of short drives the battery will be down to around 60% of the 100% charge.

GM-ACE · 10-16-2019, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJay74

Again 10.5v is not abnormal for the GM system, that have been doing it this way since around 2010 that I know of. If the system charges enough or not depends on if the drives are long or short. If a person only drives short drives it could allow the battery to only be partially charged.

I charge the batteries in our cars once every 3 months to a full charge, I can do that on the 17 Camaro SS and my 16 GMC Sierra. A week or two later if I only do a bunch of short drives the battery will be down to around 60% of the 100% charge.

Close, GM started using an algorithm in the PCM to vary the way the alternator charges, their reasoning was: charging all the time was detrimental to the life of the battery, so this program allows the car to run entirely on battery power to "exercise" the battery, so if you're seeing less than 12v, it doesn't mean there's a problem. When the alternator doesn't respond to PCM commands, then we get a CEL and code(s).
I would say 7 out of 10 times I found battery drains, it was due to aftermarket parts/add-ons at fault. FWIW

Showguns · 10-17-2019, 08:21 AM

My car is completely stock and no accessories except maybe plugging in my iPhone occasionally.

GM-ACE · 10-17-2019, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Showguns

My car is completely stock and no accessories except maybe plugging in my iPhone occasionally.

LO-Jack? I found one of those at fault one time.

Showguns · 10-17-2019, 10:48 AM

No Lo-Jack. I only have 8500 miles on it. In the past 30 days it has left me stranded 4 times. Once was in the morning in the garage...car nor weather was hot at all. I'm getting my money's worth out of my Jumper-pack. I'm going to start logging the incidents with details to try to help the dealership.

BlueinTN · 10-18-2019, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Showguns

No Lo-Jack. I only have 8500 miles on it. In the past 30 days it has left me stranded 4 times. Once was in the morning in the garage...car nor weather was hot at all. I'm getting my money's worth out of my Jumper-pack. I'm going to start logging the incidents with details to try to help the dealership.

yes keep a record if you can. battery drain over time will help the tech understand if its a large load or a small one.

Distance driven,number of starts between each drive,time the car sits between starts.

If you have a meter I would check the voltage every morning before you start. A full charged battery at rest is 12.78 VDC. Some AGM's will read closer to 13VDC.

Its like going to the Doctor..bring info with you so they can understand whats going on.

BlueinTN · 10-26-2019, 10:57 AM

https://gm-techlink.com/?p=6831

I found this on the GM tech link site.

Bulletin #16-NA-272

Gives a chart of the modules and how long they stay active.

I dont think a .5 amp draw is going to kill a battery in a few hours. your going to be looking for something in the 1 amp and up range.

BlueinTN · 10-28-2019, 08:26 AM

made this start video yesterday.My cars sat in a heated garage about 2 weeks. Video shows voltage,amps ice cold. Voltage with the key on..it falls, starting amps and charging when running.

Sorry the video flopped over Ill try and see if I can flip it back over and reload it its looked like how I wanted it on my computer.

10-15-2019, 01:26 AM	#33
KirkH Drives: 2016 2SS M6 Mosaic Blk Met-SOLD Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: KY Posts: 2,934	How accurate is the dash gauge? Some lines aren’t even numbered. My car does the same thing. __________________ Official Detailer of CamaroFest 8 & 9 https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...st-8-pics.html https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showt...=521655&page=1 https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showt...=547470&page=1 https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=527474 No one on Earth has detailed more Camaros. http://KirkTheDetailer.com

10-17-2019, 08:21 AM	#37
Showguns Drives: 2016 2SS w/chrome blue stripes Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 222 View My Garage	My car is completely stock and no accessories except maybe plugging in my iPhone occasionally. __________________ 2016 2SS Chrome Blue Stripes

10-17-2019, 10:48 AM	#39
Showguns Drives: 2016 2SS w/chrome blue stripes Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 222 View My Garage	No Lo-Jack. I only have 8500 miles on it. In the past 30 days it has left me stranded 4 times. Once was in the morning in the garage...car nor weather was hot at all. I'm getting my money's worth out of my Jumper-pack. I'm going to start logging the incidents with details to try to help the dealership. __________________ 2016 2SS Chrome Blue Stripes

10-26-2019, 10:57 AM	#41
BlueinTN Drives: gas powered Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: TN Posts: 315	https://gm-techlink.com/?p=6831 I found this on the GM tech link site. Bulletin #16-NA-272 Gives a chart of the modules and how long they stay active. I dont think a .5 amp draw is going to kill a battery in a few hours. your going to be looking for something in the 1 amp and up range. __________________ 2018 ZL1 ZLE Oldblueaccord <<< MY YOUTUBE PAGE! Last edited by BlueinTN; 10-28-2019 at 08:23 AM.

10-15-2019, 10:21 AM	#34
ssmofo Drives: Chevy Camaro Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: Dallas Posts: 420	I've had issue's with GM alternators with bad diodes, it's an electronic check valve (in laymans terms) have you had the alternator tested. This can drain the battery.

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