Ok, this morning was awesome. I go out to my car, hit the brake, push the start button....notta. Stereo/NAV working, driving lights, on, etc... When I would hit start, the display screen went blank and the engine icon stayed lit... stayed this way for 20 seconds then the NAV and everything came back on.

Tried to put a jump pack on the car, still nothing. Took the battery out and swapped it with new one and it works fine. The dealer says these batteries are known for having cells go out. You'd think the car would give a message if it can't get enough juice to crank the starter....nope.

Figured I would post this expirience as other 05's with the original battery will probably start dying soon. $130.00 for a new Delco...

The other nice treat, even though th battery says 6 years right on it, Delco won't honor the warranty if your car's warranty is out. :banghead:

My 2005 has had the battery replaced twice.

lucky it lasted this long... http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-sts-forum-2005-through-2010/109416-whats-wrong-my-battery.html?highlight=battery

Funny, the same thing happened to me one week ago today on my 2005 STS 1SG. My first batery lasted six months and was replaced under warranty. The second one lasted 2.5 years. The jump pack didn't help at all. I needed a good jumpstart with the other engine running.

This time I replaced it with a diehard gold at sears. I hope that holds up longer. The die hard platinum had dual terminals and I thought those top terminals would be too close to the hood.

Well, my new battery did the exact same thing this morning. This time, I had the sense to check the voltage reading via the onboard display and it was only showing 12.1 volts (which it should show around 14.5). Again, there was nothing left on in the car, no reading lights, anything.. I went and exchanged the new battery and drive the car into the dealership. They said they'll check the alternator and check the car for any parasitic drains. We'll see. This is giving me trust issues with the car.... and it just went out of warranty. :alchi:

12.1 Volts on a car battery is completely normal. After the new battery was installed did you run it for sometime to get the battery fully charged or did you come right home and turn it off?

My '07 is just coming up to 1 year on the road and the battery died last month. The same thing happened with my '03 DHS, only there I got 2, count them, TWO, years out of the original battery.

At least I didn't have to pay for the replacement. One reason I get rid of cars 3 months before the warranty expires.

im puitting in a optia red top battery in when mine shits the creek !! optima > *

I just replaced mine with another Delco. Optima does not make a battery to fit the STS.

They make optimas that will fit in the battery tray, you just have to carry a fire extinguisher so when the top posts wear through the plastic caps you can put the ensuing fire out. :lol:

The battery is part of the original factory warranty when it is the original. Once the bumper to bumper is out you are on your own.
If the battery goes out under the new car warranty it is covered for the remainder of the warranty and if it is replaced close to the end of the new car warranty it is good for 1 year or 12,000 miles from the installation date and no more.
If you buy a delco battery it is free replacement for the first year and pro-rated after that. I think you still have to pay labor to get it replaced.

Cells have been going bad in batteries for as long as batteries have been around. I have seen 7 year batteries last 6 months and 4 year batteries last for 8 years.
As long as they have been making batteries you'd think they could figure this out, but I guess it is harder than I must think it is.

Tomm,

12.1 is not enough volts to turn the starter in the 05 STS, it needs 14 (thats what the dealership said and I've seen from my last two failures that with 12.1, no start..).

The dealership called and has ran a full test of the elctrical system and left a monitoring device on the car all night. They found nothing, no draws, no shorts, nothing.. The only thing that's changed from the equation is that I removed my lockpick before taking it in, I thought they would surely blame it on that. I'm wondering if my lockpick has a problem that was draining my battery.

Tomm,

12.1 is not enough volts to turn the starter in the 05 STS, it needs 14 (thats what the dealership said and I've seen from my last two failures that with 12.1, no start..).

The dealership called and has ran a full test of the elctrical system and left a monitoring device on the car all night. They found nothing, no draws, no shorts, nothing.. The only thing that's changed from the equation is that I removed my lockpick before taking it in, I thought they would surely blame it on that. I'm wondering if my lockpick has a problem that was draining my battery.

There should be no more of a drain than any other sleeping unit like your radio etc. The Lockpick uses the GM-Lan signal to wake itself up from sleeping. The only time there would be a small draw if if you keep the override switch turned on since the relay would consume 11.7ma while in the activate state... 11.7ma is extremely small though and would take a long time to drain a battery.

Had to replace my battery last week. Hope this is not a sign of things to come. Post #16 of the 30 minimum to reply to a personal message.

Mines been replaced twice while it was under warranty....

UPDATE** Well, it looks like what the dealer told me isn't entirely accurate (shocking, I know). The car actually reads 12.5 volts prior to starting, then it reads about 14.4 or so while the alternator is charging it back up, then it drops to about 13.3 until you shut it off again.

I actually had the problem happen again and was able to get the car to start after fiddling with the start switch. I'm wondering if my start button switch is having an intermittent failure?? May swap it out just to be safe.

Tomm, I was leaving the override switch on. I'll probably put the lockpick back in tonight.

thought i would share this tip to try and prevent some more dead batteries:
i just went out and checked my batery voltage across the terminals, the car hasn't been used in 12 hours or so: 12.30 volts with the engine off. i then put a trickle charger on the battery and will let it sit overnight for 12 hours. the charger has an output of 1 amp and is more suited for a motorcycle battery, hence the 12 hour charge, but, the advantage is the low and slow charge will allow the battery to "soak up" the charge.

i do this every couple of months or so and i do believe this helps to extend the life of the battery. if the battery has been neglected and not charged on a regular basis or it's more than 3/4 years old, then atleast you will need a full charger but even then it may be too late.


jackg
06 sts6