hi everybody. i like my cts very much,but i've got one biiiiiig problem.I hope that someone could help me by give me a hint.
i got a problem with my battery.i let my car check 4 times,but no one found the problem.sometimes the battery is complete empty,so i can't start. it's not everytime,it's different. i can drive miles,but on the next day i cannot start,because the battery is empty.everything is turned off,indoor lights,etc.
now 10 times someone had to give me starting help.and nobody knows the problem.has anyone got the same problem and got it fixed,please help me.
:crying:

that happened to me one time,

one morning i tried to start the car and the battery was almost completely dead. the car did not have enough juice to turn over. i jumped the car and took it to my dealer. the service rep. said there is a bulletin about the dash lighting dimmer switch, you know, where the map lights are. with that switch you can turn on all hte dome lights too. i remember turning them on the night before and turning them off. at least i thought it was off because the lights were off! well, the bulletin said even though the dome lights go off, the computer that makes them turn on and off, stays on! thats what drained my battery. the rep turned the dome lights on again and then moved the swtch to about the middle of the brightness level. he said just keep it about there to make sure the computer will stay off. ever since then, my battery is just fine.

i apalogize if my explanation is kind of difficult to understand, but thats how i fixed my battery. hopefully this post will help your problem, us CTSers gotta stick together!

thanks for your answer,but i don' t think thats my problem,though the mechanic said that there is just the normaly power consumtion after 10 min.
he tested the car over notebook,etc and didn't find anything.it's horribly for me.now i have a awsom car and it has that problem and nobody can fix it.

:crybaby:

Have the dealer check for p-codes in the ECM. I can't remember the exact number but if there is a 1-2 brake correlation trouble code, it means the brake switch isn't disengaging when the physical brake is. This will cause the brake lights to stay on even when the engine is turned off. This condition will drain a full battery over night but it can be fixed simply by re-adjusting the switch.

thanks for the hint.but the mech. did realy the whole check.i've been at another mechanic,who's a "specialist" for cadillacs and he didn't find anything. the problem is,that the battery is not evrytime empty.sometimes i can start and drive for weeks nothing happens.and than there are days i can't start,because the whole batt is empty.and thats strange.
if there are any lamps running,the systemcheck would have found it.

Through experience, the alternator runs the car, the battery starts the car and run accessories, etc. After a car starts, you can actually disconnect the battery and drive. Also, as the alternator is running, it recharges the battery. So if your battery does not hold a charge, the problem may be a faulty alternator or alternator belt. Unless you are a "backyard mechanic", I would not recommend you do any of my comments, have a certified mechanic check the alternator,

The Zip

i let check the alternator,they gave me a new one,but the problem is further

Since your alternator has been changed out, question 1 is did they also change the battery? Question 2, did they change the belt. Question 3, do you run any after-market items (ie amplifier, etc) when the engine is off? If the reponse to 1 is yes, response to 2 is yes, response to 3 is no, then I presume the car is still under warranty? There may be a Gremlin that the dealer may have to send back to the manufacturer to find.

The Zip

Set the top line of the DIC to show battery volts.
It should always be ~14v while the engine is on.
If you ever see it drop below 13.8v (with the engine running), drive it straight over to the dealer.

:madtalkin Man this hapens to everyone with a Caddi :banghead: ? Well I have a 1984 Eldorado Biarittz and I also have the problem.. AGAIN ANY HELP OUT THERE :bonkers: :helpless: !!!

I have an 84 Eldo Biarittz and have the same problem as well. If I let the car set for two or three days the battery is drained and I have to recharge the battery. I have replaced the battery. Did you find out anything for your Eldo?

84Eldo

I had the same problem in my 85 Pontiac. Turned out it was the battery. Took it back to Fleet Farm, they gave me a new one. Did the same thing. Took it back, they gave me a new one. Did the same thing. Went to an Interstate dealer, never had a problem since. Sometimes a bad battery will charge just fine and look like it doesn't have any problems, and then when you drive it the next day, it might not be charging at all and it won't start. This happened when I went to a friends house, where we had to try and jump it with an '03 Bonneville. Coudn't find the battery in the darn thing, had to call another friend to come over with a truck that we KNEW where the battery was. Needless to say, I haven't bought a battery from Fleet Farm again and I've had great luck ever since.

Brian

Bad connection(s) betwen the cable(s) and the battery very, very often lead to simptoms like this. I read a lot of postings like this and the same thing happened to me once too. It was just bad connection between negative cable and battery terminal. The misleading part of that problem is that you can see that failure only when you start engine.
Simptoms: Sometimes when you just turn key on you can not see any lights at all, nothing. Sometimes as you turn key on you can see lights, but when you try crank the lights goes off completely (like somebody disconnect the battery at all) or very, very dim.
Solution: Disconnect the negative cable from battery terminal. Clean a bit. Get it back tough enough, but not too much, otherwize you can screw the terminal. If it doesn't help, do the same thing with the positive cable (disconnect the negative cable again to make it safier). I found out, that in most cases the problem was with a negative cable, not with a positive.

I do not recommend disconnect the battery with engine running to check alternator. It can lead to electronic modules failure because of very short time splash of voltage (but enough to burn sensitive electronic parts). To check if alternator charges easy with voltmeter without battery' disconnection.

84ELDO, I think I know whats wrong with your car. That engine (4100 forward facing ) has a belt from the water pump pulley to the alternator. Another belt wraps around the crankshaft, water pump pulley and smog pump. If the smog pump belt is worn, glazed or loose, the alternator will slip on its belt causing no alternator output above idle. Verify by trying to rotate the alternator pulley backwards from normal rotation by hand. If it rotates (slips) then the smog pump belt is the reason. The smog pump is hard to adjust because it has to be done from under the car. The bracket is under the smog pump. Tighten and/or replace the belt on the smog pump and I'll bet the problem will go away! This was common on all the forward facing 4100's used on Eldo,s, Sevilles and Sedans From 82 thru 85. You can tighten the alternator belt till it snaps and it will still slip if the smog pump belt is loose! Hope this helps, Bill.

Do not bring your Caddy to us at the dealership if the DIC (IP cluster display) shows the voltage is 13.0v-14.7v. The manual says as long as it is above 12.2-12.4v is normal & fine. Your battery problem, since it must have a Delco battery which they always leak, is it leaking? I would also like to know about any after market add-ons, I have see a ton of those. Just because it looks cool, doesn't mean it is right for your car! I have had to deny a few people on their warranty claims of dead batteries because of parasitic drain from after market items staying awake during the night running the battery down. James

If you have an 'intermediant' battery drain, it could be very tough to find, because if it is not pulling power when being inspected, I can not be found.

If you have a constant battery drain, it should be found. One of the 4 'experts' should have found it. This is usually done by starting to pull fuses and placing an ampmeter across the fuse contacts, finding which circuit is pulling power when the car is turned off. You start with the larger fuses and if there are sub-fuses in the same circuit, you go to those and do the same thing. This will isolate the drain to a circuit. It then becomes more work. If there are separate components on the problem circuit that can be unplugged, this can be done, in an attempt to narrow the problem item down even more. The wires and connector in the circuit will have to be physically followed and inspected to find shorts.

If your 4 shops did not do this, they probably had very little change of finding the problem.

LCLCLC is right!

There are not that many always hot circuits in any vehicle, including Cadillac.

Here are some always hot circuits.
Illuminated entry / interior lamps / map lamps
Power Seat controls
Trunk Pull down
Cigar lighter / Power plug
Time delay relay (accessory)
If a computer module remains energized (overnight), it is likely to drain the battery of enough power to inhibit restarting.

The diagnostic to find the drain might be tiresome, but inexpensive to do yourself. Track one system at a time.

A Delco Battery, usually is a longer lasting one, than say a Aftermarket one.

...After a car starts, you can actually disconnect the battery and drive...

newer cars this doesnt work with. if you have an electric fuel pump, you need the battery. older cars i know you can do this becuase everything 'vital' to running the car is mechanical, but not so on newer cars. i had problems driving my caddy, and my moms jeep is a standard and had a battery problem and i couldnt take my foot off the gas at all, in city driving too. its was hell, almost stalled it out in traffic a couple of times, that woulda been embarrassing.

newer cars this doesnt work with. if you have an electric fuel pump, you need the battery. older cars i know you can do this becuase everything 'vital' to running the car is mechanical, but not so on newer cars. i had problems driving my caddy, and my moms jeep is a standard and had a battery problem and i couldnt take my foot off the gas at all, in city driving too. its was hell, almost stalled it out in traffic a couple of times, that woulda been embarrassing.

Older cars still need spark, except diesel engine.
Ability to drive without a battery depends of electric load and an alternator perfomance in low RPM range.

After me troubleshooting bunches of brakes, steering, and traction control trouble codes, R&Ring battery and alternator, the dealer found that the battery cable was causing issues. I now believe him. I am now convinced that the first thing to check with any "wierd" problems is the battery cable corrosion. The cads have many sensors that rely on a stable voltage range.