Is the factory battery really this bad?

[conedoctor]

Our battery goes dead if we have the gate up for more than 15 minutes and it makes me mad, dealer says it is fine.

04 V8 AWD, car has 66000K on it and the battery will work great for day to day but any extra load and it dies.

Is it just at the end of it's life and I need to just deal with it or are these that bad?

I will end up with the same batter I think as I just want it to fit, I will only have the car 3 more years so it should last.

Is Delco still the only 101 group choice?

[ucyiwork]

Ditto on this question.

[ewill3rd]

Lots of things come into play here.

1. GM won't let us replace a battery unless a special tester they made us buy gives us a failure code.
Sometimes this is a nearly impossible task. Even though some of us old timers know when the battery is no good we can't justify replacement because the little magic box says the battery is okay. Some of us know how to "convince" the tester that a bad battery is really bad, but some guys just believe it.

2. Some people think they should be able to turn on the radio, open the doors and detail the car while jamming out. This isn't 1973. Cars a long time ago had a transistorized radio, an ignition system and a blower motor. That was pretty much it. Today cars have on the order of 30 computers, radios, amplifiers, disc drives, TV screens, computer controlled climate systems.... on and on. If you turn the key on or leave the doors open it will activate half the systems on the car. CCA ratings on most batteries these days are a lot lower than some of the older batteries too. There just isn't enough reserve power to do what people think should be "normal".

3. Sometimes it depends on how you operate the vehicle. If you short trip it all the time it rarely has an opportunity to restore the chemical energy to the battery that it needs to be fully charged. Don't forget the battery is a chemical generator that can be depleted. Using small amounts of power for extended periods with no real time to reactivate the chemicals while driving can really take its toll. Even when cars are running with alternators putting out close to 100 Amps, the car might be using 80 to run all the gadgets! It can make for a pretty imbalanced equation. That is one of the reasons carmakers want to go to 42 volt systems instead of 12 Volts. It is just too hard to meet the current demands of modern cars using 12 Volt systems. More voltage would require less amperage and be easier to charge. (among other benefits)

4. Looking for things that might be staying on drawing power when they aren't supposed to is no party either. The tests we have to do in order to identify "parasitic loads" can be a real pain. All the computers have to power down first, then to isolate a possible source you have about 3-5 fuse blocks scattered throughout the vehicle to pull fuses from to find the draw. Most of those fuses go to about 5 different places, and sometimes if you pull the wrong fuse it wakes all the computers up and you have to start over. Also some knucklehead might come up and grab a door handle and do the same thing. Throw on top of that any aftermarket gadgetry that you didn't tell the service advisor about and you have a real headache.

As far as I know AC Delco is the only company making a 101 battery. I have heard some people having luck with a 78 series but you might have to modify the tray a bit or push up on the cowl to get it into place. I haven't tried it.

[nstar]

Originally Posted by conedoctor

Our battery goes dead if we have the gate up for more than 15 minutes and it makes me mad, dealer says it is fine.

04 V8 AWD, car has 66000K on it and the battery will work great for day to day but any extra load and it dies.

Is it just at the end of it's life and I need to just deal with it or are these that bad?

I will end up with the same batter I think as I just want it to fit, I will only have the car 3 more years so it should last.

Is Delco still the only 101 group choice?

Would an 04 srx battery still have warranty left on or is there some problems with this battery that will let dealer replace?

[david1]

+4 years is pretty good given all the power used, stated above. Don't forget to also add in weather strain depending where you live.

At least it is letting you know it is about time to be replaced. My M.B. just quite one day at the mall. No sign of trouble just off.

How much is a battery $100 ? thats $25 a year or 1.5 tanks of gas. Gotta love the relation gas has on everything today. LOL

[ewill3rd]

How many miles are on the car?
Battery is covered for factory warranty 4/40, but as I said they have to get a code out of the tester before they can replace it.

[conedoctor]

Yes the car is still covered but the tester says good.

We had the gate up keys in my pocket, the battery is just no good.

I will have them replace it when it goes back in for more work, maybe they will look harder when I complain I have to change a battery that should be covered.

It has stranded my wife and kids too many times and it is not worth the $150 to wait for a free one.

[n7don_srx]

Within the past week suddenly and without warning the vehicle wouldn't start. I didn't have the forethought to check the battery voltage in the "no start" condition. I put the battery on charge for about 30 mins and started it. Initially I got a "service battery charging system" message however the voltage display showed 14v suggesting the alternator was probably charging. I called the service dept. to have it checked out but in the meantime put the charger back on the battery. The service writer told me I should have called Cadillac Roadside Service and they would install a new battery. Doesn't sound like that would have happened.... I let the battery charge for an hour or so on the 10 amp charger setting. It now starts fine, the charging voltage still is around 14v, the "service battery charging system" message disappeared after an hours charge so I'm driving it..... but carry a gelcel battery just in case.
Past experience has been consider yourself lucky if an OE battery lasts 3 yrs in Arizona but I thought 14 months was premature!

[conedoctor]

I just don't trust the battery, it should not go dead if I have the doors open key out for 15min or even an hour I would think. Starting should not be to hard when it is in a +15C garage, we live out of town so at least 15 min of driving to get to town and then it may have to start when it is cold.

No worries I will just buy a new one and call it a day, if I can get them to do it for free I will if not I will just complain about it and tell then if they change me to install it they can just forget it and I will drive the another dealer and buy one just for spite.

[GMJim]

I'm missing something. I have left my doors and gate open for hours without a prob.
Isn't there some kinda of timer, that shuts the power down?

[conedoctor]

Yes you would think, they changed the overhead console as they said that was the power drain killing my battery?

A battery should power a dome light for an hour I would think?


I called the dealer and a local reseller, what a spread and on the same delco battery.

Dealer $224.00
Reseller $164.99

[david1]

Don't buy from a caddy dealer !! buy it from a other GM dealer. Same part number and quality 1/3 to 1/2 price depending who you know.

[r_casino]

4 years on a battery is not really that bad.

That said, I do have to add that there is some odd glitch in the Caddy's somewhere because you can leave your doors open for hours most times and not have a single problem. On other occasions you can turn the car off and it won't restart due to a drained battery within minutes!

I have had this happen on two Cadillac vehicles, an SRX (today) and a CTS-V. Had some trouble finding the battery the first time, so I "took a chance" and kept driving. Problem didn't occur again for about 14 months and then, bam, turn off car, buy coffee, get back in car, and dead. That was the CTS-V. Same thing happened on SRX today. Turned vehicle off, left door open about 5 minutes max (let's even assume 10 minutes) and the car was dead. Took it in and they tested the battery and said its, "fine." Go figure.

[ucyiwork]

Originally Posted by GMJim

I'm missing something. I have left my doors and gate open for hours without a prob.
Isn't there some kinda of timer, that shuts the power down?

I thought so too. But yet, I can not have the doors open for more that a 5 minute period without a "hard time" starting. If it is ten minutes, it is dead. Took it down o the local parts store, and they say that the battery and alt. both show good on the load test and running test. I carry a jump box with me everywhere i go now just in case. (your car looks great but you look like a idiot asking a festiva for a jump!)

I am so frustrated with the charging system on this car. Did i accidentally turn off the factory disable for the battery save? Is this possible.

What about a red top battery? Any opinions on the extra cranking amps effect on the factory systems. Is it necessary to get a delco 101?

[conedoctor]

A BCI 78 will fit but it is too high, I think the factory cover needs to ome off.

Now I like the stock look but I also like the car to start and not carry the jump box with us as that is ghetto.