Dead Battery - Any similar incidents?

[Joe Pagano]

OK Folks, any ideas on the following.
Happened twice so far. 1st time, having windows tinited, the accessory mode was on (for window operation) about 80 minutes - battery dead. Jump start all was well, charging at 14.1 volts. Stopped at dealer, battery tested OK.
Yesterday, working on car, accessory mode on for about 30 minutes, battery dead car would not start. Pulled out CTS and used cables, car started up, charging at 14.1 and no other problems. Starts up after being parked.
Opened hood, checked all connectors that were exposed, used wrench and checked pos and neg battery posts.
So, a mystery at this point. Thanks for any help I could get, or reccomendation as to a fix or diagnostics advice. Have a trip next week and am not looking to get stranded in CT. ( I am a Jersey resident )
Joe P

[EChas3]

This often reported issue has led to many battery replacements, some by Cadillac Roadside Assistance. I've never had the issue with my 2006 but my wife's 2007 did once after I drove it. (Maybe I left accessory on?)

While running the car will recharge a battery, it's hard on the battery. In fact, any fast charge can shorten a battery's life. I'd recommend a long slow recharge and you may not ever have the problem again.

The systems in this car do draw a lot of juice. It is also designed not to attempt starting with a marginal battery charge. I found a decent booster on sale for $50 (Northern Tool) and carry it just in case.

[corvette00]

My 07 died last weekend in the garage. Roadside replaced the battery

[carter's_sts]

Most lead acid batteries are never the same once they go dead even once.

[Tocooljoe]

Had the same issue two weeks ago with my 05 and I replaced the battery and I havent had any issue since

[Joe Pagano]

Hey guys, thanks for the responses. My car is out of warranty. That battery is VERY hard to find outside the dealership. But I did find a good repair shop close by that had one in 30 minutes. Anyway, he checked the system prior to install. The vehicle was supplying the required 14+ volts, but with the engine off and an induced load the battery dropped under 10 volts, which the mechanice told me was an indication that the battery, original, was problematic. So for $137.00 we are apparently good to go.
Not to be continued, I hope ;-)
Thanks again................................... Joe P

[jpedano]

by the way ... a AC DELCO battery from GM is 244$ .. thats what i got dinged for at the dealership.

[Tocooljoe]

$244 for a battery???? That must of hurt but i guess thats the price we pay for our cars to start when we hit that button!!!! I payed $90 for a interstate battery replacement and at the time I thought was a bit high....lol

[Caroutisine]

My 2005 STS went through 2 batteries in 3 years. Replaced by roadside assistance. Both times the car was sitting in my garage when the battery went bad.

[carter's_sts]

I had the dealer install an under the hood battery maintainer (fancy name for a trickle charger). Somtimes I go for a few days or even a week without driving the STS, so I just plug it in to keep the battery topped off. So far, so good, but I've only had the car since April. I will use that a lot in the winter.

[notso1951]

I had just finished the complete clay wax process on my 06 STS. I was trying to figure the f............ Nav. system out,maybe 20 minutes. I tried to start the car awhile later and it was dead
So I call Cadillac on a Sunday afternoon and they called the tow company on call. The kid showed up in my garage with a portable charger. I turned my back for 2 seconds and this idiot sets this damn charger on my fender! I went balistic---lucky my wife came running out----I chased that idiot out of my garage without signing the slip. Called his boss and Cadillac--unbelievable!

[carter's_sts]

Metal charger on metal? Any scratches? Some people are just out to lunch.

[corvette00]

The Cadillac Roadside guy set the charger on my engine cover and put some pretty good scratches in it. This is after I told him I was very picky about this car. What ever happened to fender covers? I really think the Cadillac dealers need an education on have these cars should be handled. A car wash school may also help

[Aurora5000]

As I found out last year with my wife's CTS, you cannot go to the local auto parts houses and buy an OTC battery for your CTS. The same holds true for the STS as I found out last year. The series of the battery is 101 for the STS. A dealer item only. They go for $178 and up depending on what dealer you talk to.

The parts houses will not sell you any sort of a replacement or try to fit something in of comperable quality saying "The incorrect battery was not made for that car and cannot warranty it." They are scared to even try.

I got in the yellow pages under "Batteries" and located a few businesses that stocked car batteries. I remember a place that my Dad used to buy Semi-truck batteries at. They looked it up in their books and came up with 101 as the replacement. They installed a battery of the same dimensions with the exception of the replacement battery being about 1/2 inch taller than GM DELCO coming out of the car. Had the same CCA as GM. Also the battery warehouse said, "It did not matter what car their battery went into, they would give the full warranty for it." they put in but it fit in with little problems. A tight fit but no problems. Even the hold down mount matched up on the replacement battery. Cost less than $70 with tax. It was the same on the CTS last year. I finally checked to see what the number was on the replacement battery. It is a 78-72. Same dimensions as Delco, just 1/2 inch taller. It works fine.

[next2pool]

It seems strange the STS would have a specific battery if a standard one fits. I know some will say it is to make money off a specific part, but that's is not how engineering works--in fact the pressure is always on to use a standard part if at all possible.