[slk230mb]

Rolex, that lead is hot all the time. When I had my hands free kit for my cellphone installed, I had it wired up there, and it was always on. I can see your point about the stereo installer and a capacitor (yea, that's what I meant). If the HO alternator can keep the battery charged and power all the extras, go for it. Now I just remembered something - don't Optima batteries have to be taken out of the car and bench charged at least once a year to maintain their life expectancy? If so, how long was yours sitting before you bought it?

 

[Rolex]

Rolex, that lead is hot all the time. When I had my hands free kit for my cellphone installed, I had it wired up there, and it was always on. I can see your point about the stereo installer and a capacitor (yea, that's what I meant). If the HO alternator can keep the battery charged and power all the extras, go for it. Now I just remembered something - don't Optima batteries have to be taken out of the car and bench charged at least once a year to maintain their life expectancy? If so, how long was yours sitting before you bought it?

From what I read about them before buying, they can sit in a vehicle or on a shelf for up to a year without boost charging. They will absorb almost 100% of the charge from the alternator and are very slow to give up their charge. I did not find anything on the website that indicated they needed to be removed and specifically charged outside the vehicle.

There's no way to know how long this battery sat in the store, but it's entirely posible that it could have been low on charge and the Escalades "toys" drew enough current to zap it out. Couple that with the very low (300-400) rpm rough idling I had going, and it may not have been getting enough juice to maintain a charge capable of turning over the engine. The volt meter would regularly fall to 11-12 during all the rough idling. At any rate, whatever the problem was has not re-occured. After the thorough cleaning of the intake, PCV system, injectors, and a carbon clean it's idling smoothly at 600 rpm...and the volt meter reads 14 at idle.

For now I'm taking the sit back and see what happens / if it ain't broken don't fix it approach.

ETA: the power light on the amplifier will not come on until the ignition is switched on.

 

[slk230mb]

I'm pretty sure I saw the info about the batteries needing to be bench charged when I was looking up their warranty info. And for that being an switched source - it sounds like GM's infinite wisdom hard at work.

 

[Rolex]

And for that being an switched source - it sounds like GM's infinite wisdom hard at work.

I don't believe it is a switched source....but I'm a complete idiot when it comes to wiring sound systems. My air horns are powered by the same box and they work without the key on.

 

[danksontl]

As was posted earlier, the parasitic draw test will tell you if you have a continuous drain. I would like to add that you can isolate the circuit that is guilty of a drain by pulling fuses and repeating the test. Note: circuits like courtesy lights and the clock will draw some power.

 

[jmcmichael1483]

My 03 Lade has 54k on the clock, but remains fully covered under an extended warranty. Two weeks ago my battery went dead and I replaced it with one of the Optima Red Top batteries. That seemed to fix the problem until I tried to start my Lade last Friday morning and get the rapid clicking noise. I was able to get it started by using the wife's honda for a jump (the shame in it).

I'm inclined to believe I may have an alternator going bad. For almost a week now I've had no problem with it though. Still, when running the heater the engine idles very rough when the vehicle comes to a full stop. It's also worth mentioning that I've recently added an amp and subwoofer. Other than drawing more current I can't see how that would cause all of the above.

Anyone with similar experiences please fill me in. Thanks.

Rolex

Check for the possibility of u accidentally grounding the circuit out when u installed. Possible it's the alternator but could very well just have a positive grounding and killing batteries

 

[jnrsesv]

JMC, you have responded to a 17 year old thread. I would hope that the op Rolex has resolved his issue. 😉

Welcome to the forum.

 

[tokuzumi]

With the engine running, check the voltage of the battery using a multimeter touching the positive and negative terminals. If it's 13.5 or greater, alternator is charging.

Have you performed a voltage drop test? Could be a module or accessory that isn't shutting off and is killing the battery.

 

[Rolex]

Check for the possibility of u accidentally grounding the circuit out when u installed. Possible it's the alternator but could very well just have a positive grounding and killing batteries

Bruh.....I made that post 17 years ago.

Thanks anyway. 🤣

 

[Nonickatall]

Bruh.....I made that post 17 years ago.

Thanks anyway. 🤣

You have received a solution, so check what he has written and post the results....😁

It has also happened to me that you want to help someone in full euphoria and do not pay attention to the date the thread was created.