Weak battery symptoms?...

[4speedfunk]

So I got home from Schwarttzy's last Sunday (4 hour drive)...parked the H3 in my garage and didn't touch it until Thursday morning. I jumped in...hit the key...it started like always...and immediately went spastic! It was idling like a top fuel car and shaking like mad. I pulled out into my driveway and the check engine light was flashing. I revved it up to 1500 rpm for a minute or so, and then let it idle...figured maybe it would get itself sorted-out. Sure enough, in about thirty seconds...it smoothed-out and the CEL went off. I never did get any sort of display message or code, and (knock on wood)...this truck has always been rock-solid when it comes to the motor. I've never had any CELs until now.

Whatever the issue was...was gone. So, I drove into town and ran a few errands. I always turn my headlights to "parking lights" during the day, and when I get out of the truck it will give me an audible "ding-ding" reminding me to shut my lights off. However on this day...I noticed that when I shut-off the truck and opened the door...my audible "ding-ding" headlight warning sort of faded away. That is...it seemed to get quieter and fade in and out. Today, it did the same "ding-ding" thing and I am suspecting a dying battery. Radio clock is still keeping time. Its starts and seems to run fine. This is an 08 5-cyl. with 39K miles. Original Delco battery (five-years old in October). Anybody else experience this with a weak battery? Obviously I'm due for a new one...I just wondered if low voltage would cause such a symptom. Any tips Alrock?...you seem to be the battery guy around here.


p.s. I will most certainly buy an Optima. My JCI stock hit $41 a share yesterday (52-week high). Ironic indeed.

 

[alrock]

Yes, when I had a weak battery it was barely running with gauges flashing and the engine was stumbling. I had to drive it one mile from getting jumped to the auto parts store and I almost didn't make it.

I can't recall if my radio clock worked or not but simple things like door locks did not. But remember, battery failures down here in the heat are generally a result of the batteries physically disintegrating and breaking inside, vs. a normal wear and tear eventual failure in more typical climates.

 

[autumn walker]

Granted this was in my H2, but when mine started to go (couldn't sustain itself under load) it was a bastard to try and start the truck; however, once it started running it appeared to function normally.

It got to the point that I wouldn't shut the truck off once it started if I was running errands. Took it in to have the battery tested and sure enough it wouldn't hold load. Showed a perfect 12.5v when you put a multimeter on it, but as soon as you loaded it just sucked the juice out and it showed "fail". New battery and all is well.

 

[Green 1]

My H3 just quit it was fine when I parked it and the next morning nothing.

The H2 was doing everything right running down the highway at 70 and the lights got dim and it died a mile later. I have heard similar symptoms that you spoke of on more than one truck.

 

[4speedfunk]

Thanks for everyone's advice on this. At five years old...I think its a safe bet to just put a new one in. I do have a winch and I use it quite often, which I'm sure contributes to the wear & tear on the battery.

 

[alrock]

And now my H3 battery is dead as can be after sitting for two weeks. Brand new battery. Debating whether to get a charger, a jump start box or simply jump it the traditional way.

Guess I'll be disconnecting the negative terminal from now on when I have it sit unused.

 

[f5moab]

Two weeks sounds too soon for a decent size battery to go dead. Have you checked to see if you have a large parasitic drain? On the H3 (as with the majority of other GM vehicles), the modules should go into sleep mode after about 20 minutes and at that point, they draw very little juice. That's providing you have a stock radio and your large CB does not have a large memory drain or you don't have other additions that might suck down the battery.

 

[alrock]

I suspect it is the CB and I've disconnected it to verify. When the battery dies and I put my key in the ignition, the CB will start making small squawking noises. Jumped the truck today, drove around a while, parked it again. I'm sure the battery's not fully charged but hopefully will be adequate for a little while.

 

[autumn walker]

alrock - a battery tender might not be a bad idea if you're going to leave the truck sitting for long periods of time. It'll keep the battery from calcifying and in tip-top shape.

 

[alrock]

Scott, I can't do a tender as I'm in a condo and don't have easy access to ac power. However, after only nominal charging last Saturday - 20 minutes of driving - it started right up today. I drove it in to work to see if the battery was working and to add some charge to the battery.

 

[f5moab]

I used one of these on my Vette, and even in a garage, it was able to keep the battery up and the Vette had a few more computers than the H3.

If the battery is fully charged, these help to overcome the normal or slightly higher parasitic drain...

Just put it on the dashboard and plug into the accessory power hole.....

http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SP...75997542&sr=8-9&keywords=solar+battery+tender

 

[4speedfunk]

UPDATE: Its been a week since I installed the Optima yellow top. Truck runs good...no more rough idle...but the door "ding-dinger" still fades in and out sometimes after I shut the ignition off. Frankly if it quit working all together it would be fine with me.

 

[owlxxx]

I had the door dinger fading thing when I replaced my Ac control lights. I guess the new ones have wider contact spots and they were crossing positive to ground. I adjusted the lights and the Fading dinger went away.