08 Silverado Battery Dying

[Fatboy2V-rod]

I have an o8 Silverado with 68K miles. The battery has just died for the second time. I drove it steady for 5 days, parked it for 5 days and it was completely dead (had just enough juice to unlock door w/fob and then would not lock back). This is the second time it has died but has been random occurence. Tested the battery with handheld load check and checked good. I have felt that the truck has very slightly struggled to start even when battery works, it just seems to turnover a slight bit sluggish. Voltmeter reads just over 14 when running. Died for the first time 60 days ago when I had to let it sit for @ 30 days while I was away and waiting for a part to fix the evap so;enoid so I could pass inspection. It seems a bit early for the battery to go. Any common denominators with the 08 models or any other suggestions. Thanks for any advice.

[gmtech4]

you got no waranty i take it,

 

take it in anyways and get a paracitic draw test done

 

thats where to start ,,,,,

 

first off,shit can your battery,then take it in

[Jsdirt]

My battery died at 2 months old when my '07 was new. Seemed weak right off the lot as well. Left a 3-stage charger on it for an entire 3-day holiday weekend, & I haven't had a problem since. Hasn't been driven much in the past 2 years either.

[markw8]

I have an o8 Silverado with 68K miles. The battery has just died for the second time. I drove it steady for 5 days, parked it for 5 days and it was completely dead (had just enough juice to unlock door w/fob and then would not lock back). This is the second time it has died but has been random occurence. Tested the battery with handheld load check and checked good. I have felt that the truck has very slightly struggled to start even when battery works, it just seems to turnover a slight bit sluggish. Voltmeter reads just over 14 when running. Died for the first time 60 days ago when I had to let it sit for @ 30 days while I was away and waiting for a part to fix the evap so;enoid so I could pass inspection. It seems a bit early for the battery to go. Any common denominators with the 08 models or any other suggestions. Thanks for any advice.

 

Do you have anything aftermarket thats electric? You definatly have something thats not powering down. I agree about replacing the battery. To truly test the battery, it should be done with the old style carbon pile testers, not the little hand helds.

 

Mark

[Fatboy2V-rod]

I have an o8 Silverado with 68K miles. The battery has just died for the second time. I drove it steady for 5 days, parked it for 5 days and it was completely dead (had just enough juice to unlock door w/fob and then would not lock back). This is the second time it has died but has been random occurence. Tested the battery with handheld load check and checked good. I have felt that the truck has very slightly struggled to start even when battery works, it just seems to turnover a slight bit sluggish. Voltmeter reads just over 14 when running. Died for the first time 60 days ago when I had to let it sit for @ 30 days while I was away and waiting for a part to fix the evap so;enoid so I could pass inspection. It seems a bit early for the battery to go. Any common denominators with the 08 models or any other suggestions. Thanks for any advice.

 

Do you have anything aftermarket thats electric? You definatly have something thats not powering down. I agree about replacing the battery. To truly test the battery, it should be done with the old style carbon pile testers, not the little hand helds.

 

Mark

 

 

I have no aftermarket add-ons. We have ran a couple of tests, it appears that there is no draw on the battery. The multimeter reads a high output when placed between the positive and the cable for a very short period and the drops down to .2 amps rather quickly (we are puting the meter in-line between the positive post and the cable which means everything starts up once connected). We checked the alternator output with tester and it read consistent with the dash guage just over 14 V. We are leaning toward the battery now although when using the handheld coil load tester the battery drops to 11 volts but does not continue to fall in the typical fashion that a bad battery does. It holds steady at 11 V. I have owned the truck for 26 months, is there a factory 5 yr warranty on the battery and if it is prorated is it even worth checking into considering what the dealer prices a battery. If there is a warranty is it over-ridden by mileage (like the 36k cut-off on everything). I had a bad experience with the dealer when my evap solenoid was bad so I prefer to keep my distance unless it is a last resort. If I suspect the battery will the dealer charge a fee to test it if their equipment shows that it is not bad. Thanks to all of you for your help, every little bit helps in this day and time.

[markw8]

Try a different dealer. Also your battery drain should probably be milla amps instead of 10ths of amps. You need to know what the actual draw should be to know if yours is too much. It does seem like it to me.

 

Mark

[obabika]

I'm not a GM Tech, but here's my experience, which probably won't help you fix the problem, but will show you're not the only one with that problem.

 

My 2007 Silverado HD 2500 had the battery run down in the winter of 2009. I took it in under warranty, dealer insisted I had probably left my phone or GPS plugged in which drained the battery . Several weeks later same thing, with absolutely no phone or GPS plugged battery died again. Dealer had it towed in and this time decided the battery was bad and replaced it under warranty.

 

Winter 2010, warranty has run out, battery died (down to 2.3 volts). Charged it up, did some diagnostics as suggested on this excellent site and did not find any problems. ( key off batterry drain test indicated a 200 milliamp drain for about 30 seconds and then went to 25 to 30 milliamps forever.) Several weeks later dead battery, voltage down to 2.3 volts again. Took battery in for testing. The one year old AC Delco battery was good under load.

 

So, I'm no further ahead in resolving the problem and am anticipating the next failure hopefully not at the most inopportune time as I often go off to the back forty on bush roads. As insurance I take a spare battery just in case.

 

If you find the problem it would be great if you posted the resolution.

 

Thanks and have a great day