dead batteries in 2008 Suburban

[Shaners]

One of my wife's company vehicles is a 2008 4wd Suburban. It is now on its 3rd battery. The dealer says it is the On Star that keeps killing it and to keep a trickle charger on it. I don't necessarily agree with the diagnosis. Has anyone else had a similar problem?

[montyss]

the battery in my Sierra has gone dead 2 times now , I had it checked out and there is no problem with the battery or charing system . The last time it was sitting for 6 days and the starter just clicked , first time it was only a couple days .The other garage in my town has a pretty high end scanner for checking the charging system so I'm at a loss also for now ...

[Shaners]

UPDATE: The battery drains completely dead in just a couple of days. Having had this cycle happen so often has completely killed 2 batteries to the point where they were replaced. The vehicle is now on its third battery.

[txab]

Have you tried to track down the power draw yourself?

[Shaners]

Have you tried to track down the power draw yourself?

no. This is a company vehicle and they just take it to the dealer. Something is causing the draw that is not caught by the battery rundown protection circuit.

[Shaners]

the dealer thinks disconnecting onstar will solve the problem... i can't believe that onstar would kill the battery

[txab]

the dealer thinks disconnecting onstar will solve the problem... i can't believe that onstar would kill the battery

It can. I know first hand. But there can be other reasons. If Onstar account isn't active, I'd disable it completely.

 

The dealer should be able to track the draw down fairly easily.

[waumo1]

You say it is a company vehicle. Any aftermarket equipment installed on the vehicle?

[Shaners]

You say it is a company vehicle. Any aftermarket equipment installed on the vehicle?

not that i am aware of

[r1byker]

I've got three vehicles with OnStar and haven't experienced the problem you describe. I assume it gets driven a lot? I can let my Suburban sit for a couple weeks and it'll still start fine.

[txab]

It can happen when the Onstar system is farked. It happened on one of mine several years ago. Part of the system kept trying to communicate, but the signal was going nowhere. It kept it up until the battery died. They replaced the whole system.

[Shaners]

It can happen when the Onstar system is farked. It happened on one of mine several years ago. Part of the system kept trying to communicate, but the signal was going nowhere. It kept it up until the battery died. They replaced the whole system.

 

I guess maybe the dealer is right? Unfortunately the vehicle is out of warranty so maybe disconnecting it is the way to go!

[txab]

If they aren't using Onstar, I'd kill it. It will will either fix it or send them looking in another direction.