Need some help - Battery on my 2009 GMC Sierra 1500 keeps dying

[uracowman]

Hey guys,

 

I need some help on an issue I am having with my vehicle. I've done a bit of digging online, but I am finding different stories and accounts on what the issue may be. Please advise on what you guys think is the issue.

 

The battery I currently have in the car is an AC Delco since the truck was new. About 2 weeks ago, the truck started to act funny when you jumped in to turn the key. Normally, the truck will make that grunting sound when you turn the key before actually started but I noticed my vehicle was really sluggish during this phase. The intervals between these grunts (sorry I don't know the correct term) was getting longer and quieter before starting up. This would happen everyday. Something didn't sound right and my initial impressions were the battery was going out.

 

Flash forward to last night around 6pm. I hop in my vehicle, I turned my key to start, but I got nothing. I got a couple really quiet grunts, then a clicking sound and the lights would turn on an off inside. I had to have a trickle charger recharge the battery before it started up again. After this, I drove home and took about 2 hours to eat dinner, shower and take care of some things before heading out. When I went back down stairs and started up my car at 10pm, everything was fine. The car was firing up like it normally should without a hiccup. I went to meet some friends and left the car parked for 4 hours. When I returned to the vehicle at 2am, the car was dead again! I had to pull someone over to have them help me jump the vehicle.

 

Here is the kicker. I went home and the first idea I had in mind was to add water to the battery, but I was unable to do so because the positive terminal wire covered the battery. I went upstairs to get a screwdriver to see if I could pry it open. When I came back downstairs to unlock the car, I noticed the lights inside were unusually dim. When I tried to start the car, it died....AGAIN!

 

In a span of 10 minutes after I returned home the final time last night, the car died. In a span of 8 hours, I had to get the car jumped twice, and now I will have to get it jumped again before heading somewhere to get it fixed.

 

What is the issue here? My first inclination is the battery is shot since the truck is 4 years old, but I am reading stories online that it could be my alternator, my starter or a battery drain issue seen in these trucks. I just find it kind of odd how the car is acting.

 

Please help.

[scooby5121]

BATTERY

[stefman722]

I had the dealer replace the battery in my 2009 silverado three times within a few months. Kept getting lemon batteries since there was nothing actually wrong with my truck. The 3rd one worked for years after. Try a new battery.

[elite0259]

Battery is toast... If it was the alternator then you couldn't have kept the truck running...

[suess13]

Maybe a corroded starter or battery cable

[pm26]

I had a problem with my boat (Ford 302 cu in fuel injected V8, so essentially a modified car engine) where the battery was constanly discharging, as quickly as 4 days when the boat was sitting on the trailer. When discharged, the boat would not even crank. I checked the battery for any parasitic draw but could not find anything. The batery was practically new so I suspected the alternator. I removed the alternator and took it to an auto electric shop to have it bench tested. It passed the test. I charged the battery and reinstalled the alternator, nothing improved. Finally I tried another known good alternator and the problem went away instantly. The battery would stay charged even after two months without the engine being run. It seems that the old alternator had a derfective diode or something and it was discharging the battery into the ground when the engine was shut off. It was a very annoying problem to diagnose and solve, especially that I practically eliminate the alternator as the root cause after it passed the shop test.