Sudden Dead Battery

elcamino · March 9, 2016

My battery was dead this am for no apparent reason. Nothing was left on or plugged it. Once I charged the battery I noticed the Voltage Gauge will not show any charge greater that about 11.5. Nothing will make it come up higher. I drove around for about 30 min and put the charger back on and it was showing battery as 11 volts and 50%. Anyone have any issue like this? 2015 Sierra Denali 6.2L with 14,400 miles.

Local Chevy dealer is to look at this pm, GMC dealer is 100 miles distant.

chuckl1218 · March 9, 2016

My battery was dead this am for no apparent reason. Nothing was left on or plugged it. Once I charged the battery I noticed the Voltage Gauge will not show any charge greater that about 11.5. Nothing will make it come up higher. I drove around for about 30 min and put the charger back on and it was showing battery as 11 volts and 50%. Anyone have any issue like this? 2015 Sierra Denali 6.2L with 14,400 miles.

Local Chevy dealer is to look at this pm, GMC dealer is 100 miles distant.

Exactly the same thing happened to mine. 2014 Silverado 5.3L with 13,000+ Miles; 2 1/2 years. I did notice a slow crank the day before. But then it died. I tried charging but it would not charge enough to start and showed 11.5 volts. No matter how long I charged it, showed only 11 volts. Opened the door and the voltage immediately dropped down and charger wanted to recharge again. I had to jump mine from another car to start it, but if I shut it off, it wouldn't restart. I was able to get it to the dealer and left it running until it got into the battery shop. They found the CCA was only 151 out of 720 and replaced the battery under warranty. No issues since. No other issues found.

elcamino · March 9, 2016

Sounds similar. Now that I think about it, when I started it yesterday am it acted funny like it a little slow and I thought, never did that before.

I am hoping it will start to get the local Chevy dealer, its only about 5 miles.

No warning of any kind though?

chuckl1218 · March 9, 2016

Sounds similar. Now that I think about it, when I started it yesterday am it acted funny like it a little slow and I thought, never did that before.

I am hoping it will start to get the local Chevy dealer, its only about 5 miles.

No warning of any kind though?

No, just the slow start. Also, the radio wouldn't hold the station until after it ran a few minutes. The good news is I could jump start it easily - got her running, turned it off after driving around. Wouldn't start again, so I jumped it again and it started up again. Mine failed on a Saturday at home in the garage. So, come Monday, I just jumped it again and went right to the dealer. Made sure they knew to keep her running until they were inside the battery shop or they would be pushing. They have express services for battery and oil changes/tire rotations. In and out in an hour.

ewbldavis · March 9, 2016

Sometimes they just go. My 2001 lost a battery overnight. Drove home from work (1/2 hour drive) without issue. Next morning, not even idiot lights when turning key on.

Georgia1911 · March 9, 2016

I have noticed that in the last 10 years or so, batteries seem to fail without warning rather than slowing getting weaker until they fail. You can set a watch by an OEM BMW battery. It will get through the warranty, then Tango Uniform.

chuckl1218 · March 9, 2016

I have noticed that in the last 10 years or so, batteries seem to fail without warning rather than slowing getting weaker until they fail. You can set a watch by an OEM BMW battery. It will get through the warranty, then Tango Uniform.

Yup...I had two OEM batteries replaced in my Wife's '01 T/A under warranty. The last one died at the Walgreens down the road. She was out running errands and it just died and I couldn't jump it. Went to Batteries Plus and bought a Red Top Optima and it is still working great after 4 years. I think if my truck battery dies again and it is out of warranty, I will probably get a AGM (absorbed glass mat battery) like an Odyssey.

elcamino · March 10, 2016

They could find no apparent reason for the dead battery except to suspect it was my fault in some way. I have no accessories added or plugged in. I have driven the truck approximately 1,000 miles in the last 10 days. It took 74 min to fully recharge the battery and everything checked OK per the printout they gave me, battery and charging system. I guess wait and see if it occurs again and go from there.

chuckl1218 · March 10, 2016

Wow. something caused it...hmmm

glamis44 · March 11, 2016

Interesting, Mine did the same thing today. It had a hard start this morning and then dead by the end of the work day. Jumped it and drove home, would not start back up again. Going to the dealer next. Its a 2015 Sierra 1500 Denali with the 6.2. Only 8900 miles. Nothing plugged in and no aftermarket accessories. I hope its just a bad battery. We will see.

Geiser100 · March 11, 2016

Not GM, but my grandfather has a Lincoln town car. He's had to replace the battery three times in two years. No explanation. I guess todays car batteries are just being cheaply made. He went to Advance Auto parts and complained enough to get the last battery free.

Rkaroll953 · March 11, 2016

i parked my 04 one day in the summer and the next day i had nothing. suddenly died it must have been 5 years old. got a red top optima, those are the cats a**. took it out when i traded it in and now that baby is still working hard in my 1961 c10

JerryCanada · March 11, 2016

Had an 2010 Silverado with the 5.3 that needed a battery every 8 months. Dealers couldn't find the problem and just kept changing batteries. Let's say I traded it in before the 3 years warranty ended.