Battery replacement

AE1M · October 5, 2020

Yes I saw that when I ordered mine for pickup. I guess now that I successfully installed it I am a "professional". They should just post the link to the You Tube video instead of scaring people.

rav3 · October 5, 2020

1 hour ago, Dick Lichon said:

There is a design issue on these vehicles with the amount of stress the negative battery cable places on the post. I got 4 years out of the original and replaced with a AGM just over 1 year ago. Again same negative battery post failure. The bending moment on the post induced by the negative cable fatigue cracks the post inside the battery. The plastic housing holds everything together and you will pull your hair out when temps and moisture cause the air gap in the cracked post to create resistance build up losing voltage and amp draw. Both times mine exhibited starting issues given the amount of amps you need to turn the motor over. Easy way to tell if your post has failed internally is to put a 10mm socket and wrench on the nut of the negative cable and tighten the nut only placing a small amount of torque on the post while someone is trying to start the engine. The post will generally fail on the right side and propagate toward the driver side given the bending moment of the unsupported cable length. There is a hole in the trough above the cable that I used to use a zip tie to support the cable and reduce the stress on the post. You guys may want to do that first chance you get. Hope this helps those experiencing electrical issues that tend to come and go until it finally cracks far enough to put you dead in the water. Regards!

Can you post a picture of the cable & zip tie?

BSherrod · October 5, 2020

23 minutes ago, 15 Z71 said:

I bought my battery at Advanced and they told me it comes up on their computer that they are not allowed to replace them. Guy told me it requires "professional" to install it on these trucks. Lol

Yep, actually got them to reimburse me for the part behind that. I think it’s a certain order you have to take the distribution block off or something.

Dick Lichon · October 7, 2020

On 10/5/2020 at 3:58 PM, rav3 said:

Can you post a picture of the cable & zip tie?

rav3 · October 7, 2020

2 minutes ago, Dick Lichon said:

Thanks. May try that although I haven't had the issue you mentioned that I'm aware of. Looks like you have some extra grounds.

BigBlue2014 · October 7, 2020

6 minutes ago, Dick Lichon said:

Those 2 extra wires are NOT stock.

Dick Lichon · October 7, 2020

8 minutes ago, rav3 said:

Thanks. May try that although I haven't had the issue you mentioned that I'm aware of. Looks like you have some extra grounds.

I was running a dual battery setup until I installed my supercharger. Took the battery out to install the low temp coolant tank and pump which mounts in the 2nd battery tray. This battery was my spare given the other battery had the failed post. I had a similar side post failure on one of my batteries many years ago. It took forever to root cause the issue. The added cabling doesn't stress the post. It is the main ground in this example. It could be that the factory cable is on the short side to start with. I'm a Mechanical Engineer that worked in auto for many years, I cuss those engineers all the time, ha. Just wanted to point out a potential failure mode for all of you and one that I've seen twice now. I'm going to further support the cable a few more inches before it heads through the amp meter.

Dick Lichon · October 7, 2020

10 minutes ago, BigBlue2014 said:

Those 2 extra wires are NOT stock.

Not much on my truck is stock anymore. LOL

AE1M · October 7, 2020

I do not have those extra wires on my truck, just the stock ground wire. I cannot identify how the ground wire would move separately from the battery. What do you have the ground wire tied to with the Zip tie besides your extra wires that must be grounding some accessory. Would zip tying it to the black enclosed bundle behind where you have it now insure the ground wire stays in place with respect to the battery?

Dick Lichon · October 7, 2020

38 minutes ago, AE1M said:

I do not have those extra wires on my truck, just the stock ground wire. I cannot identify how the ground wire would move separately from the battery. What do you have the ground wire tied to with the Zip tie besides your extra wires that must be grounding some accessory. Would zip tying it to the black enclosed bundle behind where you have it now insure the ground wire stays in place with respect to the battery?

It's mostly an inertial mass problem. The amount of unsupported cable is quite long before the cable is constrained. When your vehicle sees accelerations (aka vibrations through normal driving) it places small cyclic bending moments on the post. These bending moments are primarily what would cause the post to fail over time. Basically, high cycle, low load material fatigue failure. I've studied failure mechanics and it is surprising how small loads can be, but if the number of loading events is very high it will induce material failure (aka plastic deformation of the base material). Classic high cycle failure mechanics at play here. Not all will see this issue given there are many variables at play. Material of the post, it's strength, the actual average loading on the cable post, etc.

Edited October 7, 2020 by Dick Lichon

Dick Lichon · October 7, 2020

40 minutes ago, AE1M said:

I do not have those extra wires on my truck, just the stock ground wire. I cannot identify how the ground wire would move separately from the battery. What do you have the ground wire tied to with the Zip tie besides your extra wires that must be grounding some accessory. Would zip tying it to the black enclosed bundle behind where you have it now insure the ground wire stays in place with respect to the battery?

There is a hole in the metal trough where that zip tie is located. I looped it through the hole to take some stress off the post from the factory ground wire.

Dick Lichon · October 7, 2020

The good news is I got a brand new replacement from my auto parts store with another 3yr warranty and a new starter, cause I discounted the failure mode before assuming it was my starter going. I told myself there was no way it was my one year old battery. But, as stated, it was. I have 105k on the truck. Now I shouldn't have to worry about the starter for the remainder of the life of this truck, hopefully!!

Edited October 7, 2020 by Dick Lichon

Dick Lichon · October 7, 2020

28 minutes ago, Dick Lichon said:

There is a hole in the metal trough where that zip tie is located. I looped it through the hole to take some stress off the post from the factory ground wire.

Also thinking about placing a wedge right at the post against the battery housing. This will achieve similar results to lowering the loading at the post.

teamaed · November 26, 2020

man I just had to replace my battery on mine. In AZ I get right around 2yrs typically, just got that Die Hard platinum.

That was the biggest pain in the ass battery to get out, I thought my CTS V was a pain. Had to take so much ****** off and having the truck lifted doesn't help. I almost took the reservoir off, finally figured out how to get that ****** outta there.