Dead battery ..... Again

[XLR-V Lover]

Optima Battery part #35 fit Amy's '06 XLR without any modifications. The cables and hold down all went right back in place with no problems. Main reason I went with an Optima battery instead of an Odyssey, there were no local dealers. I would have considered one if I could have purchased it locally.

Mike

Odyssey batteries can be purchased on-line. I bought one (check, the prices have quite a range) and was charged no shipping--they're heavy!!! So far it has performed
flawlessly.

 

[WB6BBZ]

After having to replace the second OEM battery in my XLR within two and a half years of ownership, I choose the Sears' Diehard INT GRP 47. This is a direct replacement battery with the correct post placement and it is rated at 600 CCA. (Cold Cranking Amps)
It's less expensive than the OEM, Optima and the Odessy and if you have a problem, Sears stores are all around the country and they don't charge you an arm and a leg to check out your electrical system! Also, their techs know that they have to connect a support battery/power supply to your system before disconnecting and replacing your old battery! Which means you do not have to re-index your windows or re-program any of your personal settings!

MY first OEM battery had to be replaced on 06/09/08 with only 19,520 miles on the car, at Matrin Cadillac in Bowling Green, KY. This battery had not been maintained with a Battery Tender because I didn't learn about them until the XLR gathering we had that month/year.

The second one had to be replaced on 07/28/10 at 37,612 miles and it was maintained with the Battery Tender from the time I returned home in June of 08 thru July of 2010.
This was replaced with the Sears' Diehard.

Since then, I have left my car sit in the garage for up to six weeks at a time without the Battery Tender on it and have not had any problems with the car battery itself.

Of course both my FOB's batteries had to be replaced while I was visiting relatives in Florida in Oct./Nov. of this year.

To sum this up, IMHO, the OEM batteries used in our XLRs are only good for about two years, with or without the use of a Battery Tender...

 

[Lola's Mom]

After having to replace the second OEM battery in my XLR within two and a half years of ownership, I choose the Sears' Diehard INT GRP 47. This is a direct replacement battery with the correct post placement and it is rated at 600 CCA. (Cold Cranking Amps)
It's less expensive than the OEM, Optima and the Odessy and if you have a problem, Sears stores are all around the country and they don't charge you an arm and a leg to check out your electrical system! Also, their techs know that they have to connect a support battery/power supply to your system before disconnecting and replacing your old battery! Which means you do not have to re-index your windows or re-program any of your personal settings!

MY first OEM battery had to be replaced on 06/09/08 with only 19,520 miles on the car, at Matrin Cadillac in Bowling Green, KY. This battery had not been maintained with a Battery Tender because I didn't learn about them until the XLR gathering we had that month/year.

The second one had to be replaced on 07/28/10 at 37,612 miles and it was maintained with the Battery Tender from the time I returned home in June of 08 thru July of 2010.
This was replaced with the Sears' Diehard.

Since then, I have left my car sit in the garage for up to six weeks at a time without the Battery Tender on it and have not had any problems with the car battery itself.

Of course both my FOB's batteries had to be replaced while I was visiting relatives in Florida in Oct./Nov. of this year.

To sum this up, IMHO, the OEM batteries used in our XLRs are only good for about two years, with or without the use of a Battery Tender...

Thanks, Jack ..... since we are considered 'old timers' with our XLR's - we have experienced just about the gamut of problems that are typical of the car .... Like you, we have began taking the car to sort of 'unorthadox' repair places .... especially for oil changes, brakes and tires .... when I found out that our dealership was going to send our car to Discount to actually put on the tires, I figured why pay the middleman just to say I had them put on at my dealership. The new problem we are having is that the wipers don't 'seat' .... was hoping it was simple ... turns out it's the switch in the steering column .

 

[Lola's Mom]

AGAIN .... went out to do some shopping in Lola ...... uuuurrrrrrrr ... thut. Dead battery. I am going to have to install a trickle charger on it - I just don't get to put the miles on her anymore. BTW .... battery is only a year old.

 

[hawkeye372]

The next oil change or when I go past my dealer ship. I think I'll see what my battery state is. If its a new one or how old it is.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[airmike]

AGAIN .... went out to do some shopping in Lola ...... uuuurrrrrrrr ... thut. Dead battery. I am going to have to install a trickle charger on it - I just don't get to put the miles on her anymore. BTW .... battery is only a year old.

How long that time between drives. I am wondering if you dont need to pull fuses and see if something is drawing more than it should. Anyone know if there is a difference in the years as far as electronics?

 

[BusaMan]

AGAIN .... went out to do some shopping in Lola ...... uuuurrrrrrrr ... thut. Dead battery. I am going to have to install a trickle charger on it - I just don't get to put the miles on her anymore. BTW .... battery is only a year old.

How long had it been sitting this time?

Tim

 

[Lola's Mom]

Has been sitting a week .... BUT, the problem is when it drained down last time I should have kept driving her to get the battery back up to a full charge .... the thing is ..... seriously I am only putting about 25-50 mi a month on the car for the past year. Everything is about 1 or 2 miles from my house so the car is started, stopped, started, stopped ..... no freeway time .... zip ... nada .... It's my own fault ... I've owned this car to know that you need to drive them or keep them trickle charged ....

 

[WB6BBZ]

Has been sitting a week .... BUT, the problem is when it drained down last time I should have kept driving her to get the battery back up to a full charge .... the thing is ..... seriously I am only putting about 25-50 mi a month on the car for the past year. Everything is about 1 or 2 miles from my house so the car is started, stopped, started, stopped ..... no freeway time .... zip ... nada .... It's my own fault ... I've owned this car to know that you need to drive them or keep them trickle charged ....

RA,
Have Ray check the Battery Cables to Battery Post connections. This cable clamping system leaves a lot to be desired IMHO.
I remember the first OEM battery I had replaced at Martin Cadillac in Bowling Green, KY. they didn't get the negative terminal properly tighten and for several months I had all kinds of error messages showing up on the DIC that were not real. When the car went into "Limp home mode", I was lucky that I was only about a mile from home on surface streets and I noticed the Volt Meter jumping from 0 to 14 volts. That's when I first suspected the battery connections!

 

[WB6BBZ]

Also RA,

Tell Ray "A Battery Tender installed on Lola would be a GREAT STOCKING STUFFER."

 

[Lola's Mom]

So, the battery is DEAD again .... I noticed that it looks like the parking lights are still sort of lit .... and the rear brake lights are fluttering .... This may be why my Lola is developing the dead battery lately ...... Ray opened the doors through the trunk, and released the doors and then the hood ... he is putting the charger on again ..... but ..... has ANYONE had this problem before??? Help ASAP would be great .... thanks!

 

[WB6BBZ]

So, the battery is DEAD again .... I noticed that it looks like the parking lights are still sort of lit .... and the rear brake lights are fluttering .... This may be why my Lola is developing the dead battery lately ...... Ray opened the doors through the trunk, and released the doors and then the hood ... he is putting the charger on again ..... but ..... has ANYONE had this problem before??? Help ASAP would be great .... thanks!

Here's a suggestion RA,

Ask Ray to disconnect the + battery cable and then connect the charger directly to the battery and set it to trickle charge over night.

Disconnecting the battery from the car protects the cars electronics and also lets them reset to the factory defaults which will clear any soft error codes.
Just don't forget to re-index your windows and reprogram your personal settings when Ray reconnects the battery.

Then check to see if the brake lights are still flickering etc.

If they are, maybe it's time for a visit to the dealer and a Tech 2 evaluation.
Good Luck and I hope my suggestions fix Lola's problems.

Merry Christmas

 

[Lola's Mom]

I hope this will end the saga of Lola's battery issues ..... today, again .... the battery was dead. Re-charged it to 13 1/2 volts .... it was dead again within a half hour. Ray just took her over to the local parts store and had an Optima Red Top installed ... took them all of 2 minutes to make the switch ... no problems with fit, leads, space, highth, etc. Cost was $204 .... installed .... If this works it will be the best $200 buck I've ever spent. Nothing is more frustrating to me than getting into a car that doesn't start. The battery has a full 3 yr warranty and a limited 5 year warranty. They do not carry the battery at Costco and Autozone needed to order one ... so we went to OReily's ... works for me. Here's hoping I will not be posting any more battery problems!

 

[Victor-V]

I hope this will end the saga of Lola's battery issues ..... today, again .... the battery was dead. Re-charged it to 13 1/2 volts .... it was dead again within a half hour. Ray just took her over to the local parts store and had an Optima Red Top installed ... took them all of 2 minutes to make the switch ... no problems with fit, leads, space, highth, etc. Cost was $204 .... installed .... If this works it will be the best $200 buck I've ever spent. Nothing is more frustrating to me than getting into a car that doesn't start. The battery has a full 3 yr warranty and a limited 5 year warranty. They do not carry the battery at Costco and Autozone needed to order one ... so we went to OReily's ... works for me. Here's hoping I will not be posting any more battery problems!

I hope Lola enjoys her new battery, I know Beauty did.

 

[jimmya]

My XLR battery dead again...

Replaced new battery right before Christmas, and after 6 days w/o running, the battery is completely dead. Replaced another new Battery since it is under warranty, same problem, I recharged the battery and after 3 days, it is dead again. I thought the Battery defect, so replaced the battery again...It happens again afther 4-5 days w/o running...I decided to bring to dealership to checkout the electrical system for a service fee of $150. Finally, they concluded nothing wrong...max draining out current is 44 mA per day, average is 20 mA. Mine is measured at 16 mA below average. However, they suggested the problem maybe I left the FOB too close to the car that make the car awake and can't go sleep mode...I will try tonight by place my FOB at least 15 feet away from the car. Hope I can save you $150 for dealer service checkup...

 

[Victor-V]

Lesson 101

Replaced new battery right before Christmas, and after 6 days w/o running, the battery is completely dead. Replaced another new Battery since it is under warranty, same problem, I recharged the battery and after 3 days, it is dead again. I thought the Battery defect, so replaced the battery again...It happens again afther 4-5 days w/o running...I decided to bring to dealership to checkout the electrical system for a service fee of $150. Finally, they concluded nothing wrong...max draining out current is 44 mA per day, average is 20 mA. Mine is measured at 16 mA below average. However, they suggested the problem maybe I left the FOB too close to the car that make the car awake and can't go sleep mode...I will try tonight by place my FOB at least 15 feet away from the car. Hope I can save you $150 for dealer service checkup...

My wife and I keep all FOBs for both XLRs far far away for that exact reason.

Welcome to the forum.

Mike

 

[jimmya]

FOB causes dead battery

Replaced new battery right before Christmas, and after 6 days w/o running, the battery is completely dead. Replaced another new Battery since it is under warranty, same problem, I recharged the battery and after 3 days, it is dead again. I thought the Battery defect, so replaced the battery again...It happens again afther 4-5 days w/o running...I decided to bring to dealership to checkout the electrical system for a service fee of $150. Finally, they concluded nothing wrong...max draining out current is 44 mA per day, average is 20 mA. Mine is measured at 16 mA below average. However, they suggested the problem maybe I left the FOB too close to the car that make the car awake and can't go sleep mode...I will try tonight by place my FOB at least 15 feet away from the car. Hope I can save you $150 for dealer service checkup...

Mike,

How far far away you hide your FOB? Dealer advice at least 15 feet...My battery dead again today after 5 days w/o running! I place my FOB ~10-15 feet away from the car...

 

[BusaMan]

Fobs Away...

Mike,

How far far away you hide your FOB? Dealer advice at least 15 feet...My battery dead again today after 5 days w/o running! I place my FOB ~10-15 feet away from the car...

Well, we keep ours about 30 feet away, in a cubbyhole (sorry Cubby) that's 4 walls away from the car. We've left our XLR for over 3 weeks at a time, w/o a charger, and it's started right up. Maybe "Fob Proximity" is an issue.

Tim

 

[mtrocket]

Mike,

How far far away you hide your FOB? Dealer advice at least 15 feet...My battery dead again today after 5 days w/o running! I place my FOB ~10-15 feet away from the car...

I keep my car in a detached garage about 40 feet away from the house; even so, if I'm not going to drive her for a week or longer, I have a onboard maintainer I installed under the hood that I plug in to keep her fully charged and ready to go.

 

[Victor-V]

Mike,

How far far away you hide your FOB? Dealer advice at least 15 feet...My battery dead again today after 5 days w/o running! I place my FOB ~10-15 feet away from the car...

I keep all FOB's on the other end of the house (about 75 feet away). I wouldn't think you would need to go that far but the further the better so you can rule out the FOB. In my opinion, if you have a new battery it shouldn't be dead in 5 days without running.

Mike