Dead Battery

My '01 Blazer would not start, only had a clicking noise. The eye was still bright green on the battery and the radio, power windows, etc. all worked fine. The truck would not accept a jump, still nothing. I was stuck on the road and had to be towed.

The dealer said he found the tailgate ajar, which drained the battery, and he installed a new battery. Tested the electrical system, said all was fine.

1) The vehicle had been sitting for about 3-4 days. The temperature had dropped to the 30's this week. When I went to start it the previous night, it hesitated but turned over and started. I drove in for about 30 min to make sure the battery was charging. I went out the next morning to start it asd I got the clicking noise, with no start but apparent power to interior devices. I hadn't opened the tailgate for at least a week. Is it possible that it was ajar all week and took that long to actually drain the battery?

2) Doesn't this vehicle have some sort of "reserve power" or something similar, meaning if an interior light is left on or a door is ajar, that it smartly cuts off the supply of power to that area in order to make sure it maintains enough juice to start?

The battery was the OEM, about 36 months old. I'm surprised that I never had a problem with it and all of the sudden it wouldn't even accept a jump or charge. Also, I'm surprised that the tailgate being ajar would take almost a week for it to drain the battery, even having used the vehicle during that time.

Reply to
Chuck
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Check for other sources of current drain. I have noticed that my 99 Blazer tailgate window will pop open if I slam the door sometimes. But, there is an indicator on the dash that alerts me. Disconnect the pos cable and put a test light in series between the post and cable. If you have any significant glow in the lamp you have a current drain somewhere. Check things like glove box light or underhood light getting stuck "on". If nothing obvious shows up, have a good electrical shop look at it. You may have a bad diode in the alternator. Mike

Reply to
Mike Copeland

Thanks, Mike.

Unfortunately the dealer has already replaced the battery and said they found nothing wrong with the electrical system. Their cause was listed as the tail gate being ajar. As mentioned, the rear gate or window hadn't been opened in a week and I drove the truck the night before the morning it would not start. I only have about 4500 miles left under my extended warranty and want to make sure it's not a bigger problem.

Reply to
Chuck

Get a second opinion. Try another dealer or another electrical shop that you trust.

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---------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Murray Certified Locksmith My Enthusiast's Website:

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Reply to
Crooked-Ridez

Reply to
Bobo

Exactly what happened to my 2000 Blazer this summer. Tried to start it and the tailgate window popped ajar. It started, but it turned over slow. Replaced the battery, no problems since.

Mike

Reply to
mrswans

Rundown protection! That's what I was thinking. I asked the service manager about it and he didn't really know what I was talking about, said it didn't have any type of protection that prevents a battery from draining due to lights left on, etc, and siad it was an aftermarket item. I really thought the dealer that I bought the truck from told me about a feature that would prevent a battery from going dead due to an interior light being left on, a door ajar, etc. Now I'm stumped as to why the service manager didn't know this.

I don't know if it was a junk battery, it was the OEM on the 2001, had 36 months on it, 80% of the 70K miles are highway mileage. Not a lot of frequent starts/stops.

I'm not too happy with the conclusion that the gate was left open, etc. I hadn't open either the gate or glass in over a week and had driven the truck as recently as the night before it died. The service manager assured me it was a dead battery, would not accept a charge, and was due to the tail gate being left open. I can accept all but the tail gate being left open. Maybe it did "pop" as you said, but I don't think that was the reason is drained.

Reply to
Chuck

When did GM start using this rundown protection circuit in their vehicles? Do all GM vehicles now being built have this feature?

Reply to
Rob

OEM batteries only last about 2-3 years. (I work at a parts store and see

*many* come in around that age.) Chances are, it was starting a bit slower recently, but not enough to cause you a problem, and the cold snap just killed it.

:-)

Jeremy

Reply to
Jeremy Chavers

Reply to
Bobo

If it was a Delco, it WAS a junk battery.

The Delco in our new '98 Blazer lasted about 6 months before it started leaking acid real bad at the positive post. Dealer replaced under warranty. About 9 or 10 months later, the 2nd Delco left me stranded. I replaced it with a DuraLast from Autozone, and it is still working fine today.

Delco doesn't make 'em like they used to.

Reply to
Yogi

The Duralast is made by the same company that made the Delco....

started

replaced it

assured me

Reply to
Steve W.

Don't know if you can still get the Delco Professional line of batteries. Maybe the Dealer, if Delco still make s them at all. You certainly can't buy AC/Delco batteries at places like Kmart anf Trak Auto like you use to able to do years ago. Why is AC/Delco selling fewer and fewer of their products at retail locations? Hell...they even stopped selling AC oil filters at Walmalt a couple years back Anyway...the Delco Pro battey is/was? one of the best batteries money could buy.

Reply to
Rob

As far as wally world goes, they've been cutting down on choices in automotive for a long time. It's fram now, since they are the cheapest. It's a shame that people see a brand name there and assume it's good. Their batteries are generally made by the same people that make Autozone's and many others, but don't forget that there are specs. From the results I've seen, Walmarts are set pretty low. I've been using the Autozone battery for the last 5 years on everything and still haven't had one fail yet. I know others haven't had my luck, but I've found them to be a good deal. They are made by Johnson Controls. Have a look at who's who:

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Reply to
John Alt

I defintely thing that's wrong. My '00 had the rundown protection thing. It worked. If I left my door or hood open for too long, it'd shut the lights off on it's own.

Sounds like you're not getting a good charge to the battery. The dealer definitely should have picked up on this.

Do you have access to a volt meter?

A simple test would be just to put the leads across the battery with the truck off, and get a reading. It should be about 12.4 volts.

Start the truck, and get another reading. It should be AT LEAST 13 volts, if not more like 14-something.

Yes, it definitely should... it's possible it's not working...

What if you turn on the interior lights or leave the hood open for

20 minutes... do the lights go out on their own?

That sounds about right. My '00's battery died about 1.5 years and 40K miles into it's life.

The clicking you probably heard on startup, was the started solenoid not getting enough current to fully engage the starter. (If it was a semi-loud chatter). If it's really dead, you might only hear a single "tick".

When the batter is dead enough to not start the truck it still has plenty of power to power the interior lights and radio and what not. :\

I think it's eather something draining power overnight - along with a malfunctioning rundown protection device... or the charging system, with a malfunctioning batter light on the dashboard.

-marc

Reply to
Marc Westerlind

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