Vibe Problem

Update,

After writing this up last evening, I went back out there to check the battery charger. The battery was still pulling 5 amps, and the battery was hot on the side of the (+) terminal, and only warm towards the (-) terminal. The voltage was 13.8 volts. I figure that maybe I had one dead cell?

I replaced the battery last evening using the mid-grade Autozone battery. Big mistake. This battery was 5/8" shorter than OEM, and came with a plastic 'T' shapped booster. Problem with the Vibe is that the battery holder is flimsy plastic, and supported off center. The battery was unsteady, and rocked. I ended up using a piece of plywood 5/8" thick inside the stock battery tray, and the final fit was good after cutting it to fit.

The new battery was already charged, and with lights on, AC blowing, and car in drive (stopped), the battery voltage was 14 volts. After driving some last night, and again today I have had no off idle hesitation.

Maybe I had a bad battery all along.............

Jim

It is possible to have a bad battery. In my Bonneville, I bought a brand new battery in summer of 2003. The car sat most of the winter of 2003-2004. Come spring, the battery would not hold a charge. Got new battery and has worked fine ever since. So it sat for about 7 months and killed itself.

A battery when it loses it's charge,will freeze in the winter and ruin it.7 months is quite a while for a battery to sit idle like that.Make sure your battery stays charged,by starting it up and let it run for a while.Hope this helps! Bobby

Bobby, and Tanya,

Thanks for the comments. I bought my Vibe used June of last year, and the carfax said it was new June 2004 as a 2005 model. The carfax also said it sat in a Enterprise rent a car lot with no mileage increase for about 4 months prior to me buying it. I paid $14,500 for it with 14,000 miles on it. Just sitting there may have hurt that battery as you folks kindly mentioned. I still wonder why it sat. If it was wrecked, would carfax not pick up on that?

What I find interesting is that the battery lasted a year after I bought the car, and the car always had an off idle hesitation after sitting at a long red light with AC blowing, lights on, etc. It drove really well other than that. I figured that was normal Vibe behavior. Now that the battery has failed (hot on one side during charge), and been replaced, that off idle hesitation is GONE!!!!!

Regards, Jim

The battery in my '01 GP GTP also went bad 2 years after buying the car. The dealership replaced it with a name brand battery and it has been going strong since even with my stereo system install.

Get that dealer to give you a free battery!

-- Paul Michaels