Near Dead Tahoe

[Godti]

So my wife just called me, telling me that our Tahoe barely started this morning and that the clock was reset like it had lost power. So I have a few questions:

First, I bought the Tahoe about 2 weeks ago, its a 2004 Z71. I bought it off a guy who imported it into Canada from the States. Im pretty sure its from the Southern part of the states. Its been cold here the last couple of nights, so Im just wondering if its possible that the battery is not meant for cold climate??

On my old firebird I use to test the system by unhooking the battery, if it stayed running, I knew it was the battery and not the altenator or if it quit I knew it was the altenator. Would this apply to the Tahoe (being newer and all computerized)?

I actually noticed a weak start yesterday, but I dont drive the car daily so I never really thought much of it. I bought this vehicle for my wife as she is expecting and we wanted a reliable SUV. So any thoughts or input would be great. I was thinking of taking it to a garage and have the battery tested.

I should also mention that the battery gauge reads normal.

 

[jey_]

Yes, get the battery tested. When ours died it died a slow death like you described. That's actually a good thing - never left us stranded!

 

[Godti]

Cool. Thanks.

 

[greengumby]

Yes, get the battery tested. When ours died it died a slow death like you described. That's actually a good thing - never left us stranded!

X2!..... also while your in there see if you have the block heater wire if not you might wanna see bout installing one.

 

[Godti]

X2!..... also while your in there see if you have the block heater wire if not you might wanna see bout installing one.

Yes thats on the list of things to do. But it has not been that cold since we got it that we needed to have it plugged in.

 

[Godti]

Update:

When the wife got home last night, I started up the Tahoe and it was really slow to turn over. I turned off the vehicle and cleaned the batter terminals and put it all back together. It would not turn over, not enough juice left in the battery. When I did have it running, the volt gauge was jumping between 14 and 15. Any input??

 

[dye4metal]

sounds like a bad battery if the volt meter sits at 14-15 when its on

 

[Rivieraracing]

It should be sitting at 14-15 when the engine is running, that just means that the alternator is working. Test the battery after the truck has been sitting over night disconnected, if it is around 12 volts or less then I would say that the battery is on its last legs. You need to take it somewhere that can do a load test on it (an auto parts store or small shop might be able to do it for you), that would tell you for sure.

 

[greengumby]

It should be sitting at 14-15 when the engine is running, that just means that the alternator is working. Test the battery after the truck has been sitting over night disconnected, if it is around 12 volts or less then I would say that the battery is on its last legs. You need to take it somewhere that can do a load test on it (an auto parts store or small shop might be able to do it for you), that would tell you for sure.

X2! ..yah looks like its time to look for a RED top or a Yellow top battery

 

[SapperRyash]

So my wife just called me, telling me that our Tahoe barely started this morning and that the clock was reset like it had lost power. So I have a few questions:

First, I bought the Tahoe about 2 weeks ago, its a 2004 Z71. I bought it off a guy who imported it into Canada from the States. Im pretty sure its from the Southern part of the states. Its been cold here the last couple of nights, so Im just wondering if its possible that the battery is not meant for cold climate??

On my old firebird I use to test the system by unhooking the battery, if it stayed running, I knew it was the battery and not the altenator or if it quit I knew it was the altenator. Would this apply to the Tahoe (being newer and all computerized)?

I actually noticed a weak start yesterday, but I dont drive the car daily so I never really thought much of it. I bought this vehicle for my wife as she is expecting and we wanted a reliable SUV. So any thoughts or input would be great. I was thinking of taking it to a garage and have the battery tested.

I should also mention that the battery gauge reads normal.

bro, i just had to replace my battery this sunday. before you get told your battery is bad, take it to like say autozone or something but take your tools with you or make sure they have something they will let you use to take your battery off...

the post/screw that is attached to the red cable cover on mine was totally erroded by acid. the threads on that screw were almost all the way gone. so that is why my tahoe was having issues starting and it tested as bad because the connection was bad. i didnt find this out until i bought the new battery and at that point i was like screw it. the replacement screw/post is like $1.99 or something so if that is what your issue is, you will save at least $85. check that first because that maybe the prob. i would just make sure you dont need to drive it to the autoparts store before you disconnect your battery because i couldnt reattach that bad screw/post once i took it out. hope this helps and possibly saves you money!! if not PM me and ill try to explain more indepth. good luck bro!

 

[Godti]

bro, i just had to replace my battery this sunday. before you get told your battery is bad, take it to like say autozone or something but take your tools with you or make sure they have something they will let you use to take your battery off...

the post/screw that is attached to the red cable cover on mine was totally erroded by acid. the threads on that screw were almost all the way gone. so that is why my tahoe was having issues starting and it tested as bad because the connection was bad. i didnt find this out until i bought the new battery and at that point i was like screw it. the replacement screw/post is like $1.99 or something so if that is what your issue is, you will save at least $85. check that first because that maybe the prob. i would just make sure you dont need to drive it to the autoparts store before you disconnect your battery because i couldnt reattach that bad screw/post once i took it out. hope this helps and possibly saves you money!! if not PM me and ill try to explain more indepth. good luck bro!

Thanks for the info. My posts/screws are clean, in fact they look new. I took them off and cleaned them anyways and put some dilectic gel on them to make sure they don't erode. I took the battery out of my truck and put it in the tahoe, and then put the tahoe battery and put it in my truck (swapped batteries). I charge the tahoe battery while it was sitting in my truck. It started this morning no issues, and the tahoe is running and starting fine with the truck battery. Im gonna have the wife drive the truck for the next few days and see what happens to the battery. Im hoping its the battery cause to me its the easiest fix. Im not really sure where to look next, cause there is more to the charging system than just the battery and altenator.

 

[SapperRyash]

Thanks for the info. My posts/screws are clean, in fact they look new. I took them off and cleaned them anyways and put some dilectic gel on them to make sure they don't erode. I took the battery out of my truck and put it in the tahoe, and then put the tahoe battery and put it in my truck (swapped batteries). I charge the tahoe battery while it was sitting in my truck. It started this morning no issues, and the tahoe is running and starting fine with the truck battery. Im gonna have the wife drive the truck for the next few days and see what happens to the battery. Im hoping its the battery cause to me its the easiest fix. Im not really sure where to look next, cause there is more to the charging system than just the battery and altenator.

yah and batteries are relatively cheap compared to alternators. my 98 Blazer needed it replaced i was out almost 200 bones

 

[Godti]

Well I got another call from the wife this morning. The truck that I put that tahoe battery in is dead, so I have to believe its the battery. Only bad part is she parked the truck in front of the tahoe last night, so now she is stuck. Thanks for the replies, Ill let you know if I have any other issues with it after replacing the battery.

Anyone know if there could be something that is screwing up the batteries? I dont want to put a new battery in there only to find otu that something is going to fry it. At least I will ahve a warrantee with the new battery.

 

[Oger]

It has been my experience from when I worked in a shop and did AAA raod service, is that batteries only last for 4 years on average, especially in cold weather climates. It sounds like it is most likely the Battery, if the connections are good. the other thing that you could do is check for parasitic load. use a test light in series with the cable and see if the light lights. most likely it will light a little due to the memory in the truck. to do the parasitic test, you need to disconect one battery terminal and connect one end to the battery and the other end to the cable.