Really Dead, Dead battery (1 Viewer)

[Grumpy Grumperson]

Hello. I have an 03 LX 230k that I’ve had for a couple months. I replaced the battery when I bought it with an Interstate 27F from Costco. I didn’t have any issues with the original battery but it was old and bulging a bit so I wanted to play it safe.

I was out of town and didn’t drive it for about 2 weeks and the battery was dead. I was only getting about 2.4 on my multimeter so I pulled it and took to an auto parts store to check it out. They felt, as I did, that it had a bad cell. Costco’s return policy is very easy so I’m back and running and things look good now.

I assume this was just a defective battery since it was just a month or 2 old but is there anything I should check? I plan to just check it once a week and see if I’m dropping. It never had any power or starting issues and the gauge always seemed correct. It’s fully stock besides the Grom Bluetooth adapter.

 

[Malleus]

If it's new, and if it is full of electrolyte, the only way a cell would be "bad" is if the connection was broken. The way these things are manufactured, that's hard to imagine.

 

[Malleus]

I'd keep an eye the new one. You may have a parasitic drain. I have a 3-year old battery that hasn't been charged in months, while the driveline was down for maintenance. It took two days and a bit, but it came back up to 100% on the charger.

 

[TexLexican]

Are your door locks working properly? When their motors are weak, especially when it’s hot out, using the lock/unlock switch will continue to send power to any worn out motor. I always will manually lock doors because of this.

 

[excessive]

Get a multimeter and see what voltage your charging system is putting out

 

[NE Snowman]

Are your door locks working properly? When their motors are weak, especially when it’s hot out, using the lock/unlock switch will continue to send power to any worn out motor. I always will manually lock doors because of this.

Good info, mine are older (if I open or close them rapidly they get stuck) I’m pretty rural and rarely lock my truck most days.

 

[Grumpy Grumperson]

Thanks all. That's good info on the battery. Maybe it was some other type defect but I really don't know. Costco didn't test it or even ask me a single question.

I replaced all the door actuators when I first got it except the rear hatch. I don't have a fob so I only manual open the doors.

It's showing 13.46 on my multimeter when it's running. It's showing the same (rounded off) on my OBD2 Fusion app and looks a hair under 14 on the gauge. The battery is showing 12.7 when it's off.

I haven't been able to drive it since I put the new battery in this morning except a quick trip down the street to make sure nothing else was acting up.

 

[rexington14]

I just chased down a parasitic drain in my 05 - my battery was dying every 3-4 days.

Turned out to be the CD changer in the glove box (which didn't work anyways). Key off, doors closed / locked I went from pulling 520 mA with CD changer plugged in all the way down to 20 mA once I unplugged the CD changer connector!

 

[Grumpy Grumperson]

I just chased down a parasitic drain in my 05 - my battery was dying every 3-4 days.

Turned out to be the CD changer in the glove box (which didn't work anyways). Key off, doors closed / locked I went from pulling 520 mA with CD changer plugged in all the way down to 20 mA once I unplugged the CD changer connector!

Thanks. Sorry if this is too broad of a question but how were testing how much it was pulling? I’m not great with electrical and haven’t ventured off the voltage testing yet.

 

[rexington14]

Thanks. Sorry if this is too broad of a question but how were testing how much it was pulling? I’m not great with electrical and haven’t ventured off the voltage testing yet.

I used a multimeter (~$30 off amazon) on the negative battery side and then started pulling fuses one by one to see which one would cause the drop

 

[Grumpy Grumperson]

I used a multimeter (~$30 off amazon) on the negative battery side and then started pulling fuses one by one to see which one would cause the drop

Thanks. I have had similarly priced one for years. It's time to get better acquainted with it now.