2011, <11k miles, dead in driveway

[AmazinglySmooth]

I think the interesting thing here is that the battery protection mode, which is suppose to kill power when truck senses that battery drain is too great, didn't function in this scenario.

I will ask. I noticed, when jumping it, that there was a second tap from the positive terminal with a dedicated fuse. Maybe the cutoff only works on one path.

Also, my Denali has two DVD screens in the rear, so the draw could be higher than I think. I'm sure I won't be satisfied until I have no more incidences like this.

 

[jasong915]

Maybe I can provide some insight. I have a 2008 Yukon Denali XL. One day the vehicle would not start. All the lights were working inside but vehicle would not start. I had a warning light that the battery was dead. I had it jump started and it was working fine for a few weeks. It happened again. Took it to local GMC dealer and they were not able to resolve the issue (Replaced battery, repaired a harness that was worn, replaced starter). Finally took it to a Chevy dealer and they found the issue right away. They replaced the negative battery cable and the 175 mega amp on the positive terminal. This fixed the issue and have not had problems since. If the problem continues this may be the issue.

 

[tahoe7689]

My truck has a huge gap in the engine bay behind the driver's side headlamp ... its shape almost seems intended to receive a second battery in there. I wonder if it's worth doing.

On the 2000-2006 tahoes and the like, thats where the battery is located. For some reason on 07+ they moved it to the passenger side and against the firewall, which makes it very hard to remove when it dies. My Dad's 07 escalade was having issues with the battery and it was a pain to replace. Before he switched it out he put the new battery in that void that youre talking about on the driver's side and jumped the car from that haha. Some of the police tahoes have dual batterys and thats where the second one is placed. I know some people on this forum have hooked up two batteries and placed the second one there.

 

[Big Bad Allis]

I also wonder if the use the same basic engine compartment for the Duramax diesels which have 2 batteries? My Duramax is an LBZ 06 Classic so I can't compare the configurations with my 11 Denali.

 

[AmazinglySmooth]

I got my truck back today, and it seems to be fine. I wish I knew how the DVD could get into logic mode. I stopped to talk to my salesman. He said that he had seen other Yukon's that were dead on the lot caused by the same thing. He said he was embarassed by this in front of several customers. Hope GM can fix this permenantly.

 

[doubletapdrew]

For those that replace the battery I'd recommend going with a more powerful model. My 2007 denali went dead, fortunately whlie at work (GMC dealer). We load tested it and the battery showed a manly 45 amps
My tech said the battery they put in from the factory is a joke for something with such a large electrical load, something like 550cca. We replaced it with the duramax battery (I think it was the 78DT84 IIRC) and I never had any more problems. It fit in the factory battery location with no problems.

 

[AmazinglySmooth]

Ugh. We just got back from a 1 week long vacation. We moved our Denali into the driveway as we pulled out last Saturday. Now, Sunday afternoon, we try to move it out of the driveway to unload. It is dead again. I was able to jump it, but only with another vehicle--my standalone jumper battery just couldn't do it. To jump it, though, I had to GND at the alternator. I couldn't find anywhere else to connect near the battery that wasn't painted.

I am taking it up to the dealer tomorrow. I just bought it in December!

 

[Sheriff]

Check the Lemon laws. Sounds like you are well on the way to getting a free replacement. It's going back in with the same problem 3 times in 6 months now? I would never be able to trust that vehicle again. Drive 800 miles and get stranded that far from home? Very sad adventures out of a brand new vehicle!

 

[domin8]

There goes Sheriff again.

 

[Sheriff]

There goes Sheriff again.

Electrical problems are very often the hardest to solve in today's motor vehicles. Some never get resolved. The law says if it can't be fixed in a reasonable time or a reasonable amount of visits to the dealership, the manufacturer is obligated to replace the vehicle. It's a good law, one we all can live with.

 

[domin8]

As long as it's still under warranty Lemon Laws apply. Otherwise you're screwed.

As for electrical issues, they can be tricky to track down, but aren't complicated if you have the right tools and just follow one wire at a time. They're mostly time consuming.

 

[Sheriff]

As long as it's still under warranty Lemon Laws apply. Otherwise you're screwed.

This is why the original poster needs to keep the Lemon Law in mind.... while his vehicle is under warranty.

As for electrical issues, they can be tricky to track down, but aren't complicated if you have the right tools and just follow one wire at a time. They're mostly time consuming.

A few years ago my neighbor had a brand new silver Suburban. It had electrical issues. The dealership could never find the issues. He got frustrated and traded it off on another vehicle. I feel for the person who came along and bought it as a used car. I also think these vehicles are what you often see on eBaY as well, with the disclaimer "sold as is". Scary thought.

 

[AmazinglySmooth]

One related question... when I jumped it, I first tried my standalone battery unit and I could only get a click. The same thing happened when I jumped from my Toyota Sequoia. It finally jumped when I connected the GND to the alternator GND (labled as such). I was nervous about jumping to that point since I didn't want anything to get tangled.

So the question is, where do I connect my jumper cables? For the battery unit, I just tied it directly to the battery since you can keep it shut off when connecting cables.

Also, it would seem to me that there is too much drop across the battery cables since it wouldn't turn unless I connected to the engine directly. What do you think?

 

[AmazinglySmooth]

Update: service advisor just called and told me that the problem is with the negative battery cable. Here's the rub: he tells me that there is a short in the battery cable! My degree is in electrical engineering, so I just chuckled. He obviously has no idea what he is talking about. If the cable isn't a short, then it drops too much voltage (i.e. you want your cables to be shorted). Oh well. They are replacing the negative cable, so hopefully that will fix it for good.

 

[plush]

Update: service advisor just called and told me that the problem is with the negative battery cable. Here's the rub: he tells me that there is a short in the battery cable! My degree is in electrical engineering, so I just chuckled. He obviously has no idea what he is talking about. If the cable isn't a short, then it drops too much voltage (i.e. you want your cables to be shorted). Oh well. They are replacing the negative cable, so hopefully that will fix it for good.

No, he knows what he is talking about, it is excepted terminology to the lay person he would be speaking to concerning this type of issue. You are right, having an electrical engineering degree, technically the specifics may be wrong, but it is still understood. Glad it is something as simple as a short in the wire

 

[AmazinglySmooth]

I got another call just to update me--I do like the fact that this dealer calls people twice each day for a status update. They replaced the negative battery cable because the voltage drop was too high during cranking. They also tested the positive side, but it passed. I hope this is all that is needed.

In TX, I think the vehicle has to be serviced 3 times for the same issue during the first year of ownership after its first title in order to be considered a lemon. I've gotten two, but I doubt it will happen again since they replaced the cable.

BTW, the vehicle now has 13.8k miles.

Cheers

 

[AmazinglySmooth]

Well, I was hopeful, but today it is dead again. My wife moved it out of the driveway in the morning around 9am and tried to start it again at 6pm but no go. It isn't just a little bit low either; it won't turn over even once and even the horn from the second lock press is weak. Something is totally draining it in a matter of hours.

I guess I need to dig into the lemon laws.

 

[soulsea]

Damn ... sorry J.

 

[Sheriff]

Well, I was hopeful, but today it is dead again. My wife moved it out of the driveway in the morning around 9am and tried to start it again at 6pm but no go. It isn't just a little bit low either; it won't turn over even once and even the horn from the second lock press is weak. Something is totally draining it in a matter of hours.

I guess I need to dig into the lemon laws.

I would first give the dealership a chance to replace the vehicle voluntarily.

If they refuse, lemon law!

 

[felixgun]

Man that sucks sorry to hear that. So terrible that you bought a vehicle with that low of miles and it's giving you issues like this... hopefully the dealer makes it right and gives you a new vehicle.