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VE Cal flat battery, again!

manualwagon

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After my last post I had the Calais to the GM Dealer where they did the alternator parasite current update' Unfortunately its still flattening the battery. Should I have fitted a new battery after the update? it was fully charged. Has anyone else had the same problem? if so how did you overcome the problem? I've heard suggestions that the exhaust sensors can cause a problem. Thanks in anticipation John Painter
 

gossie

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How old is the battery?
 

vc commodore

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Personally I'd be taking the car back to Holden with the problem....

However if you like, you can check the battery passes a load test....This can be done at any place that sells batteries...This will help rule out the battery itself...
 

Skylarking

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Holden should have tested the battery, though they’d likely use modern electronic battery test meter which isn’t as good as the old fashioned resistive load testing apparatus ;)

In any case, there was a thread that had an issue with parasitic draw causing flat battery after 15hrs of engine shutdown. All hardware was ok, battery, alternator, etc. The issue was isolated to the air conditioner clutch relay which was still pulled 2.5A after shutdown (usually 10 minutes after engine off). This issue was confirmed by reading parasitic current draw and then removing air conditioner fuse which resulted in current draw dropping to 100mA. Click this thread to see the details.

So check this yourself and if it’s your relay then consider going back to Holden and asking those experts WFT :rolleyes:
 

vc commodore

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Holden should have tested the battery, though they’d likely use modern electronic battery test meter which isn’t as good as the old fashioned resistive load testing apparatus ;)

In any case, there was a thread that had an issue with parasitic draw causing flat battery after 15hrs of engine shutdown. All hardware was ok, battery, alternator, etc. The issue was isolated to the air conditioner clutch relay which was still pulled 2.5A after shutdown (usually 10 minutes after engine off). This issue was confirmed by reading parasitic current draw and then removing air conditioner fuse which resulted in current draw dropping to 100mA. Click this thread to see the details.

So check this yourself and if it’s your relay then consider going back to Holden and asking those experts WFT :rolleyes:

I have used both style of battery testers...The older style I have at home, the newer style at work...the newer style craps all over the older style

I did a load test on a 4X4 battery using both styles....The older style (which is 3 years old but about 20 years old in design) showed the battery was fine, yet when I used newer style one, it showed the battery was cactus....

Guess what...The newer style was correct, because the battery got changed and solved the flat battery issue the 4X4 was having

The older style I have which showed up the battery was fine
1626004458470.png



But yes, taking it back and find out what is causing the battery to go flat
 
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Lex

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I have used both style of battery testers...The older style I have at home, the newer style at work...the newer style craps all over the older style

I did a load test on a 4X4 battery using both styles....The older style (which is 3 years old but about 20 years old in design) showed the battery was fine, yet when I used newer style one, it showed the battery was cactus....

Guess what...The newer style was correct, because the battery got changed and solved the flat battery issue the 4X4 was having

The older style I have which showed up the battery was fine
View attachment 224137


But yes, taking it back and find out what is causing the battery to go flat
What is the pic of, new or old?
tia
I bought what is pictured last year.
 

Skylarking

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I have used both style of battery testers...The older style I have at home, the newer style at work...the newer style craps all over the older style
At the end of the day, measuring real CCA specs isn’t an easy thing to do as it should be done on a fully charged battery at -18C with max current being drawn for 30 seconds while maintaining 7.2 volts. This usually required multiple charging of the battery so multiple measurements can be made until the magic max CCA rating is determined.… Doing such is not something that can be replicated by a workshop given the testing methodology required and the time required to do such…

But electronic battery testers are great business tools because they don’t need the battery to be fully charged to be able to accurately test the battery. And they are easy to use. However, “accurately test” is a bit of a misnomer as these electronic devices don‘t actually test max CCA ratings directly. I believe they measure voltage, small currents, capacitance, inductance and such and then run them through an algorithm to determine whether the battery is expected to meet its CCA rating. Program the wrong type of battery into these devices (or use incorrect screw terminals) and they can show a failed result even though the battery is ok. Or even show the battery as ok when it may not be… But they are a useful, easy to use tool nevertheless.

What is the pic of, new or old?
That tester in the above picture VC posted is an old style tester ;)

Here’s an electronic battery tester and how they can be used to fudge failed results (shown towards the end of the video)


Me, I just like old style testers load testing that actually have heavy duty clamps and thick cables that draws large currents. But even these testers can be misrepresented by unscrupulous mechanics and result in otherwise good batteries being replaced.

I also like old style flooded batteries that provided access through the filler plugs so one could measure the individual cell voltage using a dumb voltmeter. Anything less than 2.1 volts per cell on a charged battery and indicative of a dead cell.… can’t do such simple tests with modern sealed maintenance free batteries :rolleyes:

Still, in this specific case that the OP finds himself in, the easiest test to do is to measure the current drawn from the battery during the vehicle shutdown state. Anything more than 100mA and something within the vehicle is causing the battery to drain… Even with a circuit fault, the battery could still be faulty but the circuit fault should be fixed first, otherwise draining a new battery flat a few times will see sulphate sooner rather than later ;)
 

vc commodore

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Whilst very few ask how to read the print out that can be given, if it is interperated properly, fudging can be picked up.

The print out will show the CCA's that was entered into the device, so when compared to the CCA's of the battery, it will show up if it was incorrectly entered, therefore showing up any fudging that may occur
 

manualwagon

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Thanks for the help, unfortunately the recent posts are all about battery checking. The battery is flat again it wont take a charge any more. will be going for a warranty claim as its just 12 months old. I'm looking at the Air con relay and another similar post suggests the drivers door actuator. Any other suggestions? John P
 
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