I bought a new Armada in Jun 2010 and in May 2011 the battery died. I went back to the dealer and since it was less than 1 year they replaced the battery free of charge. Now 9 months later the car is giving problems starting up again and I had to jump-start it last week. The lights and radio all work but I have to press on the accelerator to start the car and that too it appears to be straining.
Any suggestion how and why the battery is leaking power?
BTW the (+) side of the battery terminal is appearing rusty/flaky with white crust.
Anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
It sounds like there is a parasitic drain on the battery after you have shut off the engine.
A situation like that can drain–and eventually kill–a battery if it is not remedied.
Under the circumstances, the dealership should be willing to test the vehicle for a parasitic drain on the battery, but you first might want to verify whether things like an under-hood light, a glove compartment light, and some other courtesy lights actually shut themselves off when they are supposed to.
Just curious, does the driving consist of mainly short trips? This type of driving will drain a battery as there is not enough time to recharge the battery. I use a Battery Tender on my rarely driven 93 Caprice to keep the battery at full charge. www.batterytender.com.
Take a few minutes to clean the battery terminal, but disconnect the negative cable first before removing the positive cable.
Ed B.
Thanks VDCdriver & edb1961 - I’d agree with the parasitic drain but I can’t find anything that still remains on. I don’t smoke so I dont use the lighter and at night when I switch off and lock the car there are no lights visible anywhere. I drive around 30-40 km everyday from home to office and back and some more short trips and occasionally long drives of 20-25km at a stretch as well.
I’ll clean the battery terminal and see if that makes a difference. Thanks again. Any other tips would be welcome.
It does sound like you’re driving enough to keep the battery charged.
Parasitic drain can be measured, and if it’s too high it can be diagnosed. The shop should be able to do this.
If t were me, I’d bring my copy of the earlier shop order in and attempt to get them to cover it under warranty, since it was originally reported to them under warranty.