My son is having a nightmare with his Chevrolet Traverse LT
When it sits over night, the volt guage in the dash shows 9 volts, and the car will not start.
A voltmeter shows battery to be at 12.30 volts
The battery is under the rear seat
Battery voltage at the charging posts under the hood are at 12.30 volts

Once the truck is hot shotted, and running, voltage is 14.74
I had him put a test light between the positive post and the cable, light is lit, but dim.
He removed the wires from the alternator, no change.
I had him remove all the fuses and relays one at a time, no change.

I assume this shows the alternator is good, and there is not a big draw on the battery
He had the battery load tested, which tested good, but talked the sales person into a new battery anyway.
he cleaned every connection he could get to.

Now it needs a hot shot to go to work, and another to go to lunch, then another to go home.



I am in Md, he is in Fla, with limited tools, so I am looking for ideas on how to fix this

 

First , let me do some looking on Identifix .
But check the relay and junction boxes . I see many gm products with loose connections .
Many have 3 or so 7mm head bolts that hold the clamshell together . I see them work loose and cause all sorts of gremlins .
Torque them down , if loose , as you would a hose clamp . Tight , but do not over do it .
Pop the covers off , you will see the heads plainly .

 

2011 . we did use a multi meter on some tests, but I never thought to see how much amps it is drawing as he is pulling fuses, and putting them back.
Problem for him, is battery is under the rear seat, fuses under the hood, 2 kids under 2 lol.
I will see what I can find for him on the TSB today
Thanks for the help so far

 

He states it takes 2 hrs for battery to be drawn down to a level where car won't start

 

They have a few tsb ,s about battery draw . Door latches and the on star module stand out as common causes .
Do a draw test with a multimeter to isolate the ckt .

 

Went through both fuse boxes, so far the draw is not fused.
Now trying to look at main cables.
Looked at the cables from the charging posts, to the fuse center, and to the alternator.
Looked at the cable to the starter as far as he can see, short of dropping down the starter, He don't think the problem is there.

I told him to check from the battery to the charge posts, which is under the carpet. Seats and carpet will have to be removed to do that, so tomorrow is another day

Thanks for the help so far

 

I did not catch that !
2 Hours ! Either a massive draw or something was missed .
Volt meter shows 12.3 volts , dash shows 9 ? Connection or ground issue IMHO .
Did he check the central and battery junction boxes for tightness ?

 

#ad

 

He is working back from central to battery now. I will know more tomorrow, he quit for the day, the 2 yr old was getting bored, and terrorizing him.
Good thing, my phone arm was going to sleep. lol

 

That looks like a draw . By the way , it can take 20 min for the modules to go to sleep to get an accurate reading .
I would still sudgest a multimeter in amp mode for testing .

 

Trying to talk him into joining, so he can talk directly. He's lurking........
He owns a 2008 Ford F 150 too...........

 

Got him in a multi meter now, what would be the best way for him to test with it?

 

No cost ! He would be welcomed , as you know .