Battery was dead, go to jump and I only have one? questions

Electronic systems, stereo and Holden iQ, wiring, it all goes here....
Post Reply
12vPowered
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2016 7:36 pm
Location: Racine wi

Battery was dead, go to jump and I only have one? questions

Post by 12vPowered »

Hello I've had my 2012 9c1 for about 2 weeks but have been a member for a while. It only has 19k, hasn't had any recalls done and has a few other electrical issues I'm hoping aren't related to the dead battery ie The horn doesn't work because they clipped the harness while removing equipment and the remote start doesn't work. I have no schematics or even an owners manual, does anybody know of any available online? Also they removed the passenger side battery so now I only have the drivers side batt. I haven't spent too much time looking for a draw from any accessories but I'm going to after I post this. Any input is greatly appreciated. Would one battery be sufficient without all the extra equipment? Has anyone had any similar issues? Everything works fine once I jump it which leads me to believe it's not a charging issue
2012 9c1 20k miles, Holden grill/ badges, radio unlock, g8 rear seat and camaro 20s.... For now
1995 Ram 2500 Cummins 5spd wannabe race truck money pit
1993 Honda Prelude iron (rust) painted car
smwalker
Administration Staff
Posts: 2201
Joined: Mon Jul 29, 2013 1:44 am
Location: Azusa,CA

Re: Battery was dead, go to jump and I only have one? questi

Post by smwalker »

Yea one battery is fine. If you actually had the second battery and they removed it make sure all those cable are secured and not grounding on anyting as those cable are live while the car is running assumng they might not have unhooked the isolator. If you do not even see a ground terminal and cable chances are you never had the extra battery. Every car got the extra battery tray and electrical center but if the did not come with the extra battery they would not include a ground cable.

Keep in mind while these batteries are designed to last a good long while being constantly discharged and boosted on a dealers lot is not good for them. You may just have to replace it early. Get it tested with a good load tester to see how it performs.
Last edited by smwalker on Wed Aug 10, 2016 8:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Steve Walker
Azusa, CA
'11 PPV 9C3 Huron White
User avatar
storm9c1
Posts: 418
Joined: Wed Mar 27, 2013 6:47 pm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: Battery was dead, go to jump and I only have one? questi

Post by storm9c1 »

Yep, the second battery was an option. Some didn't come with it, but as mentioned above, do have the tray, but no battery terminals or isolation block (all missing from my car).

I agree, have the battery load tested. Police use is hard on batteries and they only last about 4 years or less in that environment, especially with deep charge and discharge cycles.

You can also go into engineering mode and look at the battery charge %. Mine goes down to 60% after the car sits in storage over the winter. And my car has been lightly used (I'm 1st owner, no police use). There is some parasitic draw at all times. So a weak battery will go dead much faster.
Tom (AKA: Storm)
2011 Caprice 9C3: L77, 8K miles, first-owner, purchased July 2011.
1995 Caprice 9C1: LT1, 178K miles, summer car.
1995 Impala SS: LT1, 21K miles.
1995 Caprice Wagon: LT1, 62K miles.
1995 Caprice Wagon: LT1, 128K miles. Rust In Pieces
1994 Caprice 9C1: LT1, beater winter car.
1969 Chevy C30: 383ci stroker, 4L80E, rollback car hauler.
1972 Chrysler Newport: 400ci big block, survivor 27K miles, 2-door hardtop.
1969 Dodge Charger: 383ci big block.
CrashTestDummy
Posts: 2300
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2015 2:31 pm
Location: Pearland, Texas

Re: Battery was dead, go to jump and I only have one? questi

Post by CrashTestDummy »

12vPowered wrote:<SNIP>I have no schematics or even an owners manual, does anybody know of any available online?<SNIP>
http://www.helminc.com/helm/Result.asp? ... d%5Fmedia=
Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas
2012 Caprice 9C1
1992 B4C 1LE Camaro
2018 Tahoe PPV (her car)
1995 DGGM Impala SS
1985 Firebird - 310 LS1 C Prepared autocross car.
1980 Bluebird Wanderlodge
And some others
Do YOU have my SPID?
CrashTestDummy
Posts: 2300
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2015 2:31 pm
Location: Pearland, Texas

Re: Battery was dead, go to jump and I only have one? questi

Post by CrashTestDummy »

On a side note, if you have the second battery, does the car use it when starting? Or is it strictly used to run the auxiliary upfit devices? I'm wondering, since I don't have any upfit parts (yet), but wonder if I need to still carry jumper cables in case the left side battery dies when I'm away from home.
Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas
2012 Caprice 9C1
1992 B4C 1LE Camaro
2018 Tahoe PPV (her car)
1995 DGGM Impala SS
1985 Firebird - 310 LS1 C Prepared autocross car.
1980 Bluebird Wanderlodge
And some others
Do YOU have my SPID?
xcidmigs
Posts: 783
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 8:12 pm
Location: SE PA

Re: Battery was dead, go to jump and I only have one? questi

Post by xcidmigs »

They don't appear to be isolated like that in my case?
smwalker
Administration Staff
Posts: 2201
Joined: Mon Jul 29, 2013 1:44 am
Location: Azusa,CA

Re: Battery was dead, go to jump and I only have one? questi

Post by smwalker »

Yea I investigated that the other day, Key on in RUN position they are joined but as soon as you move to the crank position the secondary battery is isolated so it does not participate in cranking. So if you ever have a dead primary battery you could just leave the key in the run position for 20 minutes to sort of equalize the charge between the two batteries, in theory. May not be enough to crank though if it's really dead.
Steve Walker
Azusa, CA
'11 PPV 9C3 Huron White
CrashTestDummy
Posts: 2300
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2015 2:31 pm
Location: Pearland, Texas

Re: Battery was dead, go to jump and I only have one? questi

Post by CrashTestDummy »

Crap. I guess I'll add jumper cables to the spare tire well.
Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas
2012 Caprice 9C1
1992 B4C 1LE Camaro
2018 Tahoe PPV (her car)
1995 DGGM Impala SS
1985 Firebird - 310 LS1 C Prepared autocross car.
1980 Bluebird Wanderlodge
And some others
Do YOU have my SPID?
Post Reply