keith_99_sts Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Drove home yesterday night, about 20 miles, and parked in my driveway. Went out tonight and the car is dead. Turned the key and nothing. Hooked up a voltmeter to the battery and it read 0.5 Volts! Cr*p. Jump started the car and the dash voltage display read out 13.3 Volts. This dropped to 13 Volts and held there while idling. Took the car for a short 10 minute drive and immediately the volts went up to about 14.0. Parked the car in the driveway, engine running, dropped down to 13.0V. Turned off the engine and the headlights stayed on for a couple of minutes, just like normal. So the battery can't be too bad, can it? The view hole in the battery is a black hole, no green at all. Is it normal for a battery to just die, in the summer? It's not like it is -10 Fahrenheit overnight. Could it be the alternator? Seems unlikely, as I can drive the car apparently with no problems and the Volts go up when the engines revs go up, although I wouldn't go on a long drive until I get this fixed. Comments? I will probably take a drive to the Caddy dealer tomorrow and get a new battery and see if that is the problem. The battery is 5 years old, but hasn't given any problems till now. Maybe the dealer can reprogram my key fob that no longer opens the doors since I installed a new battery in the fob (grrr). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 5 years is much longer than most batteries last for me. As one writer would put it, "that battery don't owe you nothing!" Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Battery voltage at 0.5 volts?; never good. Alternator output at 14 volts when driving is good. Batteries do not know the season and can die / fail any day of the year. After you buy / install a new battery, I suggest you reduce the headlight ON time! Remember to clear all the DTCs that will be set when you replace the battery. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_99_sts Posted September 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Battery voltage at 0.5 volts?; never good. Alternator output at 14 volts when driving is good. Batteries do not know the season and can die / fail any day of the year. After you buy / install a new battery, I suggest you reduce the headlight ON time! Thanks for the advice. Sure, I am not unhappy to get 5 years out of a battery, just surprised it died instantly with no warning. Hopefully that is all that is wrong, and I am leaning toward that conclusion. How do I change the headlamp ON timer in the '99 STS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Move that little knob under the headlight switch to the left to reduce the headlight ON time. Battery life is a crapshoot: your battery failed at 5 years while my original battery is still doing the job after 6.6 years. Nothing remarkable about any of that. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 I had a battery die (DELCO) with no warning in my 91, one day turned the key like you and nothing. While that may be the problem, I would also check the connections to see if they are corroded.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 I had a battery die (DELCO) with no warning in my 91, one day turned the key like you and nothing. While that may be the problem, I would also check the connections to see if they are corroded.. Valid point and worth a look. But the battery "eye" color and the voltmeter reading is hard to ignore. Moving the battery into the interior of the vehicle (as in VW Beetle) reduced the potential for terminal corrosion as well as freeing up some space under the hood. Others have seen corrosion on under-the-rear-seat battery terminals, but I have not. And I "look" under there several times a year for other reasons. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_99_sts Posted September 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Others have seen corrosion on under-the-rear-seat battery terminals, but I have not. And I "look" under there several times a year for other reasons. I was quite happy to find the battery in super clean condition, no corrosion at all. In fact, the battery looks brand new except mine doesn't have a green dot. It also looks to me that with very little effort GM could have lowered the rear seat height, got rid of the asinine "theater style" seating jive, and given the rear seat passengers some much needed extra headroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_99_sts Posted September 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Move that little knob under the headlight switch to the left to reduce the headlight ON time. So that's what that slider is for! Thx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wilson Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Wouldn't you know it I just replaced the battery in my 98 STS today because it seemed like it was starting to fail. It had no reserve life left in it when I would leave the doors open with the stereo playing it would not start after 20 minutes. I figured the battery was probably original so I ordered one a few months back. Since the battery is in the trunk it is a special vented battery that cost me $160 CAD My guess is that your battery has probably gone south. By the way I dropped off the old battery at Walmart for recycling you know enviromental reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_99_sts Posted September 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Since the battery is in the trunk it is a special vented battery that cost me $160 CAD I think these '99 STS batteries are dealer only. They are a weird size that the aftermarket doesn't cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cad98 Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 I agree that battery is gone happened in mine but i did get 6 years out of it. Got mine at Cadi for $138 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 I had a battery die (DELCO) with no warning in my 91, one day turned the key like you and nothing. While that may be the problem, I would also check the connections to see if they are corroded.. Valid point and worth a look. But the battery "eye" color and the voltmeter reading is hard to ignore. Moving the battery into the interior of the vehicle (as in VW Beetle) reduced the potential for terminal corrosion as well as freeing up some space under the hood. Others have seen corrosion on under-the-rear-seat battery terminals, but I have not. And I "look" under there several times a year for other reasons. Good Point JIM.....It would help if I actually read the post... Thanks I occasionally get into that BAD habit of not reading, looking back and actually reading the post the BLACK EYE is a dead giveaway, I hate when that happens... Plus to add insult to injury I continue to forget that some of these batteries are under the rear seat and don't corrode like mine has.. He's outta there! Thanks Scotty ill be going to bed now..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Since the battery is in the trunk it is a special vented battery that cost me $160 CAD I think these '99 STS batteries are dealer only. They are a weird size that the aftermarket doesn't cover. I have not found any aftermarket sources for the '98+ battery. ACDelco is the OEM maker and a GM parts counter is going to be the most convenient purchase point (WWW parts sources do not list batteries). And the trunk location has to be a drag-racer modification? Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 I suggest getting the Optima battery as a replacement. Much better than the stock batteries and you can mount it any direction. And the trunk location has to be a drag-racer modification? Nope, rear weight is exactly what you DO NOT want for a drag race with a FWD car. That old trick is for RWD cars. I think they did it to more evenly distribute weight, but I always was curious why they would hassle with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoo Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 more evenly distributed weight = better handling Are the optima batteries sealed lead acid? (i.e. no vent holes at all) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_99_sts Posted September 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 I suggest getting the Optima battery as a replacement. Much better than the stock batteries and you can mount it any direction. Optima don't list a battery to fit a '99 STS. ( www.optimabatteries.com ). I haven't found an aftermarket battery for this car. Someone said it costs approx. $140 for a battery at the dealer, which hurts. My guess is it is a $70 battery if available elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Years ago (carb & distributor days) you could always tell when a battery was on it's last legs as the engine would crank slower and slower. It seems to me that about the time of HEI that batteries no longer give any indications. It's like you get the very last volt, amp, watt or what ever out of them and they go all of a sudden, no warning. At least that has been my observation over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith_99_sts Posted September 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 $116 + tax for the new battery. Not too bad. Got my key fob remotes reprogrammed and they both work again. Didn't notice while I was at the dealer but they programmed remote #1 and #2 reversed, so #1 was activating settings #2 in the car and vice versa. Switched the plastic covers on the remotes, so now the guts to #1 are in case #2 and all is well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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