tm8272 Posted December 9, 2010 Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 Hello everyone, I got a call from the Caddy dealer today that was supposed to check out what keeps draining my battery. Had them check starter if that is going bad. The verdict, they said that the battery will not hold a charge! Car does have a small 9 amp or mili amp drain that they say is normal?? I dont have a clue about electrical and not sure if this is true? My battery is about a month old. I bought it at Pepboys and it is 850 cranking amps. I had them check it before I left the store with it. Does this sound right?? The dealer said to take it back and swap it out or see if they have an upgrade. I called Pepboys and they said unless our machine tests show it is bad battery, we will not swop it out. The only upgrade they had was Bosch battery with same Cranking amps. I called Sears and asked about there Diehard Gold battery which I will have to buy out of pocket which I dont mind to get a good quality battery. Just wanted to ask if anyone thinks this sounds right?? I'm having the dealer align the car today since steering column was turned after new engine was installed. They said if they have a problem with it or find something off they will call me. I also have "service ride control on" since I picked car up from engine shop. So I thought that was electrical issue related. The dealer did say it could be an open in one of the struts or short but did not check that. Before I go buy another battery let me know. The dealer is charging me 95 to check the drain and this is all they come up with. Kind of odd I think. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmk9561 Posted December 9, 2010 Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 9 amps is far beyond a normal drain. That means that your battery would be drained flat in less than 4 days. Some thing stinks badly, and I'm afraid that you've now got a couple of shops that are just going to blame each other for the problem since you've had different problems repaired by different folks without each getting finished. That one won't be easy to pinpoint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoupeDTS Posted December 9, 2010 Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 if its milli-amp im sure that might not be too bad. Although something seems wrong if your battery is ruined in a month. Some shops will take the time to narrow down what system is draining power. Its not impossible but can take a little while to pinpoint it exactly. Newer cars being tougher than a 1960 car because of all the electronics we have now. I personally would find a shop willing to track down the problem and not charge as much as a dealership. Im amazed they havent tried to sell you a new battery or new engine or new car yet. * 1966 Deville Convertible * 2007 Escalade ESV Black on Black * 1996 Fleetwood Brougham Black on Black V4P -Gone* 1983 Coupe Deville Street/Show Lowrider -Gone* 1970 Calais 4dr Hardtop GONE* 2000 Deville DTS - Silver with Black Leather and SE grille GONE* 1999 Seville STS - Pearl Red GONE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted December 9, 2010 Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 9 A = 9000 mA DieHard is a great brand. Instead of paying dealer cost of a new batter just to check it out, take it to Advance Autoparts and they will check the charging system right on the car and give a printed report free. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm8272 Posted December 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 if its milli-amp im sure that might not be too bad. Although something seems wrong if your battery is ruined in a month. Some shops will take the time to narrow down what system is draining power. Its not impossible but can take a little while to pinpoint it exactly. Newer cars being tougher than a 1960 car because of all the electronics we have now. I personally would find a shop willing to track down the problem and not charge as much as a dealership. Im amazed they havent tried to sell you a new battery or new engine or new car yet. Yes it is the mili-amps. The battery still tests good but dealer just said that the battery is not holding a charge and said it was the battery bad, not an electrical issue. Pepboys said if they test it and it tests fine then they will not change it out. So I guess I will pick up another battery at Sears and try the Diehards. I know those are good. I called today and he priced a 750 cranking amp for 109.00 and they had another type called Platinum that was sealed and would withstand being turned over without damage for 199.00 . I will have to go online to sears and check out the difference. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm8272 Posted December 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 9 A = 9000 mA DieHard is a great brand. Instead of paying dealer cost of a new batter just to check it out, take it to Advance Autoparts and they will check the charging system right on the car and give a printed report free. Thanks for advice. Good idea, I didnt know Advance Auto checks charging systems. I knew they checked battery's. I will check into that also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted December 9, 2010 Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 First, 9 mA is normal, once everything has gone into sleep mode. In fact, I think I read somewhere that anything under 50 mA was normal. However, your car requires a minimum of 900 CCA, if I'm not mistaken, and Pep Boys does indeed have the right battery for your car - but it is a Bosh. Check your owner's manual for the minimum CCA requirement for a replacement battery. I stopped by a Pep Boys in an emergency once and they were out of the right Bosch battery and I caught them trying to put in a dual-terminal battery with top terminals. I pointed out that the terminals were very near the fender brace that is unbolted to change the battery, and they told me that I could just throw that away. I didn't quite go ballistic but I refused to throw away the fender brace. They put in an 850 CCA battery, and told me that the 900 CCA was just a number, and that 850 CCA was good enough. The battery went three months and I got another from my real mechanic with 1050 CCA. This reminds me of when a dealer put Deville tires on my ETC and I immediately went looking for new tires that would give me back my feel and handling. A tire store guy BS-ed me into taking a set of Michelins that were OEM on a Mercedes, insisting that they were upgrades to the OEM Goodyear RS-As. They weren't, not by a long shot. People don't know what a Northstar Cadillac is. You have to specify your own parts, and insist on them, or there are those who will dumb down your car to something that you really don't want to drive anymore. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted December 9, 2010 Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 People don't know what a Northstar Cadillac is. You have to specify your own parts, and insist on them, or there are those who will dumb down your car to something that you really don't want to drive anymore. :D Tm8272, Avoid places like PepBoys. Advance checks the charging system and the battery. The report may be not conclusive, but it will give one an idea. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 Sears Die Hard warranty is not all it's cracked up to be. If the battery fails, they will charge you a diagnostic fee before they will replace it. Ask before you buy. That fee is a good part of the cost of a new battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 you bought a new battery at pepboys and it might be bad but you don't want to deal with them so your going to go to another store to get a different battery? why are you doing pepboys a favor by not making them step up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 Did the dealer load test the battery? I would take the battery back to Pep Boys and have them test it. What do you have to lose? Die Hard batteries are not what they used to be. Like Ranger said - make sure to read the fine print about the diagnostic fee. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm8272 Posted December 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 you bought a new battery at pepboys and it might be bad but you don't want to deal with them so your going to go to another store to get a different battery? why are you doing pepboys a favor by not making them step up? I will probably take battery back and let them check it out but if there machine shows it is bad then they will give me another one. I did some research and found the new Plantinum Diehard is great for older cars that sit for several days before driving and has 135 mins of reserve power. Also good for luxury cars that have a lot of electronics. I talked to the dealer today and will go pick up my car. The caddy dealers battery is 165.00 but only 800CCA amps. I was surprised and asked why not more cranking amps. He said the battery is designed for newer cars. So the Sears Platinum battery has 880CCA and more reserve power. Right now that is the highest cranking amp I can find. I used to always use the Sears Diehard batterys and never had any issues. Not sure if Pepboys is older, more than 6 months and sitting around or what the issues. I orginally bought an Energizer from Pepboys but when I returned it a month ago for warranty issue they said they no longer offer the Energizer and went to there own "Pepboys" battery. So another reason not to confident in it for my Caddy. I have other vehicles I can use the pepboys battery in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted December 10, 2010 Report Share Posted December 10, 2010 I struggled with Pep Boys batteries for a year and cut my losses and abandoned their warranty and went elsewhere. Trust me, you can find batteries with more than 880 CCA. However, browding around, I see that this should be enough for your car. The rating is at 0 F, and that battery will have more like 1000 CCA at 68 F. Browsing on the Sears site, they say that a 1994 SLS uses a group 78 battery size, which sounds right, but their recommended battery for that car is a 660 CCA top-terminal battery for $105. You need a side-terminal battery with more CCA. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm8272 Posted December 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2010 Did the dealer load test the battery? I would take the battery back to Pep Boys and have them test it. What do you have to lose? Die Hard batteries are not what they used to be. Like Ranger said - make sure to read the fine print about the diagnostic fee. Yes the dealer did a load test on battery. I picked up car today and went to Sears and bought the Platinum grey 880CCA battery. It has a 4yr full replacement warranty and 10yr pro rated. I did ask the sales guy if they charge a fee to check out battery if I have a warranty issue? He said no as long as you bring battery in. If we have to test it in the car then we charge 14.99 to also test your cars charging system, alternator, starter etc. So if you hand carry battery in then no charge. I got a battery made in Nov of this year to make sure it was less than 6 months old and had them test it before I left. Total was 211.00 with tax. Have not put it in the car yet. Will do that in the morning. I will take other battery back to Pepboys and see if they will trade it for another one. Will use that one in another vehicle, not my Caddy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm8272 Posted December 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2010 I struggled with Pep Boys batteries for a year and cut my losses and abandoned their warranty and went elsewhere. Trust me, you can find batteries with more than 880 CCA. However, browding around, I see that this should be enough for your car. The rating is at 0 F, and that battery will have more like 1000 CCA at 68 F. Browsing on the Sears site, they say that a 1994 SLS uses a group 78 battery size, which sounds right, but their recommended battery for that car is a 660 CCA top-terminal battery for $105. You need a side-terminal battery with more CCA. Yeah I'm pretty much doing the same thing with Pepboys. Not trusting one of there batteries in my Caddy for sure. Most people I talked to or checked online sites try to say I need a smaller battery like 750 or so. Prefer the bigger battery and the one I'm replacing is a 850CCA. I did pick up the Caddy at dealer today and they had to align it and now the steering wheel is perfect again!! They went over in detail the specs on what I had and what they changed it to. So glad that was all it was. They did mention that the rear struts and worn and need replaced. They said the new struts do not have the same elaborate set up as the orginal ones do. I might check on Rock Auto to see what they have. I went to Sears after picking car up at dealer and got the grey Platinum Diehard battery 34/78 dual terminals. I wanted to make sure it was made in the last 6 months and it was just made in Nov based on sticker code the clerk said. Had him test it and it tested ok too. He said those are monster batteries. Only 880CCA but totally sealed and 4yr full warranty and 10 month pro-rated. Total with tax was 211.00. I did read details on Sears site and it said the platinum are good for older cars or historical cars that sit for a while or luxury cars with a lot of electrical. I will put it in car in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted December 11, 2010 Report Share Posted December 11, 2010 If you have top terminals in your battery *and* a fender brace that is bolted above the battery (make sure before you go in - remember that my Pep Boys guys wanted to throw mine away!!!), put a piece of 1/4" plywood or some other secure insulator between the battery and the brace so that you don't have a built-in fire hazard in a fender-bender. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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