Best Jump start

[BUICK11]

I have a 2001 DTS. A few days ago Had a dead battery after letting it sit for about a week. So I took my handy dandy Coleman Jump Start out of my other car and connected to the area under the hood where these cars are to be jumped. Well all I got was a clicking noise. I remember a mechanic telling me the best place was to jump was at the battery. So I lifted the back seat and hooked it up with no better results. Since it was in my storage garage I hooked up a 10 AMP battery charger and after about 5 hours it started right up. I drove it to my dealer who recently installed a new AC Delco battery. They checked the alternator and battery and all checked out 100%.

They are keeping overnight to check for a drain on the battery. Hopefully they will find the problem as this car will no longer be a airport car to use.

My questions for the experts on this forum are

1. Where is the best place to Jump Start (Under hood ot at the battery) The battery seems to be farther from the starter.

2. What is the very best Jumpstart to carry in the trunk where I can be assured of enough punch to start my Northstar. I saw one on Amazon for $129.00 with a 5 star rating. (1700Peak Amps)

Hopefully they will find a drain on the battery But I would feel more comfortable if some of the experts could chime in on my 2 questions.

Thanks

[JimD]

....They are keeping overnight to check for a drain on the battery.

Excessive battery parasitic drain can be diagnosed in less than 30 mins.

Where is the best place to Jump Start (Under hood ot at the battery)

With your car, it makes absolutely no difference.

The battery seems to be farther from the starter.

And extra 12 feet of wire is of no consequence. How far is your home from the power generating source?

What is the very best Jumpstart to carry in the trunk where I can be assured of enough punch to start my Northstar.

Never having the need for such a device, I cannot offer any guidance.

[BUICK11]

Thanks so much for comments... to answer a few.

They did the 30 minuite drain test and came up negative so they want to try it overnight.

So next time I will jump start under the hood much easier than removing seat (hope their is not a next time)

The dealer called and said they were suppose to disconect the old Onstar Analog so they are doing that while it is in the shop but made it clear that it had nothing to do with the dead battery issue.

I have decided to invest in the $129 jump start just for my own peace of mind if they find nothing wrong.

Many thanks for your comments.

Wanted to add this 2001 is like new with 66k on it purchased brand new back in 2001. Want to keep it as our Full size car while the wife is enjoying the 2012 SRX

[Cadillac Jim]

I would get a battery maintainer that hooks connectors to the car and leaves a pigtail somewhere (in the grille, under the dash, in the trunk, etc.) and plug it in when I plan to let the car sit for more than a day or two.

[BUICK11]

Thanks for the maintainer tip. I was thinking about a airport parking area. Think I would feel better with a back up jump start in the trunk first before calling AAA

Really hope they can find the problem. I will advise once I get it back

[Cadillac Jim]

If you plan to leave the car in an airport parking area for long periods of time, take a battery wrench with you and disconnect the ground cable when you leave it. The battery will last a lot longer and you have an added anti-theft layer of protection.

[BUICK11]

Thanks for another tip. The most it would be at the airport would be for 1 week. According to the Cadillac tech that should not be a problem. I really want to get to the bottom of this and not go back to the days I was a teenager with a set of jumper cables with me when I had my old flathead Ford. The drain test last night came out fine. They are going to try it for another night and if negative as they suspect they will call GM tech line.

Thanks again

[Cadillac Jim]

Just make sure that the battery is fully charged before you go to the airport. My solution to that would be to put the battery on a trickle charger the night before I left for the airport.

Battery drain was not the least of your problems with a flathead Ford. The days of mechanical voltage regulators and quick-wearing brushes on DC generators are behind us, and good riddance. Back in those days, practically everybody had a pair of jumper cables in the trunk.

[BUICK11]

Fortunately I have a tech that is good with electrical items AND I have a warranty that will cover the problem if he can isolate it.

Thanks

[rockfangd]

There is a TSB for the RIM(rear integration) module on the 2001 model. I have had 2 do similair and the reason for the drain is because the unit would keep waking the system and turn on the domelamps, etc... hard to detect unless you let the car sit for awhile then you can see it acting up. just a thought.

[BUICK11]

Thanks rockfagd That is the kind of information I was looking for. I printed out this post and gave it to the technican. He could not find the TSB and it is not acting up after 2 nights. The price of the part discounted is about $200.00. I would be willing to pay out of pocket BUT if I can get the TSB number the extended warranty would pick it up. I tried Alldata with no results. Was wondering if you may be able to supply the TSB number?

THANKS