Hey there,

I have a 2008 1500 QC that has roughly 30k Kms. I have been having an issue with the battery not having enough power to start the engine after the truck has sat for a few days.

The voltage was sitting at around 11.7 volts, and all the lights and stereo work fine but when I try to turn over the engine it just makes a ticking noise. If I throw the battery charger on with a 10A charge for about 15 minutes the truck will start.

I tested the current draw from the battery with nothing on and it showed about 0.75 A. The only thing I can see that is drawing the current is my alarm. I had an after market, two-way alarm/starter installed at the beginning of December. The battery problems started a couple of weeks ago when I started not driving the truck regularly.

Is it normal for an alarm to draw that much current? I know the stock battery is 600CCA. My truck sat for around 4 days without running. That would mean that I lost around 72Amps. It doesn't seem like a lot but that is not taking into account the cold and regular drain a battery experiences.

I am going to bring the battery into Canadian Tire to get a load test done. I also am going to try and hunt down the fuse for the alarm to see if the draw is definitely coming from it.

Any information from anyone would be great.

Thanks

 

cold weather -sitting -amp draw off of alarm. sounds about righ to me .

 

sounds like the power draw of the alarm system is too high.
here's a good troubleshooting article.

http://www.aa1car.com/library/battery_runs_down.htm

 

The alarm, computer, clock, garage door opener... all kinds of things are never really OFF. I don't know for sure, but I'd guess .75A may be about right. My '03 with the original battery sits for a week between runs. Fires right off every time. Do you make a lot of short trips in yours? Maybe the alternator doesn't have time to replace what the starter took out.

 

Yea, mine sits for about 7-10 days at a time and starts up just fine every time, however there is no aftermarket electrical equipment draining the stock 2004 battery except for an always on FM iPod transmitter. i would look at maybe getting a new stronger battery.

 

Sounds to me you are on the right track, I'd look at ANY aftermarket item that uses power before all else...

 

With it being an 08, why isnt it at the dealer?

 

Well I actually had it in to the dealer this past Tuesday for an oil change. That morning was the previous time that the truck wouldn't start. When I got there I told them about the problem with the battery. I also mentioned a failed start and engine code I had recently which was related to the security chip in the key(which they loaded a new firmware into the PCM because of). They checked it out and said nothing was wrong. However I don't think they did a load test or ammeter test, they just checked the voltage and the computer, because none of the pre-sets were gone from my stereo.

The other problem is that they are going to blame it on the aftermarket alarm. They did not install it. If I get a load test done on the battery and it turns out bad, then I will take it back to the dealer. If the load test turns out fine then I will contact the alarm installer and have them look at it. I am not going to accept an alarm that draws almost an Amp when the truck is off. There must be a stuck relay or a bad alarm.

 

Weed- I was wondering that too.

 

If they think it is the aftermarket alarm (and believe me I KNOW they arent very bright) then they can simply disconnect the main battery wire to the alarm and rule it out and move forward. Dont let them get stuck on that and blame that and give the problem back to you.