Blazer crapped out on me tonight

[ItsaHonda]

I left the house at around 6 this evening to go to Blockbuster and pick up a movie or two for tonight. The Blazer was running great, didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. When I got ready to leave however, the truck was completely dead. I didn't even have a dome light. I found this to be very strange because although the battery is the original, it hasn't given any signs of being weak. I called up my friend and he came over with some jumper cables. I'd say it took a good 15 minutes of charging before the battery finally had enough juice to turn the engine over, but I could tell immediately that the engine wasn't running right. The headlights as well as all of the interior lights were flickering and the engine sounded as if it wanted to stall. As soon as I took my foot off of the accelerator, it died. I started it up again and tried to drive it around the parking lot, but I didn't get but a few feet when it died again. I did look at the volt meter while it was still running, which showed that the alternator was charging as it should (holding steady at around 14 volts) so I was able to rule out the alternator. To make a long story short, I called AAA and had it towed back to the house where it now sits. The truck is still under warranty (only 32,500 miles) so I'm going to make an appt. at the local Chevrolet dealership and have them come pick it up tomorrow.

I have not a clue what could have possibly gone wrong while it sat in the parking lot for no more than 15 minutes. As I said, it was running beautifully before I parked it. No service lights, etc. Battery seemed healthy as the engine would turn over the instant I'd turn the key.

[Accordlover]

Sorry to hear this Alex!

Hope it gets worked out, let us know the status when you get updated.

[2POINTautO]

It may be possible that the battery terminals are corroded where they touch the battery cables. Dont know if cleaning them would void any kind of warantee, I doubt it. A voltage drop test would tell though, oh well, it should be covered under the warantee, let us know what they find.

[Accordlover]

It may be possible that the battery terminals are corroded where they touch the battery cables. Dont know if cleaning them would void any kind of warantee, I doubt it. A voltage drop test would tell though, oh well, it should be covered under the warantee, let us know what they find.

Good idea, though I'd think he would've noticed this when he and his friend jumped it?:dunno:

Simple green eats corrosion away! I cleaned my engine yesterday with it!:thmsup:

[RTexasF]

If it's a side terminal battery with no posts they are famous for corrosion inside (and invisible) where the cables screw in.

[Greg S]

If it's a side terminal battery with no posts they are famous for corrosion inside (and invisible) where the cables screw in.

Damn, got beat to it. Also if it is side terminal check to see if the whole terminal is loose. I've seen enough of them where the actual mounting portion of the terminal cracked or plain broke off the battery.

[ItsaHonda]

It is indeed a side terminal battery. I tinkered with it a little today and all of the battery connections seem to be tight.

I may pull the battery out later this evening and take it down to the auto parts store for a load test.

Would a bad battery in fact cause the vehicle to stall out repeatedly after a jump-start?

[turBeau]

Do you have access to a meter that can read minimum/maximum? If so, hook the meter to the battery and hit the min/max feature. Then, try to start it. If it starts, go look at the meter and it'll tell you the lowest voltage it saw while under load (starting it). It might read good w/o a load, but under load could be the culprit.

[RTexasF]

It is indeed a side terminal battery. I tinkered with it a little today and all of the battery connections seem to be tight.

I may pull the battery out later this evening and take it down to the auto parts store for a load test.

Would a bad battery in fact cause the vehicle to stall out repeatedly after a jump-start?

Smart move on the load test but it must be completely charged first, assuming it will take a charge. If not then replace it of course. How old is the battery anyway? Never mind I see on your sig it's approaching three model years old but the battery could be older by 6-8 months.

[ItsaHonda]

The vehicle was built in February of 2005. First owner bought it in November of 05.

I went ahead and pulled the battery out and took it down to Car Quest to be tested. They did tell me that the battery was showing "0 cranking amps" so I went ahead and bought a new one. I put it in and viola, the engine started and is now running fine so far (knock on wood) I'll let it idle for a few and then take it for a spin around the neighborhood to ensure everything is okay.

Hopefully a new battery was the ticket and I'm back in business for under $70. :thmsup:

[stevencrosbie]

Good to see that was all that was wrong! How long is that warranty on the new Batt?

Built in Feb bought in Nov.....typical GM.....

Truck was built same month I bought it :)

[ItsaHonda]

I took it for a short drive and even turned-off/restarted the engine a few times, and all is good.

Still seems odd to me that the old battery just failed so suddenly without warning, but that's AC Delco for ya.

[BenzAccord]

I took it for a short drive and even turned-off/restarted the engine a few times, and all is good.

Still seems odd to me that the old battery just failed so suddenly without warning, but that's AC Delco for ya.

Don't blame AC Delco - I had the same happen in a Toyota. One minute everything was fine, stopped the engine, tried to restart and nothing. It was very spooky, I at first thought, this has to be more than the battery. I began to think with "my wallet" and walked over to the auto parts store and bought a battery, it started right up, never had another issue. If the battery itself develops a short, that seems to be the way they go. Sorry I didn't read your thread earlier ;)

[ItsaHonda]

Built in Feb bought in Nov.....typical GM>>>

Dealers had a really hard time moving two door Blazers off the lots long towards the end. Four door models were sold only as fleet vehicles. GM gave them a facelift and a new interior for 1998, but didn't change much else for the remaining seven years of production. The body style dates back to 1995.

How long is that warranty on the new Batt?>>>

60 mos. with 18 month free replacement.

[thefourth]

Wow this is the second dead battery thread in a single day. If any of you are running old or OEM batteries it's time to check them out before winter. At least check the fluid levels if it is not a sealed unit. It's a terrible feeling to get to your car on a cold winter night only to realize your battery is finished. :mad:

[stevencrosbie]

Been there done that in the TL. Had to push start it and drove it 50 miles with only fog lights working b/c headlights would not light....battery wasn't powerful enough....

Winter is coming! Preparation will save a lot of headaches!

[BenzAccord]

Had to push start it and drove it 50 miles with only fog lights working b/c headlights would not light....battery wasn't powerful enough....


While we're on that topic, is it in any way harmful to start a man trans car by pushing it? Is it one of those things that if you do it only once in a while, no harm? Or can you do it as many times as you want?

25 years ago, I had a friend with a car that had a broken starter. Or at least the car had a broken starter, when I wasn't with him :nuts:

[stiller fan]

I took it for a short drive and even turned-off/restarted the engine a few times, and all is good.

Still seems odd to me that the old battery just failed so suddenly without warning, but that's AC Delco for ya.

my mom's TL did that to me recently (a few weeks ago) as well.... no prior warning....

same thing happened to her 3 yrs before that.