Battery issues

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63Stingray
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2023 2:15 pm

Battery issues

Post by 63Stingray »

I bought a 2013 Caprice from an auction a few days ago. They had to jump the car to get it running. I drove it home without issue. Once I shut it off, it would not restart. The primary battery tested at 12.5 volts and aux battery only showed 6.5v. I disconnected the aux battery and removed it from the car and disconnected the power cable that connects the primary battery to the aux battery. For now, I left all of the other auxiliary battery stuff in the car. Now I'm having issues where sometimes the car will start, other times it will start and die immediately, and other times no start at all. Now it's throwing a code, but I haven't gotten a chance to go get it scanned yet. Any ideas what my issue could be?
JoeR
Posts: 150
Joined: Wed May 25, 2022 12:34 am
Location: Central, NC

Re: Battery issues

Post by JoeR »

Stingray,
At this point a bunch of different things could still be bad.
A battery that tests at 6V may be bad, or it may just be discharged.
Same for the one that tested at 12V. It may just have a surface charge on it and still have low capacity.
Charge and test your batteries.
Check to make sure your charging system is working next. See that you have charge voltage at the batteries with the engine running.

Joe
63Stingray
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2023 2:15 pm

Re: Battery issues

Post by 63Stingray »

I removed the auxiliary battery and it is toast. It reads 0% capacity on my battery tester. The primary battery seems to be okay. 12.7 volts last I checked at 90% capacity. Charging system seems to be working great once I get the car running. With the car running, the battery tests at 15 volts. Should I remove all of the aux battery parts? Occasionally, when i do have issues, I get the "engine immobilized " warning on the dash.
JoeR
Posts: 150
Joined: Wed May 25, 2022 12:34 am
Location: Central, NC

Re: Battery issues

Post by JoeR »

I doubt the Immobilized engine message is related to the Aux battery. I bet if you check the codes you'll see one or more VATs codes, and that's why it won't start on occasion. I know of the 14-17 cars have the ability to program the presence of an Aux battery, but I don't believe the older ones do that. If it's charging, and the main battery tests good, then I bet the no-start is related to the antitheft system. Get that thing scanned, like you mentioned, and I bet that'll get you pointed in the right direction.
Joe
63Stingray
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2023 2:15 pm

Re: Battery issues

Post by 63Stingray »

JoeR wrote: Tue Feb 28, 2023 12:43 am I doubt the Immobilized engine message is related to the Aux battery. I bet if you check the codes you'll see one or more VATs codes, and that's why it won't start on occasion. I know of the 14-17 cars have the ability to program the presence of an Aux battery, but I don't believe the older ones do that. If it's charging, and the main battery tests good, then I bet the no-start is related to the antitheft system. Get that thing scanned, like you mentioned, and I bet that'll get you pointed in the right direction.
Joe
Still having the same issues. I got the battery issue sorted out. Primary is good and aux battery is removed. The car was actually throwing 3 oil pressure codes. I swapped the oil pressure sensor and filter and the car is no longer throwing codes. Sometime the car will fire right up with no issues. Other times it starts and dies or not crank at all for a few attempts. It always eventually starts but it is very frustrating. I'm leaning towards a key/VATS issue. I only have one key. It is an aftermarket blade key only. No fob. My local dealer is ordering me two new key/fobs and programming them free of charge due to the vehicle not having the key recall performed. Hopefully that will help.
Sanford
Posts: 356
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:38 pm
Location: Texas Gulf Coast

Re: Battery issues

Post by Sanford »

Are you scanning with scanner that will read all of the modules? A decent scanner (~$400) is the best investment you can make if you do your own repairs.
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