I have my G stored in my garage for winter, Had it started about a month ago and no problems. Went to move it out of the garage so I could blow in some insulation in the roof and it would try and turn over once then stop.. Then the lights in the dash went out but you could see there was still some light coming through the icons.. a slight ticking noise almost like a signal indicator was heard going quite fast. Pushing the start button did nothing, but the key fob still unlocked and locked the doors and the door sills were lit up.

Can a battery really die out after a month of non use? I will pick up a trickle charger after work but if anyone else has input that can ease my mind that would be great.

Weather was -22F
Thanks
Mac

 

Yeah, if you had the stock battery, they're notorious for dying very quickly when stored. Trickle charge it and maybe invest in a more reliable battery

 

okay good as long as its the battery, I was a little stressed that either something froze or broke because that ticking noise was very odd and continued for about 2 minutes till it died out. Funny thing too the TPSM came on for the first time ever but again weather could be a factor.

I will go back to focusing on income statements and my real job now.. thx

 

Yeah it definitely sounds like a weak battery. Of course if you charge it or put a new one in and you have the same symptoms...then you can worry!

 

At -22F your tire pressures may have been 3-4 lbs less than spec which may have caused your tpms to light up.

If you continue to have battery problems you may want to upgrade to an optima battery. My G was beginning to drain the interstate battery enough that it was starting to start slowly, kinda dragging. The replacement cost for a battery vs the optima shipped free was only $30-40 more for the optima battery that hopefully will last 10 years. Note don't go thru Amazon as if you have any problems they will not take it back as it is hazardous material. I went thru Summit racing and go a great deal. Don't know what the deals are running now though.

The specs on the Optima are worth noting:
720 cca @ 0 degree F
910 CCA @ 32 degree
Weight 32 lbs

vs a duralast battery
640 CCA @0 degrees
800 CCA @ 32
Weight 38 lbs

 

im not bashing OP but ive seen this type of thread on all sorts of car forums so many times and i have say that it's amazing these days at how such a simple thing like realizing your battery is dead is lost on modern car owners. All you have to do is read the first few words and instantly you realize its a dead battery...and thats from readin a forum post, not actually being there seeing it happen.

 

um yah not bashing the OP.. haha. I knew the battery was dead it was the most logical cause I even stated my own recommendation on the solution. My concern was that this crazy ticking noise was going on even after i left the car, Have never experienced that with a dead battery. I'm overly paranoid with my car...

 

Take what nogoer said with a grain of salt. Yes a ticking sound can happen with a low battery as well as a bad connection at the battery. Make sure its not just dirty terminals or something silly before replacing the battery. Batteries will corrode the connections pretty fast while just sitting in a car. When I store a car for winter I take the battery out and put it on a battery tender

 

Thanks, as soon as I had the insulation blown in I was going to pull the battery and start doing basic maintenance plus the nav swap. Not uncommon to hit -40F here so my garage needs to be warm before I attempt anything. Enjoy Vegas my second home...

 

optima battery ftww

 

Had my battery die after leaving the radio on (dummy)...made the ticking noise your talking about

 

I had a problem with my original battery which was I think 550 cca size. I had AAA come and give me a jump, then I drove about 20 miles to the dealer I bought it from. It was still week when I got there and they checked it out so they put the largest battery they said they had for free which was 720 cca I think. So far so good, but if I know the car will be idle for a couple of weeks I put it on a battery Tender to keep it fully charged.

 

Its the battery, mine did the same thing last year when I stored it. This year I bought a battery tender and its been starting flawlessly whenever I wanted to turn it on.