Dead Battery
 

This afternoon I went down to the garage, put my key in and tired to start my 2007 HHR. It made the attempt to start but all it did was click. I have a four on / three off schedule, this is the first time my car has ever had a problem starting. It can't be because I let it sit for two days???

I noticed a lot of condensation in the garage, which surprises because it's about a 25 car garage in an open basement under the apartment building.

The only thing I have in the car is a radar detector, but the car has sat for three and a half days with the detector plugged in.

The battery is not totally dead, just won't start the car.

In a few minutes I'm going to head down and get the owners manual so I know how to get it jump started and in the morning I'll get it over to my dealer.

*sigh*

-JJ

Sorry to hear of your inconvienence....

Make sure you following the "jumper" instructions exactly. AND BY ALL MEANS, DO NOT CONFUSE THE POSTS....ESPECIALLY THE NEGATIVE POST, WHICH IS ON THE DRIVERS SIDE STRUT TOWER AND MARKED WITH THE - NEG. THE POSITIVE IS UNDER THE LARGER OF 2 RED CAPS>>>>>DO NOT USE THE ONE CLOSEST TO THE FIREWALL.

If you have enough juice left in the battery, you may be able to still open the rear hatch and jump the battery directly.

If you go to the dealer, be prepared to wait a few hours, as they will attempt to charge the battery. If problems still exist, the battery is covered under warranty and should be replaced.

Thanks for the heads up on how to safely get a jump. I also dug out the manual so I know what to tell the guy that will be giving me the jump. I remembered is was not jumping it to the battery when I first read the owners manual... so I wanted to know what needed to be done.

My biggest concern right now is all the bad weather and how long it will take get a tow truck to give me a jump. Heck, a sheet and a stick I can sail to the dealership.

-JJ

Not unusual to have a defective battery also. I had one in my Ram when it was only 3 months old. Charged it so I go get it to the Dealer and they couldn't find anything wrong. A few days later it was dead again. Dealer replaced the battery and had no problems since.

These batteries run down quickly.

I was at an out of town convention and my HHR sat for two days. The only thing that was running was one of those crappy little thing you plug into the lighter that lights up. It was enough to run down the battery low enough not to start. Got a jump but I did it wrong and blew the power steering fuse.

I've run it down twice while working on it just having the doors open. Forgot to turn off the dome light.

I too suffered the blown power steering fuse. The car sat for a while with the satellite radio on (not on purpose about 20 minutes after parking the car I tore my lumbar muscle, which greatly limits ones mobility); after 8 days when I was able to move again, thanks in part to pharmaceuticals, I went to move the car so my neighbor could snow blow my drive way…battery was dead hooked up the jump box to the car and nuked the fuse; at the same time learning a very important lesson.

Ouch! Well, the jump was successful no blown fuses. I made sure EVERYTHING was turned off before I got the jump. The road service truck had one of those battery in a box things. He hooked it up and my HHR started right off.

When I called the road service they told me to leave the car running for 45 mins. I told them the car was going directly to the dealer. :smile:

The dealer did all their tests but could not find anything wrong, no codes. They started it multiple times and it started every time. I guess all I can do is blame it on the weather. :p:

I did check the battery, once I found it. THAT'S THE BATTERY??? I guess it is, it *is* in the trunk and it *does* have heavy duty battery like cables connected to it. No seriously, where's the real battery? Wow, talk about miniaturization. Geeze!

-JJ

Hey JJ...

The size of the battery can fool you.

I just looked at the OEM Delco on a 2008 Corvette. Compared to the HHR, THAT is small. Something like 550 CCA:eek: . I guess it's relative to how it's engineered and what is needed.

Gee Snoopy...
Up here in Canada, the Corvettes hibernate or migrate.
550 Cold Cranking Amps shouldn't matter over 60F.

Clare