I parked my car over the July 4th weekend and Tuesday when I went out to go to work, my remote wasn't working to unlock the door. I figured it was the remote battery so I went and got the other remote. That didn't work either. So I manually unlocked the door and realized that I had no power at all. I didn't have time to mess with it then. Wednesday I hooked up the jumper cables thinking that the battery had died and tried to jump the HHR. Even with the Jumper cables hooked up I still have no power at all. I don't know what the problem could be now. Anybody have any ideas or suggestions?

 

Look at the battery in the rear by the spare tire. On the Pos. + cable there is a fuse ck that and also a loose or dirty cable at the battery ./

 

I'd pull the battery and have it checked, if it discharged in our typical Carolina heat, you may find that its a goner.

 

The 3 times that I have let my battery die, I have found that hooking the cables up under the hood will NOT work. All 3 times I had to go into the trunk a hook up to the battery.

I just wonder if somebody in the factory didn't think putting a diode in the circuit was a good idea, then forgot to tell the engineers and tech writers?

 

Dear Dr_Jekyll,

I have read your post about your situation with your HHR. I can understand how frustrating this must be.

I am curious as to the information the Chevrolet dealership has provided you with about this. I have thought that if you were to get the vehicle into the dealership and get it diagnosed, they might find that the issue could be covered under warranty. Just food for thought about this.

Sincerely,
Michelle, Chevrolet Customer Service

 

Thanks for the replies guys. It turned out to be the battery.

Michelle, thanks for your reply too, but you can let GM know that I give them a big fat "F" for not thinking things through. That is the stupidest idea to put the battery in the hatch when I can't open the hatch(no power and no release inside the car) and have to climb through the back seat and be at a very uncomfortable angle to take out the battery. I also will give GM another big fat "WTFWYT"(what the * were you thinking) by putting remote posts up in the engine bay that are totally useless to try and jump the vehicle when my battery is dead.

Now, Mr. Hyde has had a week and a half to rest up. It's time to go tire him out.

 

been there and done that with climbing through the back seat....especially if you keep things ie tools and other cargo back there it is a total pain in the ace. to top it off unless you have extra long jumper cables they don't reach most other vehicles batteries.

 

Dear Dr_Jekyll,

It is my pleasure to be on here with you.

I greatly appreciate your feedback about your situation and the battery being in the rear of the vehicle. I have made sure to document you comments and concerns about this. This information will be saved within in the system and is available for many General Motors departments to access.

Sincerely,
Michelle, Chevrolet Customer Service

 

So far I have been lucky enough that the hatch release still worked! I try not to be dumb enuff to leave the inverter (laptop) on all holiday weekend, but you know.....

 

I just experienced the exact same issue as Dr_Jekyll. Drove home from work (22mi) and stopped at Wally-World for some oil. Came back out to go home, pushed my remote... nothing. Unlocked the door thinking it was time to replace the remote battery, went to start the engine... absolutely NO Power! I have to agree with Dr_Jekyll about his WTFWYT statement about the hatch not having a manual key-hole and that the 'emergency release' had such pitiful access; It wouldn't have surprised me that GM would have had you take the whole hatch panel off to find it... at least someone thought to put a 'removable cover' to gain access to the trip mechanism. Good thing I wasn't hauling anything that could only be removed through the hatch.

Sorry, my soap-box hadn't been used in awhile. Anyway, I kept searching through all the posts about 'no power' and found that another member was fidgeting around the fuse box under the hood and had his CD eject from the head unit (as did mine). I kept reading and found the 'weak' link between the fuse box and battery lead under the hood. Nothing looked burnt, loose, or out of place but, when I went to remove the lugs from the under hood battery terminal, the nut wasn't that tight... I pulled it apart and wire-brushed it, put it back together and connected the battery, and ON came the lights and alarm...! (although I did replace the battery as it was 5+ years...)

This forum has saved me countless hours of frustration, economic hardships, and any number of trips to the dealer. Thank you to all who post their experiences, expertise, and what 'they' may think is trivial, but ends up tying it all together to help better understand our modern automobiles.