2011, <11k miles, dead in driveway

[AmazinglySmooth]

I think the interesting thing here is that the battery protection mode, which is suppose to kill power when truck senses that battery drain is too great, didn't function in this scenario.

I will ask. I noticed, when jumping it, that there was a second tap from the positive terminal with a dedicated fuse. Maybe the cutoff only works on one path.

Also, my Denali has two DVD screens in the rear, so the draw could be higher than I think. I'm sure I won't be satisfied until I have no more incidences like this.

 

[jasong915]

Maybe I can provide some insight. I have a 2008 Yukon Denali XL. One day the vehicle would not start. All the lights were working inside but vehicle would not start. I had a warning light that the battery was dead. I had it jump started and it was working fine for a few weeks. It happened again. Took it to local GMC dealer and they were not able to resolve the issue (Replaced battery, repaired a harness that was worn, replaced starter). Finally took it to a Chevy dealer and they found the issue right away. They replaced the negative battery cable and the 175 mega amp on the positive terminal. This fixed the issue and have not had problems since. If the problem continues this may be the issue.

 

[tahoe7689]

My truck has a huge gap in the engine bay behind the driver's side headlamp ... its shape almost seems intended to receive a second battery in there. I wonder if it's worth doing.

On the 2000-2006 tahoes and the like, thats where the battery is located. For some reason on 07+ they moved it to the passenger side and against the firewall, which makes it very hard to remove when it dies. My Dad's 07 escalade was having issues with the battery and it was a pain to replace. Before he switched it out he put the new battery in that void that youre talking about on the driver's side and jumped the car from that haha. Some of the police tahoes have dual batterys and thats where the second one is placed. I know some people on this forum have hooked up two batteries and placed the second one there.

 

[Big Bad Allis]

I also wonder if the use the same basic engine compartment for the Duramax diesels which have 2 batteries? My Duramax is an LBZ 06 Classic so I can't compare the configurations with my 11 Denali.

 

[AmazinglySmooth]

I got my truck back today, and it seems to be fine. I wish I knew how the DVD could get into logic mode. I stopped to talk to my salesman. He said that he had seen other Yukon's that were dead on the lot caused by the same thing. He said he was embarassed by this in front of several customers. Hope GM can fix this permenantly.

 

[doubletapdrew]

For those that replace the battery I'd recommend going with a more powerful model. My 2007 denali went dead, fortunately whlie at work (GMC dealer). We load tested it and the battery showed a manly 45 amps
My tech said the battery they put in from the factory is a joke for something with such a large electrical load, something like 550cca. We replaced it with the duramax battery (I think it was the 78DT84 IIRC) and I never had any more problems. It fit in the factory battery location with no problems.

 

[AmazinglySmooth]

Ugh. We just got back from a 1 week long vacation. We moved our Denali into the driveway as we pulled out last Saturday. Now, Sunday afternoon, we try to move it out of the driveway to unload. It is dead again. I was able to jump it, but only with another vehicle--my standalone jumper battery just couldn't do it. To jump it, though, I had to GND at the alternator. I couldn't find anywhere else to connect near the battery that wasn't painted.

I am taking it up to the dealer tomorrow. I just bought it in December!

 

[Sheriff]

Check the Lemon laws. Sounds like you are well on the way to getting a free replacement. It's going back in with the same problem 3 times in 6 months now? I would never be able to trust that vehicle again. Drive 800 miles and get stranded that far from home? Very sad adventures out of a brand new vehicle!

 

[domin8]

There goes Sheriff again.

 

[Sheriff]

There goes Sheriff again.

Electrical problems are very often the hardest to solve in today's motor vehicles. Some never get resolved. The law says if it can't be fixed in a reasonable time or a reasonable amount of visits to the dealership, the manufacturer is obligated to replace the vehicle. It's a good law, one we all can live with.