I get in the car this morning to warm her up and the car was dead as a door nail nothing

I left nothing on... I drive the car daily, have just about 29,000 on her w/o any prior problems and I just don't understand why this would be happening on a car w/ so few miles....
I went out last nite to a friends and it was snowy, freezing rain...car cranked right up after staying at their house about 3 hours.
Put her on a charger this morning... cranked right over, drove the GF home and it seems fine...
I want to be able to trust that she will start for me, the remainder of the winter

Has anyone else had this type of problem?
Could the alternator be bad already?
How can i check the alternator output w/o going to the dealer?

 

Cold weather drains the life out of batteries. Being that the battery is a couple years old and it is cold in Chicago that is most likely your problem. Plus if you have a stereo system and no capicitor to help out the alternator that will enhance your problem.

 

you better off than i was mine was dead and never came back say hello to a 150+ battery. its not the alternator that would be doing that becasue you would not get the battery to recharge. if your going down the road and you lose power thats the alternator.

 

Yeppers, I know cold weather is rough... and that's why I hate all the electrical crap they put on cars now a days!
the car is only 18 months old and NO, I do not have an upgraded stereo... nothing on the car that is NOT stock that would cause increased drain...
the car is garaged overnight

I had a NEON R/T before this and traded it for the SC w/ 74,000 miles and the battery was still the original one and still strong

TY...that's the info I'm looking for

anymore advice out there

 

dude i have seen batterys with 5000 miles crap out. when the fail they fail, if you have a volt meter just start the car and check the voltage at the battery should be more then 13 volts. if its less then that then its probly the alt. but i think thats unlikely.

and when you do get a new one don't buy an acdelco these things are crap.

 

I hear that!
thanks for the advice....
I usually buy DIEHARD's from Sears and they have always given me exceptional service....
hmmm maybe I should get Sears to do the check... I forgot all about them

I remember years ago reading that their are only 2-3 companies that make all the batterys.... they are just packaged and labeled different... maybe there are more players now?
I have heard many good things about those Optima batteries? Thats the one with the round cells!

Does anyone know if they are really that much better and worth the $$$?

here is what the Sears website had to say>>>

Shopping for: 2006 CHEVROLET COBALT SS

We're sorry, we currently do not have Batteries & Chargers online that fit your requirements.

You can:
Contact a Sears Automotive Sales Representative for assistance-Find a Sears Auto Center,or check your vehicle/tire size information and try again.

what a load of crap.... since when don't they have a DIEHARD to fit everything made under the sun?

 

The batteries in these cars suck.... Going to an optima yellow top soon or something equivalent, maybe look at the same or even a redtop.

 

OPTIMA does not make a battery for the Cobalt SC... I just looked into it on their website and PEP BOYS.... I am amazed!!!
I called PEP BOYS and they carry NOTHING for our car...
and SEARS has NOTHING either...

both places told me to go to NAPA....ARGH!!!

I am going to CED tomorrow and have them check the charging system (car still under warranty)!

I will do a little more checking into batteries and post up my findings...

www.autobatteries.com also has NO listing for the COBALT

www.batteriesplus.com.... NOTHING, not even a listing for the COBALT
is our car from the twilight zone... I have never had this problem

 

the yellow top with sideposts will fit from what I've seen. I haven't tried it yet though so I can't say for certain.

 

Optima yellow top ftw I have one and the cover sticks up a little but side post will be perfect

 

fyi batteries in this car are a group 34 (most batteries are this size) and a cheaper equivalent to the optima yellow is the carquest ngt extreme agm (made by deka)

I'm thinking the reasons why the batteries aren't popping up on the searches are because our cars use the top post style connectors where a lot of batteries use gm style connectors. there are a lot of different adaptors to make gm style into post style or you can always redo the connections

 

If the battery is holding a charge from a charger, I would look into a failing alternator. If your alternator is good, you should see a steady 14VDC across the battery terminals on an idling vehicle (use a decent hand-held multi-meter). Extremes of temperature are tough on a battery, but heat will kill one much quicker than cold. Another option is to pull the pos lead overnight to see if she maintains the charge. You could have something pulling current (with the vehicle off) when it shouldn't.

Joel

 

if it keeps happening get a parasitic draw test done. the dealerships will do it and what it does is makes sure very little is being drawn from the battery when the engine is off.

 

hey everyone... I took it to CED (crate engine depot) and they gave the charging system/battery tests and found NOTHING to be wrong.... very weird. Regardless, it was documented at the dealer and the factory battery does come with a pro-rated 3 year 36 month warranty. So, I guess I will try to remain confident that it won't happen again, hopefully it won't happen again this winter.

My biggest concern is some sort of electrical gremlin in my charging system

thanks to everyone for the help and input....you guys are the best