ok , I've had 3 car batteries (2 mid grade, 1 optima, thought they were just shitty cheap batteries so I replaced) between the time I've gotten the car June 08', and now... every winter when my engine reads below ~30 degrees my stereo makes a thumping noise and flickers on and off until it heats up. This problem has not ever been in the spring/summer/fall so I know it's not my alternator... Now, I keep having to jump my car every morning and the same thing happened last winter. Checked my fuse box... I have a stock stereo, no subs or amps, and my sparks/coils are good (obviously, they work in the other seasons....) All fluids I use all go by the car's manual...

I could be and probably am WAY off, but my I'm kinda pissed and this doesn't make sense at all... maybe there's a draw somewhere in my electrical workings that just gets pissed off at winter... possibly(?) or in the stereo... or somewhere maybe dealing with my starter.. I've taken it to 2 shops(yes, a chevy dealership was 1 of them) and they just tell me it's my battery, and I tell them they're wrong and I explain it and then they act like im just some dumb bitch and send me on my way saying, "have a nice day."

I'm really sick of this ****.

Anyone else give me some ideas on what to check on before I start tearing out the innards?

 

The problem could be that you dont drive it far enough after you start it.
Live close to work or school say 5 or 10 min away.
When its cold with the heat and defrost fan on, radio on ,lights on ,rear defrost on and then include the starting of the car the battery after a few days is depleted and the short drive with all those things running wont charge to the capacity that it had befor you started the car.
You are running on a negative when it comes to the battery and have to drive it longer to charge it especially in the cold with out repeatedly starting the car.
If you cant do this throw the charger on it for a few hours once aweek and you should be alright.

 

ohh no hun.....

 

My car did something similar when the radio broke (also stock) and it would power on and off every few seconds so it drained my battery. I pulled the radio fuse and charged the battery back. i had to get a new head unit and it fixed the problem.

You could try pulling the fuse one night and see if the car is dead the next morning.

When I worked at a repair garage we had a battery and alternator tester to check the charging and battery system, have them do that

 

do you have anything plugged into any outlets? plus i agree with CTcar ive heard peoples head units draw power and can kill batts

 

im having the same problem, let me know how u fixed it if you figure it out

 

Trunk light staying on.
Lower back seat to check !

Seriously if you want to be sure
1)Get a hold of a Clamp on Ampmeter that will measure DC.
2)Clamp it on to cable (Red +)
3)Take note of measured current
4)Start pulling fuses one at a time until there is a noticeable drop in current draw.
5)Figure out what is on that circut
6)Unplug one thing on that circut at a time until the offending piece of electronics is found.
7)Then Replace or repair it.

 

Cold weather plus short trips is a really good answer.

 

Just had that issue with the wifes van,she should be walking for how close she works to home but you know how that goes.

 

Update:
Pulled the audio fuse from passenger fuse box (note: the diagram is backwards, at least mine was, lol <3 chevy). No problems so far at all. Except now my aftermarket keyless entry doesn't work LOL. Oh well, better than having a non running car.

Thanks dudes.

 

Glad you found the problem. Same thing with my car the same fuse is radio and keyless entry... I had to manually push down the locks and use my key to keep the alarm from going off. I would try a stock replacement head unit or you can always go aftermarket. Or I could sell you my busted stock SS one for cheap lol