2009 Buick Enclave Dead Battery

2009 BUICK ENCLAVE

14,500 MILES • 6 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC

GMOHAN59

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I purchased my Buick Enclave on March 2009 fully loaded including 2 aftermarket headrest DVD installed by dealer. Six months later, my battery died. Took it to the dealer and replaced battery. Two months later it died again and they replaced the second one with the yellow top battery telling me there are too many electronics. One month later, battery died again. Did a parasitic check on the system, found no drain and blamed the aftermarket DVD and dealer said they think it is not connected to correct power source. Rectiified the connection, and seven months later, it is doing the same thing again. The dealer did some ungrades. One common thing happens when the battery is about to die, we hear beeps continously when we move forward(no sensors in front only in the back) and when in reverse, it beeps continously after stopping and even after putting the gear into park and then the next day the battery is dead. Total I have made 5-6 trips to the dealer with this problem. Can you'all please advice or find a solution? I love my Buick and I thought I will buy a American car to show support for America and its car industry or else I would have gone German or Japanese.

[img:28b7379290]http://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/587771_P10104461_1.jpg[/img:28b7379290]

Oct 30, 2010 at 1:59 PM

KHLOW2008

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Hi gmohan59,

Thank you for the donation.

There seems to be quite a lot of complaints regarding the battery draining for the year model.

There is a software update involving the Radio/Nav system that you needed to have loaded. The software update fixes a rare event regarding the radio staying on and draining the battery.

Under certain circumstances the radio or other electrical components would not shut it off. The software update fixes this issue.

Call your dealer to check with them about this.

Oct 30, 2010 at 2:22 PM

GMOHAN59

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6 POSTS

This was done on the the 3rd or 4th visit to GM dealership.
I need something more specific that is draining the battery. C'mon guys 2 brain is better than one guy in the GM manufacturing plant

Oct 30, 2010 at 9:35 PM

KHLOW2008

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41,814 POSTS

The problem is intermittent parasitic drain and when tested by the dealer, the problem did not occur then. Unless the drain is occurring, there would be no results

You mentioned the reverse sensing beeping and the original wiring schematics does not show any reverse sensor circuits so I believe the unit is after market.

If the control module power supply is hot at all times, parasitic drain would occur when the module malfunctions.

Check the module for contaminations such as water entry etc.

Rewire the circuit so that power is supplied only when ignition is turned on ad retest if it still occurs.

Oct 31, 2010 at 2:44 AM

GMOHAN59

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6 POSTS

Now, how do I check this? When I purchased the CUV new, opted for eveything and they all came from the factory thay way. The only thing they have to put on was the 2 headrest DVDs. By the way, couple of days ago(Wednesday) my wife heard the continuous beeping noise while the vehicle was moving forward. Told her to drive to the dealership, told him the problem, parked it overnight running diagonostics to monitor the drain. Nothing happened. He check the sensors next morning and said found nothing was wrong.

Oct 31, 2010 at 8:31 AM

KHLOW2008

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41,814 POSTS

After market accessories can be installed anywhere so you need to check where the beeping noise is coming from when reverse is engaged with ignition turned on to locate the beeper and control module.

Module would normally have wires leading to the sensors, power supply and ground. To test, turn ignition off and use a test lamp or volt meter to check if any of the wires have battery voltage.

Since sensor module is suspected to be intermittently, they coudl sometimes beep to indicate malfunctioning but after turning ignition off, they could either be stuck or might turn off depending on situation.

It is never easy to diagnose intermittent problems and sometimes a stroke of luck is required.

Oct 31, 2010 at 8:42 AM

GMOHAN59

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I will talk to the dealership and find out. What you haven't told me is that are there people with Buick Enclaves out there have this sort of problems and whether there have been fixes. I read in the blogger last night, apparently GMC Arcadia had this problem and it have been fixed. Someone mentioned airbag sensor. Is it true?

Oct 31, 2010 at 11:43 AM

KHLOW2008

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Some of the bloggers have mentioned the updates fixed their problem when it was caused by the radio but in your case it seems to be something not related to it.

The airbag system does not have any power to it except for the memory which is the control module and not the sensors so it is not likely to be the cause.

Since an update had been done on your vehicle, we should be going for those items that are not standard in vehicle and it could be any of the accessories installed.

Oct 31, 2010 at 11:59 AM

GMOHAN59

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6 POSTS

At my fourth visit to the dealership, as per the dealership's advice, I arranged for one of their installers to check the connection for the 2 DVD headrest and rectified the connection to the correct power source.
After that was done, we did not have any problems for six or seven months and then it happened again. Is the control module faulty or defective? Please advice whether I should ask the dealer to change it. If any of the electrical components wake up, is it the job of the control module or what other component should shut it down?
We hear continous beeping sound as we park the Buick in the garage and the next day, the battery is dead.

Oct 31, 2010 at 6:29 PM

KHLOW2008

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The beeping noise should be the cause of the battery draining. Did you check what component is emitting the noise?

Nov 1, 2010 at 10:06 AM

GMOHAN59

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I checked with the dealership yesterday and he told me they were not able to replicate the beeping sound yesterday and the reverse sensor is factory fitted(95% sure). There was no error code to indicate the control module was bad.They also did the IP Cluster upgrade because it wakes up intermittently. Any news about the GMC Arcadia dead battery fixes? Normally I turn off my aircon and radio before I turn off engine(doing it for 30 yrs on all different cars I owned), I notice that when I turn on the ignition, the aircon and radio/nav comes on. Any suggestions?

Nov 2, 2010 at 7:01 AM

KHLOW2008

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41,814 POSTS

The beeping is intermittent therefore it is not going to show everytime. Having been in this line so long, it is not surprising when such situation occurs.

Get the dealer to replace the sensor or disable it and test if problem goes away.

GMC Acadia battery problem is similar to your case and seems there are no sure fix for the problem.

I will get some of my fellow technicians on this and hope someone has some information that might help.

If the A/C and radio/sat nav starts working when ignition is turned, the problem should be the control module losing its memory, similar to when battery is disconnected.

Nov 2, 2010 at 9:32 AM

KHLOW2008

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41,814 POSTS

One of my fellow technician who is a certified GM tech came up with the following. Hope it is helpful.

[quote:f66acac711="brian 1"]Some customers may comment on the Service Engine Soon (SES) light coming on, or the battery going dead overnight. During diagnosis technicians may find a 4.1 amp draw on the electrical system. The draw may be steady or may drop down to a low milliamp reading for 1-2 seconds and then rise back up near 4.1 amps. This concern may be caused by aftermarket accessories or an improperly installed GM accessory that is wired into circuit 1732 for the courtesy lamps.

Anytime aftermarket accessories are installed into the courtesy lamp circuit the inadvertent power timer in the body control module (BCM) may continuously reset. If this occurs the BCM may remain awake causing excessive battery drain.When servicing a vehicle with this concern, back out pin 1 of connector 2 at the BCM and see if the draw goes away. If the draw goes away, check for an aftermarket accessory (LoJack, non-factory DVD system, alarm, etc.) that is improperly wired into circuit 1732.I know the battery dosent go dead everyday but I would start there and recheck it.[/quote:f66acac711]

Nov 4, 2010 at 10:43 AM

BRICH

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1 POST

I own a 2010 6cyl. AWD Enclave. It has a rear camera, rear sensors and remote starter. I also had an after market DVD player installed (ceiling mounted). I purchased it in December last year and by mid-January I began experiencing the same dead battery problems. I live in Ottawa, Canada, so the cold weather seems to have something to do with the regularity of the issue. Last year when it began, I had 4 seperate visits with my dealer, and on one occasion, left the vehicle with them for 5 days, so they could monitor it over an extended period (of course, no issues while it was there). After the last visit (March 2010) things seemed to be ok...until this morning. November 26, 2010 (first cold and snowy morning in Ottawa) the battery was dead. I too love the vehicle and took a chance on GM, as my last 3 were Nissan (never had an issue), and I am desperately hoping to find a resolution to this problem...HELP!

Nov 26, 2010 at 7:00 PM

PTRUDEL

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Has anyone found a resolution to this problem? I bought what I thought was a great used car a 2009 Buick Enclave and we are having the same battery dying problems. It has been checked for battery draws as well as the software upgrade still the problem continues - so frustrating....I may never buy another BUICK again if someone doesn't figure this out!

Thanks for any tips!

Dec 17, 2012 at 9:47 PM