Electrical Problem

[CalCamper]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem. The day I picked up my Titan the battery was dead and had to be jump started. On a road trip to Zion NP it was parked for 4 days while camping and only the lights were on while getting into and out of the truck as well as a half day of charging the cell phone. You guessed it ... dead battery again!

I haven't had a chance to take it back to the dealer yet, but what do you all think? Defective battery or electrical drain somewhere? Hard to believe the amount of electricity used in those 4 days could drain the battery. Have parked other cars/trucks while camping for 7-9 days without a glitch.

By the way, I just love this forum.
A special thanks to CaliforniaTitan for the heads-up on the radio fix. Yup, I'm having the same challanges, but otherwise loving the truck.

[Optimist]

CalC. that sucks. I suspect as long as you see positive normal output you just happened to get a new Truck with a bad battery. You say it was dead day one & there should be no reason & although a drain may be the problem I think your odds are in favor of a bad battery. Just bought a deep cycle brand new Die-Hard for $90.00 when tested barely held any charge & went flat within days. With a simple test you’ll have your answer within minuets, hopefully.

& I agree this is a great forum &.... Welcome!

[Austin]

Lead-Acid batteries can be damaged if left discharged for too long.

If your battery was dead when you picked up the truck, then likely it'd been dead for a while - from the lights left on, door left ajar, something. Because it's been dead for so long, it won't hold a charge now, and you need a new battery.

<- Lead/Acid battery expert

[CalCamper]

Thanks for the replies all. I'm hoping it's just the battery and not an electrical problem. I'll let you know after I get to the dealership.

[CalCamper]

Originally Posted by Austin

Lead-Acid batteries can be damaged if left discharged for too long.

If your battery was dead when you picked up the truck, then likely it'd been dead for a while - from the lights left on, door left ajar, something. Because it's been dead for so long, it won't hold a charge now, and you need a new battery.

<- Lead/Acid battery expert

Austin,

I was hoping you were right and that it wasn't anything more serious, but I took it to the dealership and even left it for 3 days to see if they could reproduce what happened. It started every time at the dealership and they also did a computerized electrical check saying all electrical and battery are fine.
In otherwords, no problemos.
They had no reasonable answer as to why it was dead at the dealership or after 4 days of camping beside you probably left a light on that drained it. Although I know I didn't as I was with the vehicle while camping!
Anyways, hopefully this was some freak occurance that wont be replicated in the future.
Just wanted to update everyone.

[zpylot]

My bet would be a light was on.

I had a 2001 MDX (traded it for the Titan) and I installed satellite radio in it. The instructions say to disconnect the negative battery terminal so there is no chance of shorts. So I installed the radio and it worked fine. I went to use the MDX the next day and the battery was dead. I assumed it was a worn out battery. It was three years old and the little window did not show green but black indicating it was bad. I bought a new battery, installed it, drove around for 15 minutes to make sure it was charged. The next day I went to use the MDX and the battery was dead. That's when I discovered the overhead light was one. During the install I must of bumped the light. Boy I felt stupid. You all are the first one's I have told. Shhhhhhhhh...

[jd1973]

By any chance do you leave anything plugged into the left power outlet below the dash? In the SE with the buckets that outlet is always hot. The right outlet is attached to the ignition and is therefore off when the truck is not running.

[CaliforniaTitan]

CC,

Your welcome! And welcome to the board!

Chris

[dickyn]

I was working on my Titan in my garage the other night and after about two hour of turning the ignition on and off the auto headlight option will let the headlights stay on for a few minutes and I had the same problem with it not starting. ATTENTION to all those who work on the TITAN at night and leave the lights on for a few minutes or the doors open, it will drain your battery. I have replicated the problem by leaving the doors open and it has drain the battery. I had to jump start it. Any of you guys willing to try on your titan and let us know?

[Sammy Sandbag]

Originally Posted by CalCamper

I was hoping you were right and that it wasn't anything more serious, but I took it to the dealership and even left it for 3 days to see if they could reproduce what happened. It started every time at the dealership and they also did a computerized electrical check saying all electrical and battery are fine.
In otherwords, no problemos.

I don't know if I'd trust the dealership, based on my experience. I had a Chevy S-10 Blazer that experienced similar problems less than a year old. I'd leave it parked for a couple days and the battery would be dead. I took it to several different Chevy dealers, all said the battery was fine and that it was my aftermarket stero/amp/cap. After getting the run-a-round at the dealers, I took the truck to a motor/alternator specialist to check it. Sure enough they said it was a bad battery. The specialist had far more sophisticated equipment, and they didn't even sell batteries, so I know they weren't trying to get me to buy anything. To be certain I took the truck to a parts store and had them check it, and again they said it was dead. Finally I removed the battery from the truck and took it to another Chevy dealer and had them test it, and they said it was dead. But in order to replace it under warranty, I'd have to bring it in, installed in the vehicle. Well as soon as I did that, they magically said the battery was fine and they wouldn't replace. So I eventually said screw it and bought a Optima spiral cell and never had another problem for the next 5 years that I owned it. Long story short, don't trust what the dealer is telling you. You might just have to suck it up and buy a decent aftermarket battery.

[Dude]

I had a dead battery the morning after I bought the truck. When I brought the truck home the previous evening, I had to play with everything. I used the key in the door to roll the windows up and down. I tested each remote to make sure it would roll the windows up and down, and make sure they lock/unlock the doors. I also had the inside light on for a while cleaning up and putting away the crap I transferred out of my old truck.

I assumed the battery was probably weak since the truck had been on the lot for a while. I jump started the truck that morning and have had no problem since.

[dman]

When it comes to batteries, every dealer should have a decent battery checker that actually puts a considerable load on the battery. If they just put a volt meter on a battery soon after you turn the vehicle off, of course it will read 12 volts or more. However, decent battery testers will actually a load on the battery. A good battery with a test load on it for a couple of seconds will hold the needle still. However with a bad battery with a load on it, the needle will slowly go down.

[dman]

When it comes to dealers and electrical problems, good luck having them try to diagnose it. Electrical gremlins are probably the most difficult and time consuming to troublshoot for a dealer as sometimes it is very difficult to pinpoint the problem area...wires run everywhere. However with mechanical parts, you can usually find the problem very quickly. Thus, anytime you have electrical problems AND you have aftermarket electronics installed, the dealers are much more willing to pass blame on the aftermarket stuff rather than to troubleshoot. Face it dealers for warranty work are paid on a flat rate based on typical troubleshooting and fixing times. When it comes to electrical problems, a dealer can easily exceed the flat rate time at which point the dealer is losing money by spending any additional time on that vehicle.

[smoke_armada]

dealer near me had to jump a titan on their lot to let me test drive. i doubt it's a coincidence.

[ski_freak]

Glad I bought a portable jump box for my F-150 last year. Sounds like I may need it for the Titan as well.