Dead Battery every 2-3 days.

[Ed226]

Hi, hope someone can help.
I have an '04 park avenue. Love the car but it's making me nuts! Every few days I have to recharge a dead battery. I did a parasitic draw test and found excessive power draw caused by the "HVAC programmer, instrument panel cluster SBM (275 to LCM) (1135 to BTSI SL) " because when I pulled that fuse the draw fell. Can this be connected to the fact the fuel gauge jumps back and forth when the fuel level is below 1/2 ? I hope ti's something I can fix, because , being retired I have all the time and none of the money.

 

[bigsky]

Can this be connected to the fact the fuel gauge jumps back and forth when the fuel level is below 1/2?

The jumping fuel gauge is (usually) caused by the "Fuel Sender," which is part of the fuel pump, though I believe it can be replaced separately. I used to have this problem when I regularly ran the fuel down to 1/8th a tank. The fuel itself lubricates this sender mechanism. I started keeping 1/4th a tank or more gas and the problem went away.

In your case, I would try keeping at least a half tank for a while and see if that Sender starts working better again. If you do have to replace it, there is an access panel at the bottom of the trunk to make the job easier.

 

[bigsky]

Every few days I have to recharge a dead battery. I did a parasitic draw test and found excessive power draw caused by the "HVAC programmer, instrument panel cluster SBM (275 to LCM) (1135 to BTSI SL) " because when I pulled that fuse the draw fell.

You may be on to the fix, but another thing to do is disable the OnStar. Some were getting dead batteries because defective OnStar modules were continuing to try and lock the location and running the battery down. The fix was to replace the faulty module. However, I believe the 04 is still one of the old Analog modules which does not work anymore for OnStar.

I disabled OnStar on my 03 PAU. First thing is to go under the back seat and remove a fuse. Two fuses are labeled as part of OnStar, one of them will also disable the radio. Pull the other one. I did this a couple years ago, so my memory is a bit foggy. Then you go into the trunk, remove the big black plastic trim to gain access to the OnStar, and remove a connector. I can't remember which one I removed, but if you really want to know, I can check it out.

I also disconnected the back window antenna, and removed the useless antenna from the window. I was not having battery drain problems, but read about others who did (Lucerne?), and decided to disable the obsolete OnStar setup.

 

[Ed226]

Thanks for all answers. I will fill the tank tomorrow.

 

[bigsky]

Thanks for all answers. I will fill the tank tomorrow.

There is a current thread in the LeSabre forum talking about the fuel sender:

http://buickforums.com/forums/threads/40770-04-LeSabre-quot-UNUSUAL-quot-fuel-gauge-reading

 

[STG44]

The fuel gauge jumping back and forth can also be the sign of a dying fuel pump. I learned this the hard way---getting
stranded. I wouldn't wait too long to get everything checked out. Pete

 

[brockala]

I have had the ever jumping fuel gauge arm. For 10 years and about 200K miles. I now just base my tank empty on the gallons burned. I am thinking about putting a good dose of "Stabile" in the tank as see if that makes it behave better.

 

[HotZ28]

I have had the ever jumping fuel gauge arm. For 10 years and about 200K miles. I now just base my tank empty on the gallons burned. I am thinking about putting a good dose of "Stabile" in the tank as see if that makes it behave better.

I would not waste my money on snake oil, or any other miracle cures! Unfortunately, the wiper fingers on the sending unit wear out, and can not be restored with fuel additives of any kind!

 

[FFarr]

I had a battery drain issue that drove me nuts for a month.
Turned out the ignition switch was worn and the accessories would stay on after the engine was turned off. I finally figured this out when the radio would continue to play and the windows would work even though the switch was off and key removed.

 

[bigsky]

I had a battery drain issue that drove me nuts for a month.
Turned out the ignition switch was worn and the accessories would stay on after the engine was turned off. I finally figured this out when the radio would continue to play and the windows would work even though the switch was off and key removed.

Not to be confused with the Retained Accessory Power (RAP) feature which does the same thing. The engine can be turned off and the key removed and one will still have accessory power for about 10 minutes, or until a door is opened.

 

[FFarr]

Not to be confused with the Retained Accessory Power (RAP) feature which does the same thing. The engine can be turned off and the key removed and one will still have accessory power for about 10 minutes, or until a door is opened.

What tipped me off was the stereo continued to play after I opened the door.

http://buickforums.com/forums/threads/34208-Battery-drain

 

[bigsky]

What tipped me off was the stereo continued to play after I opened the door.

http://buickforums.com/forums/threads/34208-Battery-drain

A "feature" one does not want to have...😀

 

[Ed226]

I would not waste my money on snake oil, or any other miracle cures! Unfortunately, the wiper fingers on the sending unit wear out, and can not be restored with fuel additives of any kind!

Yeah, I guess I'll just live with it.

as for the battery drain, it's not the RAP because the power goes out after I take out the key and open the door.