# New Battery, cables clean, starting problems



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Follow the negative battery cable back to where it connects to the frame. If it's painted that may be the source of your problem. Also, several members have reported bad battery cables, especially the negative cable.


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## bradleygt89 (Dec 11, 2013)

thanks, will check that.

I just re-looked at the connection. The 'little' cable that connects at the post/terminal (sorry don't know what it is called :dazed052 had some corrosion around it's bolt. I took a wire brush and cleaned as good as could, and made sure connections were tight. Was able to start 8 times in a row successfully. But I'll check that negative cable and plan to replace if non-start happens again. Cannot have wife stranded. Not good


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## carbon02 (Feb 25, 2011)

The bolts that "crimp" the battery cable to the post are actually non metallic "aluminum I believe" These are pretty soft and easily strip. When trying to permanently attach my battery tender junior I stripped one of these bolts. I used a standard bolt for replacement, and had to grind the head of the bolt to get it to fit the backside of the negative wire at the battery post.

The bolts that are part of the battery cables at the posts could have been so much better.


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

bradleygt89 said:


> thanks, will check that.
> 
> I just re-looked at the connection. The 'little' cable that connects at the post/terminal (sorry don't know what it is called :dazed052 had some corrosion around it's bolt. I took a wire brush and cleaned as good as could, and made sure connections were tight. Was able to start 8 times in a row successfully. But I'll check that negative cable and plan to replace if non-start happens again. Cannot have wife stranded. Not good


Hey there,

Glad to hear that everything seems to be going well so far. Please let me know if you need any further assistance with this in the future. I would be happy to reach out to the dealership on your behalf. 

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## bradleygt89 (Dec 11, 2013)

Chevy Customer Care said:


> Hey there,
> 
> Glad to hear that everything seems to be going well so far. Please let me know if you need any further assistance with this in the future. I would be happy to reach out to the dealership on your behalf.
> 
> ...



We are actually having same the same problem still. Is this covered by powertrain warranty or recall?


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

bradleygt89 said:


> We are actually having same the same problem still. Is this covered by powertrain warranty or recall?


Hey bradleygt89,

I would be happy to look into this further for you. Please feel free to reach out to me via private message and include your VIN, current mileage, contact information and the preferred dealership. Looking forward to hearing from you soon. 

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## carbon02 (Feb 25, 2011)

It sounds like this is the exact issue that the "special extended Battery Cable Warranty" covers. Take a look on the site, the info was just posted. Dealer to replace negative cable, 10 years 120K miles I believe.


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## bradleygt89 (Dec 11, 2013)

I'm back, again on this issue. So we took it to our local Chevy dealer, where I had worked and bought the Cruze, yesterday. We were starting to have that same 'intermittent starting/clicking' issue again. The dealership DID replace the Neg cable. BUT, as I left the dealership today and made a quick stop at a store, when came out, same issue; just a click. DId that twice, on the 3rd time, it started. 

When got home, was unable to replicate the issue. Car sat for about 30 mins, wife went out to leave, Cruze wouldn't start. Clicked about 4-6 times, then finally turned over.

So here we are:

- 15 month old battery.
- Brand New Negative Cable.
- Charge is good (between 13.2- 14.2 when running)
- No DIC messages.
- No other issues.

?????? What the heck could this be?


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

bradleygt89 said:


> when came out, same issue; just a click. DId that twice, on the 3rd time, it started.
> 
> ...Clicked about 4-6 times, then finally turned over.


Sounds like classic starter solenoid to me. It will click from time to time. Over time, it will become more frequent and require more clicks before it takes.


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## bradleygt89 (Dec 11, 2013)

Interesting, and the service advisor, who has been there forever and I respect, seems to think it can only be from the 'neg cable' or 'a bad battery'. I asked twice when I called back up if there could be anything else in the starting system or electronics and he adamantly said 'no'  Said we could have the battery checked out though...but shouldn't they have done that already when replacing the neg cable??? Starting to get frustrated as it's not right around the corner, you know.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Maybe he hasn't been driving old enough cars. Both my prior rides did that at some point in their life. Quite possible that people stop taking their car to the dealer before that shows up.

The click is the solenoid engaging - but the contacts are bad/pitted so they're not making contact and the starter motor doesn't run. In the old cars, a power problem would result in a rapid series of clicks. But with newer computerized cars, it may cause a reset instead. Pay close attention to the brightness of the lights when the starter makes it's attempt. If they got out - it's bad power.


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

carbon02 said:


> It sounds like this is the exact issue that the "special extended Battery Cable Warranty" covers. Take a look on the site, the info was just posted. Dealer to replace negative cable, 10 years 120K miles I believe.


Exactly what I was going to say. Take it to the dealer and have them perform this work and see if it goes away. I just had mine done although I wasn't having problems starting.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

carbon02 said:


> It sounds like this is the exact issue that the "special extended Battery Cable Warranty" covers.


bradleygt89 has indicated it's been changed already. Also, if you look at the list of possible symptoms the bulletin gives, conspicuously missing is any difficulty in starting.


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## newsguy99 (May 24, 2013)

have them remove the battery and test it, out of the car. If on the car, during testing, it'll show fine. But testing for CCA, it'll fail! Bad battery. A cell inside has failed, and is not producing enough power to start the car. If put on the external testing machine, it'll show 0 CCA. 
I had the same issue with a '12 eco.

BTW, did your dash flash all sorts of messages, and do other weird things as well?


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

I think you can do a valid in-car test - but it's got to be done by a tester that looks like it's designed to dissipate some serious heat. A heater with a meter, not an piece of electronic test equipment.


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

ChevyGuy said:


> bradleygt89 has indicated it's been changed already. Also, if you look at the list of possible symptoms the bulletin gives, conspicuously missing is any difficulty in starting.


Despite what the bulletin says if you have a bad crimp on the negative battery cable I guarantee you will have starting problems on some of the cars.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

jsusanka said:


> Despite what the bulletin says if you have a bad crimp on the negative battery cable I guarantee you will have starting problems on some of the cars.


If the problem affects the large cable going to ground, I agree with you. But careful reading of the bulletin leads me to believe the problem is with the smaller cable headed off to the fuse box.

If the problem did affect the large ground cable, I find it difficult to believe that it could cause all those electrical glitches and not have a problem starting.


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## jsusanka (Jan 31, 2011)

ChevyGuy said:


> If the problem affects the large cable going to ground, I agree with you. But careful reading of the bulletin leads me to believe the problem is with the smaller cable headed off to the fuse box.
> 
> If the problem did affect the large ground cable, I find it difficult to believe that it could cause all those electrical glitches and not have a problem starting.


Yes you are right carefully read it says negative battery terminal. 

"ConditionOn certain 2011–2015 model year Chevrolet Cruze vehicles, the negative battery cable terminal clamp may have an insufficient crimp at the battery negative terminal. Over time, the internal resistance increases and vehicle electrical systems do not receive adequate power."

So to me negative battery terminal means terminal on the battery. If resistance does increase I could see it damaging some batteries too.


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## Nescafe (Mar 16, 2015)

I'm encountering this issue as well. Battery voltages from the digital display when off and at idle/running are all where they should be. I've only had it happen 3 times since i've gotten my cruze, but since I can't replicate the issue, and it could be either the pos/neg battery cables or solenoid, i'm going to wait and see how often it happens. 

One thing that seems strange is that other owners will have no lights or all their display lights on, but mine just shows a check engine light with no code... disappears when it starts up though.


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## bradleygt89 (Dec 11, 2013)

newsguy99 said:


> have them remove the battery and test it, out of the car. If on the car, during testing, it'll show fine. But testing for CCA, it'll fail! Bad battery. A cell inside has failed, and is not producing enough power to start the car. If put on the external testing machine, it'll show 0 CCA.
> I had the same issue with a '12 eco.
> 
> BTW, did your dash flash all sorts of messages, and do other weird things as well?


The battery is only 15 months old, should be good, but probably wouldn't hurt to have checked. As mentioned, they have replaced the neg cable under the service advisory.

No lights come on, the DIC hasn't given any weird indicators, and we no longer have to 'shake' or 'stir' the negative cable as before to get it to start.

Now, we just simply hear it 'click' about 3-5 times, then it will start on the 4 - 6th time, without any wiggling of the neg wire. So, while the inconvenience of opening the hood and playing w/ the cable has been reduced, it is still there, and I'm sure that the issue isn't healthy for the rest of the electronic systems.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

bradleygt89 said:


> Now, we just simply hear it 'click' about 3-5 times, then it will start on the 4 - 6th time, without any wiggling of the neg wire.


Is the click a loud click coming from the engine, or a soft click from a relay? Is it a click, pause, click, or is it more like a chatter as if something is clicking as fast as it can?

Here's an example of the "chatter" (it's due to low power/bad connection): 





If you get a loud sound like that, but just one click at a time, then I'd say solenoid (but usually replaced as part of the starter).


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## Chevy Customer Care (Oct 29, 2011)

Nescafe said:


> I'm encountering this issue as well. Battery voltages from the digital display when off and at idle/running are all where they should be. I've only had it happen 3 times since i've gotten my cruze, but since I can't replicate the issue, and it could be either the pos/neg battery cables or solenoid, i'm going to wait and see how often it happens.
> 
> One thing that seems strange is that other owners will have no lights or all their display lights on, but mine just shows a check engine light with no code... disappears when it starts up though.


Hello Nescafe, 

If you're still stumped and need a little more assistance, let me know! I would be more than happy to look into this more for you, and get you in touch with the dealership. Just send me over a private message along with your VIN, current mileage, contact information and preferred dealership. Looking forward to your updates! 

Patsy G
Chevrolet Customer Care


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## iedgar10 (Sep 25, 2014)

Did we ever find solution to this?


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