2001 Grand Am GT losing battery charge

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jadams5214

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Hi everyone new to the forum just had an issue I was hoping someone could give me guidance on. I have a 2001 Grand AM GT and am the original owner.

I had been traveling for a week and the car would not start except when being jumped when I got back. It was fine for a couple days then same issue. Took it to shop and battery was almost dead so got a new one. Checked alternator which tested fine. Car was OK for about 2 weeks the the same issue reappeared. Took it back to shop and everything tested fine. Also checked fuses and none were blown.

The shop referred to someone who dealt more with electrical issues. He did a quick phantom draw but could not find anything. I noticed when driving car that the rear view mirror reading lights stayed on even when I turned them off. After jiggling the wire they would go off but then come on shortly thereafter. Of course this is a model where those lights come on after closing the car door so I could never get them to shut off permanently. I figured that was the cause of draining the battery so I simply unplugged the power source from the back of the rearview mirror.

Fully charged battery again and car started up fine for a few days. Then today went out and again it will not start without being jumped. Not sure what direction to go next as there must be something draining the battery but I don't know what it could be. Nothing is left on like headlights, I have no aftermarket radios, alarms or anything either.

The guy I took it to said the next step is a long phantom draw which takes 1 1/2 days where everything is completely shut down then trying to figure out what is going on.

I am not an expert like many on here so just wondering if there are any suggestions on how to proceed other than what I am doing. I still like the car and up until now it has been great, but am wary of putting much money into an 11 year old Grand AM as I know electrical system issues can be costly.

Any help would be appreciated and sorry for the rambling story...
 
assuming you really have a good battery and alternator, they should be able to detect a phantom/parasitic draw on the battery. You then pull one fuse at a time till you no longer have the draw and you know which circuit is causing the problem. Should not take 1 1/2 days!
 
Got report back from tests and the new isn't good --- The problem was tracked to Body Control Module which is $330 + labor to place plus $125 for reprogramming. This is definitely a problem but possibly not the only problem. Already paid $100 for the test so I am looking at over $600 to maybe get things fixed.

Was wondering if trying to circumvent the problem would be an effective and obviously much cheaper solution. One option is to buy a battery charger that would hopefully prevent the battery from constantly draining and allowing the car to start.

Or to put a switch on the the battery post where I can just turn it off/on when necessary which is more convenient that unhooking the battery cable constantly.

Any suggestions on how to proceed?
 
The battery charger sounds like the better choice. Disconnecting the battery might cause certain things in memory, clock for example, to be lost.
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a dealer ship will not charge the 125....just the module and 1 hr install time.
 
Unexpected update - the culprit is the BCM was a victim of water intrusion! Recently moved to an area where I am forced to park outside so somehow water infiltrated the housing of the unit and fried part of the module.

I am a bit surprised the car will even start up and run.

Have never had any known leaks through the front window, hood or anywhere else so not sure water got in there. Hesitant to replace the BCM as if it is a recurring leak the same problem can reoccur.

Thinking about it I don't really have a practical way to plug in a charger where I am living now. So I guess the only step left is to put in a shut off switch even though it might not be the best or most convenient option with the issues with the radio resetting and other potential problems.

Just not sure of any other practical solution until I am in a place where I can plug in a charger or be relatively certain that a new BCM won't suffer the same fate...
 
if your a/c works that could be the cause,let it run a while and see if you have proper drainage under the car or if water is building up inside.
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Thanks for the suggestions -

Nothing to do with the A/C as it does work but I don't use it.

Have always wondered about moisture getting around the fresh air intake as it seems to be poorly designed. Lived out West since owning the car where it rarely rained and car was always garage parked at home/work.

Moved to Florida this summer and am parked outside which leads me to believe this could be the issue. Will have to try and test the water deflector and see if there is issue...
 
Put in a kill switch for the battery and will try that for now even though it's a hassle.

Rearview mirror lights still stay on constantly so disconnected those for good and car alarm lock sound no longer works.

Also the ABS warning light popped up the first time I drove car after putting in the switch. First time that warning light as ever come up.

Obviously the car is having tons of trouble communicating just not confident that merely putting in a new BCM will totally fix the issues and that it won't have water leak into a new one. Guess I will just see what happens next...
 
Well the battery kill switch didn't work for long. It was fine for 2 days.

Then today drove about 3 miles to store. On the way home the entire car just shut down driving 45mph on the road. All of the dashboard warning lights came on, the radio shut off and gauges went off. Car then would not restart and had to tow it.

I am thinking the battery kill switch caused something in the security system of the car to shut down so it's back to the idea of possibility getting another BCM board.

Any suggestions on where to get a used, reconditioned board which I would just need to get reprogrammed instead of buying a brand new one?
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An update on my Grand Am ---

Went ahead of got a new BCM, had it programmed at the dealer. The rear view mirror dome lights immediately worked properly, my car alarm chirp returned and the car seemed fine.

4 days later, I go out to start the car and again it won't start. The battery is dead once again.

Any suggestions on what else to try to find what draw is causing a fully charged battery to drain so quickly?

The money spent is quickly adding up and I still don't have a car that will start for more than 3 days in a row...
 
Update on Grand Am. Still having same issues with battery drain and have no clue what to do. After putting in new BCM and alternator the car ran fine for about a week. Rearview mirror lights stopped coming on automatically and I thought the car was OK.

Battery went dead again so I put a different battery in thinking that could be the issue. Drove it every other day for a week and car was running fine.

Went out today after 1 night of it being idle and again it didn't start. Not enough enough juice left in battery to operate alarm, radio or anything. Car started up strong the day before and ran fine, alternator is charging battery properly.

No lights are on and I have no aftermarket add ons in the car.

I noticed a strange clicking sound while i had the key in ignition. It even continued after I took key out. The security light did come on but nothing else happened. Jumped car again and it started right up and ran fine.

Mechanic is out of ideas and I know taking it back to the dealer will be costly. Worst part is I have spent tons of money and still have no clue what is causing battery to drain.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated...
 
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