Bought a pontiac torrent about 5 days ago from a dealership. Yesterday, it completely went dead. The car wouldn't start, and the key got stuck. It was not turning over at first, but the lights were still coming on and flashing, then an hour later went to start it, again, and nothing. Not even the lights were coming on. The day before it was saying 'service stabilitrak' 'service traction control' and 'service battery charger' or something along the lines.My Dad took the battery to go get it checked and it read a bad battery, so I paid to get a new one. The vehicle will start, now, but halfway to my dad's house after driving it (12 miles), the 'battery charging system' light came on, again! This is so frustrating, the dealership is no help, I use this vehicle for my son/work, etc. I don't want to take it to a shop because they all charge high dollar around here, and they never do a good job. People always have problems with them. What could possibly be the problem?
Since the battery has been changed, touch the battery terminals with a volt meter set @ 20 volts. If the alternator is charging properly with the engine running the volt meter should read between 13.5 - 14.2 volts
No warranty? Is it Charging or over charging? Volt meter while running should be 13.5 to 14.6 volts DC even when reved up. If out of range, alternator is suspect. Cars control units hate the wrong voltage, especially over charging and make systems, like the lights, go haywire. Hope this helps.
It sounds like a bad alternator, many local stores like advanced auto parts test the charging system for free. If this is not the issue, there could be a draw somewhere. A draw is when there is an electrical problem, and over time, it kills the battery.
A bad charging auto battery system will burn up a new battery by overcharging. Put a voltmeter on the battery when not trying to start the car and you should measure at least or barely under 12VDC. When the car is running and using the voltmeter you should measure app. 13.6VDC or a tiny bit less. The charger has to turn on and turn off to charge the battery to specs without letting it go dead or letting it blow up.
