2008 Saturn Vue, with out the key in the ignition the battery will discharge and needing to be jumped.

This only happens if you do not open the drivers side door. Does anyone know what is drawing the battery down when you turn of the car pull the key and sit wait for 30 minutes and the car battery dies.

What would still be drawing power. If waiting for children sports and just siting in the car will cause us to jump battery, only if we do not open the driver side door.

If we open the drivers side door then no issues.

Anyone with this issue in the past. Thanks in advance.

 

I owned a 2008 Vue XR for several years.

The first thing that comes to mind is that the entertainment system stays "live" after the ignition is turned off. This is true even after removing the key.

Opening the driver's door cuts the current to the entertainment system, presumably because the car's computer logic is such that the driver is considered to be exiting the vehicle only when the driver's door is opened after turning off the ignition and removing the key.

If you turn the vehicle off and sit in the driver's seat for 30 min without opening the door, it sounds like there is sufficient current drain through things being kept operational to kill the battery. Kind of like unintentionally leaving an older car in ACC where many systems became functional without the engine running, with the caveat that even if you used none of them, but left the ley in the ACC mode, the battery drain would eventually be enough to kill the battery.

Exactly what functions of the vehicle are in use during the 30 min waiting in the car w the driver's door closed?

Also, you will want to take your vehicle to Autozone or similar and have them run a load test on the car's charging system. You can only drain a battery so many times like this before it chemically cannot recover.

 

Thank you for the reply, Yes familiar with ACC systems. Just thought it was odd to be sitting in the car reading a book with all systems off waiting on the children (without opening the door) and the battery dies.
We did a load test on the battery and it ready (Ok).but the auto store did find some irregularities on the load test.
I would think the system would shut down after about 5 minutes with the ignition off and key removed with out opening the door.

My next step it to replace the battery before the snow falls.

I just wanted to know if I should be looking for a parasitic draw.or this is normal for a Saturn vue.

 

What irregularities in the load test?

Bad diodes in the alternator?

The above will drain your battery through the bad diodes to ground. It may be a case where you have a steady small current leaking to ground through the bad diodes in the alternator. Add to this a significantly larger draw to keep everything alive and you may be pushing past what the battery can withstand.

It is an evil case scenario but it is possible. I cannot say whether this is normal behavior 4 the vehicle but I sincerely doubt it. Most of these newer vehicles monitor the battery voltage continuously in order to ensure the battery does not get draggrd down to the point that it cannot start the vehicle the next time you get in.

The next time you are sitting there, hook up a voltmeter across the battery and prop the meter face up against the windshield so that you can observe how quickly the battery voltage is falling off with the door closed. You can also check if the battery voltage continues to drop after the door is opened. My suspicion is that the battery voltage is continuing to drop, only slower. Also do an overnight comparison of cold engine before bedtime and cold engine before starting in the morning. If they are drastically different then you know that Curry continues to leak even after you have opened the door and exited the vehicle.

I don't know how easy the following is on the vehicle. You can determine if the alternator is contributing to the drain of the battery bye disconnecting the lead that runs from the alternator output to the positive terminal of the battery. This is to be done with the vehicle off on an overnight test

 

Derf, you seem very knowledgeable about these vehicles. I have a 2008 Saturn Vue with 200, 000 + miles, the battery dies after it sits for as little as 24 hours. With that in mind the RPM's started to run very high, it seems like it is not down shifting. I have read some information that it could be as simple as adding transmission fluid? I went to start it today and it would not start, there was power going to the lights and accessories but would not turn over, it tried but then wouldn't even click. Any thoughts. I only drive this vehicle in the winter and not sure it is worth an expensive fix? She's been very reliable and I love this car.

 

If you only drive in the winter yeah, I'm going to guess that the vehicle does not get started very often throughout the rest of the year. This is the worst thing you can do for a car battery and any rechargeable battery in general. You can easily murder a brand new battery within a year if you either repeatedly drain it very very low then bring it back or simply leave it connected and do not start the vehicle to charge it up. Lead acid batteries rely on a chemical reaction to be able to store charge such that when there is a call for large current, the battery can supply it at 12 volts. When you drain your battery low enough, some of the chemicals are irreparably broken down and the capacity of charge that the battery can store is permanently reduced. If you drain a battery enough times or let it go extremely low, you end up with a battery that cannot store sufficient charge to start your vehicle.

Your other problems maybe related 2 insufficient voltage going to the computer. They are very finicky these days and a solid battery is a must. If you are reading this and thinking to yourself hey wait, once the car is running my alternator is supplying the vehicle with the current to run everything. That is true. But if your battery is unable to store charge above a given voltage, it will actually drag down the output from your alternator. Actually there will be a fight between the voltage regulator in the alternator but I believe that will lose the fight. You need sufficient current at the correct voltage for the circuit to operate properly. Not just the correct voltage and not just enough current. Needs to be both.

There is a possibility that some of the diodes on the output stage of your alternator are broken down and allowing current to backfeed through them to ground. When operating properly, the diodes only allow current to flow in one direction. When they break down, in this configuration, current can now run through them to ground.

Easiest test for a truly bad battery : remove the negative and then the positive lead from the battery posts. Isolate them from the posts on the battery. Read the DC voltage across the battery when you disconnect. Leave it overnight or a set number of hours at least 4 to 6, then measure the voltage.

You should start somewhere around 12.6. in general once you get down into the mid 11 volt range your car will not start. I accidentally left an abused repeatedly drained dead battery conneted for 5 months. When I went to read the voltage across it, it was 0.3 volts and slowly increasing because the multimeter when I was using to make the reading was charging the battery. If you try hard enough you can destroy pretty much anything.

If you are going to store your vehicle and not drive it, invest in a battery tender designed for an automotive battery. Install quick disconnects on your battery terminals. These allow you to completely disconnect the battery from the car without physically removing it. Be sure that you start the vehicle once a month. It will help keep all of the seals within the engine transmission from drying out and leaking. Also use sta-bil in the fuel you leave in the tank.

Ramble complete. Battery battery battery. If not battery, disconnect lead from alternator and see if discharge overnight changes

 

At first thought it was the battery, but it has been replaced 3 times. Any thoughts on the transmission?

 

The battery has been replaced three times because you let it drain down so low that it could not recover. What reason do you have to suspect that this year is any different than the last three? I gave you the alternator diode test as well.

I can't see it. I can't touch it. I can't perform the tests that I recommended. It's up to you whether you want to take the advice provided on the forum or not. I didn't write a 17-page response about your transmission because I believe it is collateral damage of having a bad battery.

Again, you have already killed three batteries. If you have treated this one as you treated the other three, why would I look anywhere else to start with?

I can't make you do the tests. That's your decision.

 

Your battery is shot and you probably need an alternator, as derf was saying.

What motor is in it? I've got ecotec parts for days.