Pontiac 2008 G6 GT Coupe Will Not Start

[ponta2147]

On the off chance someone here can help us...We got home tonight after driving my car to the In-Laws for New Years day, and my husband went to get something out of his car and noticed that none of the electronics are working- upon further investigation, the car wouldn't start.I maneuvered my car into the neighbor's garage space and we hooked the two up to jump the car, let it run for a while, on the phone with someone who has done this before of course! Husband tried to start the car again after 5-6 min and it didn't start, but the interior lights were flashing and the cd player was flashing and shuffling. After another 5 min a second attempt was made with the same results.The car is around 36,100 miles (of course, just off warranty) and it's about 10 degrees here, if that info helps. The car has been sitting in the garage for about 3 days and it's been pretty cold.So, anyone's guess what the issue is? Google has turned up a few similar cases, people guessing it's the alternator or the battery itself. We're gonna investigate tomorrow but if anyone's got an idea now, that will help.This just confirms his car is cursed, IMHO. Was in for electronics issues for months when we bought it (new), it's been rear ended at least 4 times, been broken into, had the brake lights malfunction... yeah.

[JetBlack09VibeGT]

This happened to my G6 GT last year and it hasn't had the hard history that yours has. First, has it been really cold and has it been sitting for two or three days? If so did you leave anything plugged into the cigarette lighter even though it wasn't charging a thing? If so the cold weather and the low draw is just enough to crash the battery on the car. The G6 GT has so many electronics that are always on, i.e. Power seats, OnStar, alarm, remote start sensor, etc that too constantly draw on the battery. Again not enough to notice on a day to day basis but enough if the car sits in the cold for a couple of days. The Alternator shouldn't cause any issue to the car not starting... they are usually the cause of the car not being able to run after it starts. Batteries, however are very sensitive to the cold. Idling a car that is cold won't quickly charge a dead battery that has been jumped. You might need to drive around to get the car warmed up, preferably when you don't need to have the lights on, and with the radio and HVAC off. I hope this helps.

[kostby]

'Ragingfish', Mike Fishman, is a long-time GenVibe member who owns a G6 GT and also belongs to G6 forums. His email address posted in his GenVibe profile is 'ragingfish@gmail.com'.I'd suspect that some low-drain light or power-outlet device (phone recharger, mp3 player) was left on. It's possible that it's been on for days or weeks. Dome light, trunk light, map light on the mirror, glovebox light, underhood light. When the car is driven every day, the drain isn't enough to prevent it from starting. When it's not driven for several days, zap, and it won't start.I experienced this with my mother-in-law's Buick Century. It had the rear-view mirror map lights that come on anytime the button is pressed, even when the ignition is off. She drove the car rarely, and after months of being just fine, suddenly the battery was dead every time we tried to drive it. One of the maplight buttons was 'on'.I'd also guess that the post-jump-start gremlins are just because of low voltage. It would take 30 minutes or more of highway driving to recharge a mostly-discharged battery that will still hold a charge.Good luck!

[ponta2147]

Quote, originally posted by JetBlack09VibeGT »This happened to my G6 GT last year and it hasn't had the hard history that yours has. First, has it been really cold and has it been sitting for two or three days? If so did you leave anything plugged into the cigarette lighter even though it wasn't charging a thing? If so the cold weather and the low draw is just enough to crash the battery on the car. The G6 GT has so many electronics that are always on, i.e. Power seats, OnStar, alarm, remote start sensor, etc that too constantly draw on the battery. Again not enough to notice on a day to day basis but enough if the car sits in the cold for a couple of days. The Alternator shouldn't cause any issue to the car not starting... they are usually the cause of the car not being able to run after it starts. Batteries, however are very sensitive to the cold. Idling a car that is cold won't quickly charge a dead battery that has been jumped. You might need to drive around to get the car warmed up, preferably when you don't need to have the lights on, and with the radio and HVAC off. I hope this helps. That sound exactly like what happened- it has been very cold (teens and lower) and it hasn't been driven for three days, with the radar detector plugged into the cigarette lighter. I suspected those things had something to do with it, thanks for the confirmation.The jump from my car (which was just fresh from driving about an hour on the highway) didn't take on his car at all though, did we just not do it long enough? His engine didn't even start to be able to re-charge his own battery...Sorry for the dumb questions, I'm a raging n00b.

[JetBlack09VibeGT]

There comes a point with car batteries that when they go below a certain level, they might not come back via driving around and may need to be charged on a charger and sometime they won't come back at all. Your automotive parts store like Autozone or NAPA can help you with that. I know when this happened to me last winter, I drove the car for about an hour in the daylight so I could turn off the daytime running lights and along with everything else that I could think of that draws power like the radio and the heater until the engine began to give it a charge.

[DeClerq]

Quote, originally posted by ponta2147 »The car is around 36,100 miles (of course, just off warranty) I'm pretty sure it has a 5yr/100k mile powertrain warranty.

[ponta2147]

Quote, originally posted by DeClerq »I'm pretty sure it has a 5yr/100k mile powertrain warranty.Right, but 36,000 mile Bumper-to-Bumper warranty.

[bikeman1]

ponty: tell your husband he needs a Vibe.

[ponta2147]

Quote, originally posted by bikeman1 »ponty: tell your husband he needs a Vibe.Haha, actually he wants the GMC Terrain.

[Vibe_dude]

Quote, originally posted by ponta2147 »Haha, actually he wants the GMC Terrain. Good choice! Would love one too.

[RIT]

Most dealers will still warranty a repair for a car that is only 100 miles out of warranty, but to me, it sounds like the battery. Buy, or borrow a battery charger and hook the car up to it for several hours. Also, you can check the battery voltage when the car is just sitting. It should be 12.6 volts DC. If it is lower, most likely the battery is discharged - either from a light left on, or a faulty battery. You can laso check the battery when it is running. It should be about 14 volts DC. If it is lower, then it may be the alternator.Good luck, and report back the data.

[ponta2147]

Problem solved, it needed a new battery.The story: We tried a battery charger, which was registering a full charge. Thinking that odd, we checked it with a multimeter, showing about 10V until you opened the door where it dropped to 6V. So we took out the battery to Pep Boys who tested it and confirmed that it was only running 20cca (I get to learn new terminology!) sooo we got a new battery. It all works just fine.Lesson learned: drive the car more, unplug even the turned-off gadgets, especially in the cold.Now I get to deal with my XM malfunctioning... online refresh didn't work, so I get to call them tomorrow!

[RIT]

I don't think that you are to blame for the faulty battery - they just fail, similar to a lighbulb.Glad to hear that you are going again.

[Kincaid]

Congrats on an easy fix! (and a not very troubling problem). A real electrical gremlin is more disheartening than any other car problem, IMO.