battery dead after lights on for 15 minutes??

[canadave]

So I was at a place tonight, turned off the ignition, left the lights on, met someone I was buying an iPhone from, thought it would take 2 minutes, wound up having to go to the guy's apartment to get his SIM card out, couldn't find the little tool to open the iPhone SIM card door, yadda yadda. I was gone 15 minutes. I come back to my 04 Vibe, and the keyless entry won't work and the car won't start! Needed to call CAA, get a boost, etc. Boosted fine.

Is it normal for the Vibe to run out of juice after the lights are on without the engine running for just 15 minutes?? That seems really short....! Is it time for a new battery??

[ColonelPanic]

Nope, not normal. Do your auto parts stores up there do free load testing? You may have a bad cell in the battery - I had similar symptoms on one of my old cars and that was the problem.

Any ideas how old the battery is?

[canadave]

Was afraid of that. No clue how old it is; I'd imagine there's a good chance it's the original battery (just bought the car a month ago from someone).

I guess it's not a disaster if I have to buy a new battery....just was hoping it wasn't something like the alternator or something like that.

[Water boy]

I'll put the odds on the battery. Check the water level.
Check the brand. There might be some prorated warranty time left on it.

Theoretically, you only need the battery to actually spin the starter. Once the engine is running the alternator gives it what it needs.

[thebarber]

The caa guy should have tested your battery for free...

And if you buy a battery from them right there, the boost wouldn't have counted as one of your emergency uses...

[Salsa Guy]

Just this weekend my dad's 08 LS460 battery died while visiting me. He was pissed because he just paid Lexus dealership $600 to check out the car.

[thebarber]

Just this weekend my dad's 08 LS460 battery died while visiting me. He was pissed because he just paid Lexus dealership $600 to check out the car.

I'd be going back Tuesday morning and asking them (removed) they actually DID inspect.

[canadave]

Wow.....!

Well, my wife and I swapped out the battery ourselves today. I am stunned at how poorly designed the battery "holder arm" is on the 2004 Vibe!

For those not aware, there's a "hook" that dangles down (is screwed down) from a flat metal arm that extends over the battery and holds it in place. This hook has to latch into a little hole down somewhere in the dark, squirreled in amongst hoses, pipes, etc.

It is practically impossible to see the little hole to latch the hook into. My wife has much better fine motor skills than I do, and it was like those carnival games trying to grab the stuffed animal in the glass case with the claws. After about 5 minutes she was cursing the Vibe, the designer of the Vibe, the people who made the latch, etc etc.

What a retarded way to secure the battery!!

[zythr]

Wow.....!

Well, my wife and I swapped out the battery ourselves today. I am stunned at how poorly designed the battery "holder arm" is on the 2004 Vibe!

For those not aware, there's a "hook" that dangles down (is screwed down) from a flat metal arm that extends over the battery and holds it in place. This hook has to latch into a little hole down somewhere in the dark, squirreled in amongst hoses, pipes, etc.

It is practically impossible to see the little hole to latch the hook into. My wife has much better fine motor skills than I do, and it was like those carnival games trying to grab the stuffed animal in the glass case with the claws. After about 5 minutes she was cursing the Vibe, the designer of the Vibe, the people who made the latch, etc etc.

What a retarded way to secure the battery!!

How does that pertain to the poor design?

[canadave]

I'm really not sure what your question is referring to. I'm saying that there had to have been a better way to design the battery holder so that you don't have to screw a long hook piece down, when the hole where said hook piece is supposed to latch on to is impossible to see clearly. On other cars there's a simple nut and bolt or bracket. It was frustrating.

[thebarber]

Toyota FTW

[jake75]

Wow.....!

Well, my wife and I swapped out the battery ourselves today. I am stunned at how poorly designed the battery "holder arm" is on the 2004 Vibe!

For those not aware, there's a "hook" that dangles down (is screwed down) from a flat metal arm that extends over the battery and holds it in place. This hook has to latch into a little hole down somewhere in the dark, squirreled in amongst hoses, pipes, etc.

It is practically impossible to see the little hole to latch the hook into. My wife has much better fine motor skills than I do, and it was like those carnival games trying to grab the stuffed animal in the glass case with the claws. After about 5 minutes she was cursing the Vibe, the designer of the Vibe, the people who made the latch, etc etc.

What a retarded way to secure the battery!!

Actually it is so simple a caveman can do it. I was able to change my own battery on my 2003. "Caveman Jake".

[Doug14]

I had trouble with the battery tie-down the first time, but after that it becomes much easier, especially with an intake.

[Water boy]

Battery hold-downs are a no-brainer actually.
Once the car leaves the factory it is never touched again under warranty so why make it customer friendly?
Beside, the bean-counters are in charge of the designing after the engineers did their final drawing.