When I don't drive my 2007 Buick Lucerne for a wk the battery goes dead

Asked by dotty Oct 06, 2008 at 10:24 PM about the 2007 Buick Lucerne V6 CXL FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

AAA tells me this is normal, that I have to drive the car at least every 3 days.  The service dept at dealership has never heard of this problem.

24 Answers

2,375

Sounds like a paraitic drain on your battery. 1st check to see that all lights and other electronics are off. The next thing to do would be to check your battery's charge make sure your alternator is charging it completely and that your battery is still good. Beyond that it's best to check with a local mechanic. Your battery shouldn't lose charge over 3 days, that's rediculous.

5 people found this helpful.
275

Unless it is a bad battery, it is definitely a parasitic drain, but since it is a 2007 the chances that it is the battery is slim to nil. Go to the dealership and tell them they must be idiots if they can't figure that out.

5 people found this helpful.
16,725

Pickup a multimeter and check current flow at the positive terminal. Should be nearly non-existent with the car off... You can likely find an exact value or check another car for an approximate value. My multimeter is fried atm and I can never remember the amp range. (DO NOT TRY TO READ THE CURRENT WITH THE CAR ON!) Self discharge on a crappy lead acid is only ~20% a month It could be only chargeing the battery to just above the starting point... In which case the voltage between your terminals with the car running will only be in the low 12's when it should be over 13.

5 people found this helpful.
160

I have the same problem with my 2007 Buick Lucerne. It has been in the shop three times and has had both the ignition switch and the battery replaced and the new battery goes dead, too. This also happens if I do not drive the car every few days. It IS ridiculous.

16 people found this helpful.
18,985

try the glove box light... i've had that switch stay on at times on the LeSabre. disconnect it and see if the drain goes away. hope it helps.. good luck

10 people found this helpful.
80

Father has 2007 Lucerne with same problem. AAA came out to jump start the car and check the battery and told me that because of the computers there is a continuous drain of .03 amps even when everything is shut off so the car needs to be started 2x per week for about 1/2 hour to prevent the battery from dying.

8 people found this helpful.
2,855

When key off there should be a small amout drawn, but if you have it running atleast 30mins twice a week you have a problem. All computers should turn off so you might have a problem with one of computers staying on.

4 people found this helpful.
750

I have the same car, but today is the first time I have tried to start it in 2 weeks, it started right up as normal. And the outside temperature was above 20 degrees for the first time in weeks.

6 people found this helpful.
705

The owners manual states that if you do not start and drive the car for a 20 day period, then you should disconnect the battery because the normal non running time amperage draw will cause it to completely discharge. I found this out the hard way - after a 30 day camping trip with the car left in the garage. The every three day start recommended by AAA is BS. You need to get a new dealership if they cannot help you. There are two scenarios that could cause your problem - in my opinion; excessive current draw when sitting in your garage or a bad battery. If this happened to me and my dealer told me that they never heard of this before and sent me on my way, then I would NEVER have them service my vehicle again.

8 people found this helpful.
7,495

ur battery is done with i think. is it an old one. the charge on ur battery, just doesn't remain. http://www.buick-lucerne.com/

4 people found this helpful.
70

I've got a 2004 Lucerne and I have the same problem. The battery was replaced because of a bad cell, but the new battery drained after about two weeks and needed to be jumped. I've been told to start and run the car at least weekly for at a minimum 30 minutes to help keep it charged.

7 people found this helpful.
18,985

just as the car is now closing in on 4 years old, i'm noticing my battery is slightly draining to the point where my remotes do not function. a long drive , and all remote functions are restored. it seems that all the functions of the radio, onstar, remote receiver, and other items must be slowly draining the battery. as the battery gets older, it naturally discharges faster.

6 people found this helpful.
80

We have a 2008 and change the battery and the same problem.

8 people found this helpful.
200

This is a common problem with the Lucerne (Dead Battery). Before you spend hundreds trying to check everything under the sun, pull the Onstar fuse. If you're not using the "Onstar", pull the red 10 amp Onstar fuse and your Battery problems may be over. It's under the back seat near the Battery. The Onstar system is always drawing power from the Battery, even when it's off. Worked for me.

20 people found this helpful.
100

2008 Buick Lucy CXL a nightmare car for me, mega $$$$$ to repair, only 169 k on it . Battery probs same as above. Tranny even exploded , all kinds of S--- SHEEEESH! Thanks for the help. Will try and charge the batt. By the way I can;t get the key out of the ignition.????? On.Canada.

10 people found this helpful.
40

check the lights on sunviser were the mirror is some of the lights will be on if up or down.

4 people found this helpful.
80

I fixed my problem on my 2006 Lucerne by simply pulling the radio fuse. Its a hassel because when I travel long distance, i just plug the fuse back in. Does anyone know if the on star fuse is tied to the radio? Im thinking about trying to remove it and leaving the radio fuse plugged in. Sucks to not have a radio around town.

8 people found this helpful.
40

good info shared above. my situation is similar with my sons 2006 Lucerne cxl...bought it summer 2017 (dealer put in new duralast gold as part of sale). Dec'17 car is dead (battery weak) got it to jump couple of times. now(jan'18) bought and installed a new duralast gold battery and car started right up... ran it for 5mins. my son called an hour later .. no lights, car wont start at all. maybe a fuse or other electrical issue here... gotta go back and check connections, maybe return battery if weak (possible lemon?), but given history seems something with car has gone awry. will try pulling fuses as suggested above, while chcking for anything blown.

3 people found this helpful.
40

former gm mechanic) Looked at a 2006 lucerne. Narrowed down draw to feed from rear fuse block. (pulled aux bat. cable to r.block light goes out. pulling onstar fuse cuts draw in aprx. half. (test light in series) pulled all other fuses for shitsandgiggles, draw still there,(short in fuseblock ?)Battery compartment and floor have been full of water.(drained a.c. nipple/elbo. Need to check heated washer module)

4 people found this helpful.
20

I have 2006 Terraza Buick....same crap and new batteries come / go - its the dog that is to blame......

2 people found this helpful.
30

I kept having a problem with the electric fuel pump relay overheating until it ruin the fuse block got a new one have had no more problems had to saw off the clamp under the seat so it wasn't hit the fuse block recommendations in dealer TSB also saw problems with wiper fluid heater when researching my problem this may be causing high current draw with the engine off it also has a TSB or maybe even a recall they finally did a recall for the electric fuel pump relay and fuse block, hope this helps.

3 people found this helpful.
10

Same problem with my father in laws. 2007 Buick Allure. 2 amp draw overnight. Garage can't locate issue. Checking fuses one at a time with a multi meter on battery . Crazy he has to boost his car to get it started

1 people found this helpful.
90

I bought a low mileage 2008 Buick Lucerne in Fall of 2019. First issue was replacing back seat fuse box with low profile fuel pump relay and trimming seat brackets according to bulletin. Had to also replace one ignition coil and ignition module. Replaced serpentine belt and water pump and flushed radiator also at this time. Then I replaced the battery. During winter 12 degree temps noticed that car was slow in response to start. Tested new battery and showed only 60%. Returned battery and exchanged for new one. Car slow response starting issue started again. Starter and alternator checked out as okay. Then checked for parasitic drain. Read lots of discussions on line. One person commented about OnStar as a parasitic drain. So, pulled out fuse for OnStar (I don't subscribe for OnStar) and have not have an issue with battery drain since. Hope this helps someone else. Was thinking my red Buick Lucerne should have been painted lemon yellow. I hope to have no more issues for quite a while.

7 people found this helpful.

I inherited my mom's 2008 buick lucerne cxl, which she inherited from her aunt. Only 60k miles. My husband and I have had the car now for ourselves for 2 years. It would get driven 2 to 3 days a week Max. Two months ago, we started having problems where it wouldn't start after sitting for days. Mom had the car for 4 years before she passed, and she only drove it once a week and never had this problem. Anyway, our mechanic first thought it was the battery so he replaced it. And then it happened again and my husband got stuck. When we got the car home, we took the passenger side visor off completely and unplugged it because the cover for the light had come off 2 years ago and we had found a way to keep that little button pushed in so the light doesn't come on, but when it wouldn't start with a brand new battery in it we thought it must be draining the battery and we didn't realize ite thought, hence we just removed it But that wasn't it. So we took it in in our same mechanic, he hooked up the meter and started pulling fuses one at a time to try to figure out where the parasitic drain is. At first it registered that it was some kind of fuse box or circuit board under the back seat so he ordered one and installed it, but that wasn't the problem, so he took it out, and sent it back. He pondered a bit more has he worked on other vehicles, and last week my sister told him about an article she'd read about the OnStar being a problem in other vehicles so he said he would try it. Today, 6 weeks after we drop the car off there to him, he let us know he tried the OnStar but that was not a problem, then he had taken out the radio and after sitting for 4 days without the radio the car started right up. So he ordered a new radio. Now that I'm reading about this on the internet I can't believe there are so many articles about radios being the reason behind a parasitic drain. I just wonder why, after all these years ... would it suddenly be a problem? Why do radios do this?

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