I just bought my h3 about 3 weeks ago. When I bought it they had to jump it for the test drive. Said they left a doom light on. Well I drove it everyday was fine. Set in my garage for two days went out to start it, and completely dead. I called the dealership, said they just put a new battery in it. Well after hours of charging it with my Marine Charger I got it to start. Went to auto zone to have battery tested and it read fine. Drove it for a week no problems. Just had my wisdom teeth out two days ago, went out tonight to run some errands and it is completly dead...again! What do you think the problem is. Its an 06 with 22k miles, faulty alternator? I have an appt monday to get them to replace the "A" coils hopefully they'll fix whatever is wrong!? Just sucks I finally get the truck of my dreams and im going threw all these damn problems. Any help would be apprecitated!

 

My first thought is to ask you about your wisdom teeth......I have one I have to get extracted.

Batteries in our new cars just don't last that long, and if that one in your 06 Hummer is original I wouldn't care what that tester said the time they actually did the test, I'd put a new battery in. The dealer should provide you with that in my opinion.
That BS about the light being left on wouldn't cut it with me, after all, the Hummer has battery run down protection.If the light inside was left on, the power would have been cut off to it long before it would drain the battery down.

Of course have the belts checked for tightness and you can also put a meter on the battery while the Hummer is running and see if you are getting around 13.2 volts.

 

I have 48,000 miles on my 06 H3 and it still has the original battery. It sounds like some serious electrical issues. I would buy the extended warranty. Let us know what happens?

 

They said the put a new battery in it but did they? Should last longer but like anything else they do develop internal shorts. Try charging the battery, unhook the cables and let it sit that way for a few days. Then see if it starts. Now you have qualified the battery.

It does sound as though you may have more than a normal amount of draw with the vehicle turned off. Current drain on the battery can be checked with an ammeter. Make sure the ignition is off, then disconnect one of the battery cables. Connect one ammeter lead to the battery and the other to the cable. The normal current drain on most vehicles should be about 25 milliamps or less. If the key-off drain exceeds 100 milliamps, there's an electrical problem that requires further diagnosis most likely.

 

When I was having some engine work done on mine at the dealer, the service writer and I wanted to test several new vehicles on the lot to see if they had the same engine noise. More than half would not start because of a dead battery.

 

Here's an interesting story that may help. I bought an '08 Alpha. While still new, and parked in my garage, the battery would die overnight. Nothing was left on, and I couldn't explain it. Took it to the dealer, they checked it out, and determined no problems. After this happened several more times, I discovered the problem. Being parked in a locked, attached garage, I leave my keys in the ignition. Turns out that if you push the key into the ignition, it rotates slightly over to the accessory position, and causes the battery to drain overnight. I went back to the dealer, and told them I must have a bad ignition switch. He went into the showroom, and out into the lot, and EVERY H3 he tried, did the same thing! Including '09's! He could'nt explain, and agreed something wasn''t right. Being an automotive engineer, I concluded, this must have been an ongoing problem, that was never pointed out to GM because 99% of people remove their keys when parked. Try this yourself. Push firmly on the end of the key, with one finger, into the ignition, and you'll feel it cam/rotate into the accessory position.

 

when i leave my car and put my key in my pocket,,,i have to take it back out and see it b4 closing the door, i cant stand locking keys in a car.
with autolock features i never really know when the vehicle will decide to lock up!

years ago you had to use a key to lock a ford, thus"you cant lock your keys in a ford"

the h3 book mentions not leaving key in ignition when storing for a while. there is some circuitry that monitors the "key in" situation", i think even if not turned by the cam action.
so,,, i have a spare in my wallet,,one hidden on the frame and i got 2 xtra remotes that i cant program,,yet.

lets see now if i can hide a switch to unlock the door,,,
maybe ill feel safe.
with all the brains in this machine its hard to see how a batt could get killed without a defect somewhere.
tom
btw my h3 goes over 15.4v on startup, kind of dangerous for some electronics?

running about 13.9 or 14+.
a good test is monitor volts with a dvm and turn lights on/off. volts dip briefly and MUST go back up right away or the alt is suspect..
i miss good old ammeters!

one more btw: if a hummer dealer says they left a dome light on they are a dumb *** , or lying
and i would not trust them again.

 

FUBAR, I too have a 2006 now with 23K. It has given me battery issues since I have had it. The OEM battery quickly died. I put in a (red top) Optima. If I don't drive it every day, it will be dead in about 2 weeks. I have had various things check and looked for serious parasitic draws, but I can't find how to resolve it. I have had to implement a number of band-aid solutions: (1) I have roadside assistance, (2) I carry a jump pack and jumper cables, (3) put a shut-off block/switch on the negative terminal, and (4) a CTEK battery maintainer. I also just bought a new Optima (sitting in the garage on the maintainer at the moment) in case winter is a tough one. The jump pack has save me more times than I can count. The shut-off is a definite need when I leave it at the airport. (The shut-off has a couple of negative affects for me: (1) you lose your radio, clock, etc. settings, and (2) I getting sparks when attaching the jump pack.)

 

OK heres the update!!! I drove to the Hummer dealership this morning and told them the situation. (this is not where i bought it) my warranty was up as of oct. They tested the battery (which is new) and have concluded that the "radio's" (6 disc changer) amp is not shuting off when the truck is turned off thus draining the battery. They would not fix my hummer which has 23k and is two months out of warranty!!! BS! I then drove 30 min to the dealership I bought it from, I explain to them the situation, they don't believe it has anything to do with the radio and said they will not cover the charge's of fixing it. wtf... so i just bought a hummer with a defective radio that no one will fix when I have only had it for 3 weeks. The lexus dealer I bought it from is trying to get a GM dealer to look at it, but who knows? until then.... looks like im jumping it, if it sits longer than a day! Great! So all of you that have this problem with a 6 disc changer may have the same problem I am having, none the less a Hummer is what I have always wanted ever since being in the Marine Corps but I mean damn, I dealt with clogged drains which lead to water all over me and my floor board, and now a faulty radio that I have to jump every other day, this is turning into a nightmare. Thanks for all of your help though.

 

chameleon... the wisdom tooth exraction isn't too bad, i recommend going under completely, which is what I did. But the vicodin is always nice afterwards!!!