Dead Battery = Computer Dump

I parked my '04 Suburban at the airport for 10 days while we were out of the country and came back to a dead battery. When we tried to jump start it, I got a "unrecognized Driver" message on the computer when I put the key into the ignition. The motor would only turn over a few times and then quit. We tried everything including 'resetting' the key by holding it for 20 seconds- something Onstar seemed to think might help. In the end we had to have it towed to a dealer and a new battery installed along with the computer reprogrammed. My question is why does the computer dump when the battery goes dead? The dealer claimed this only happens 20 per cent of the time.:banghead:

software bugs, the dealer is likely putting a firmware patch in the computer which will prevent the driver from being locked out from the system. this is a known issue with GM and will likely result in a free dealer repair/reprogram. however the tow bill will likely still remain. another thing the dealer may do at their discretion is put a new computer in there with a better version of "non-volitile" memory (will hold memory without power applied)

your burb already has non-volitile memory as do most other computerized vehicles to an extent, yours however only covers the function of engine management, optional settings are not stored, and the method that the on star operator gave you should have worked except there was a bug in the firmware, which prevented you from reprograming it.

10 days should not cause your battery to drain below the minimum of 9 volts your computer requires and it may be time to upgrade from that factory AC delco battery.
in my experience factory AC delcos just suck, however a replacement AC delco battery is usualy long lived.
im personaly a fan of Interstate batteries and wont run anything else.
you may also want them to check for parasitic amp draw, this is a measure of how much power is used with the vehicle off. generaly speaking a suburban with a memory function radio, and the computer should together use maybe .05 amps MAX if youve got more than that your battery will prematurely die
i hope this helps your situation and i appoligize for rambling

A known problem? What I got from the dealer is they 'reloaded' the computer and did not indicate any patches or updates were installed. I have searched the web to find out about this but have come up with nothing. Where can I find out more about this 'known problem?' I shelled out $320 for a new battery and the 'reload'.

A known problem? What I got from the dealer is they 'reloaded' the computer and did not indicate any patches or updates were installed. I have searched the web to find out about this but have come up with nothing. Where can I find out more about this 'known problem?' I shelled out $320 for a new battery and the 'reload'.

For a small fee attatched.
Ask your dealer for a copy of any known problems or TSB's on it.
If they do not help you you can find them in a All data sub.
24.95$ us plastic and set up in 10 minutes with updates on tsb's for a year plus all other repair info.

http://www.alldata.com/products/diy/index.html

or try
[www.mygmlink.com] (http://www.mygmlink.com%5D)