Electrical behaviour

[whiteblazer95]

I have a 2000 Intrigue with a 3.5 in it. I noticed over the Easter weekend that it was starting slower than normal (slower crank). Yesterday it started its normal way - ran a quick errand to the bank and at the bank the car wouldn't start - totally dead. After sitting 5 minutes, I tried again and it started, no problem - but, the clock/radio was reset and the trip odometer was reset. I drive it home, cleaned the little viewport on the battery - no green light. I plugged in the charger overnight and today it started fine, but still no green light. The tester I have said everything was fine with the battery.

I read some other threads in this forum and noticed similar entries that all seem to point to bad battery cables, a bad voltage regulator or a bad ignition switch. Given that the radio and trip reset themselves, I would lean towards bad battery cables or even a bad battery. This is the original battery in the car (ACDelco). Ideas? Has any one had to change their battery on the Intrigue after 3 or 4 years?

[illinoiswronski]

It's not unreasonable for a battery to wear out after 4 years so it seems like a good place to start and even if that is not the problem it's not like you are totally throwing your money away. When you get in there to change it then check the cables for corrosion.

[whiteblazer95]

I removed the cables from the battery, cleaned them up, applied some dielectric grease on the side posts and reattached them. Everything has been fine since. I haven't tried to remove the battery but it seems like the support bar thats runs overtop the battery, might be in the way. Has anyone removed the battery easily?

[intrigue2001]

You must remove the support bar in order to completly remove the battery.

[canatto]

Hi, mine is 2000 GLS with 110,000km on the odo. battery is stock, still strong and with the green eye bright.

It really sounds like your battery is gone. To rule out charging system I would hook up a multimeter and read the voltage at the battery terminals when engine idles with head lights on. it should read somewhere between 13.5V and 14.5V. If lower than 13.5V the battery doesn't gets charged well, and you may have something wrong with the charging system as well.

[jbriggs]

Originally Posted by intrigue2001

You must remove the support bar in order to completly remove the battery.

Even after removal of the crossmember, it is still a real hassle getting the battery in and out. I removed the headlight assy. to make it easier.

[paulkramer]

How did you get the support bar bolts to secure after replacing it? I moved mine to change the air filter and now the bolts won't screw down tight.