Bharkrider96

I left town for 3 weeks recently, and when I got back my battery was dead. I tried to jump start my car and got a message saying “service theft deterrent system” and it would not start. I left it connected to the other vehicle for a few minutes and tried again, and it started! It’s been 4 days and now my car is turning over slowly, almost like it doesn’t want to start. It was running fine until yesterday when I had to jump it again first thing in the morning. Is it a bad battery?

oilcanhenry

Probably. How old is the battery?

William00900

12/3 hey I’m having the same problem but after a day of jumping the car twice the anti theft sign turned off and is currently saying track system and power steering and acting odd. The car would turn back on if I turned it off from a jump but would not turn on after a few hours and went to get it tested came back at 13 volts sitting and 14.7 charging 12/4 the next day after a jump it will not turn back on if I turn the car off and the volts on my dash is telling me 8.7 most 9v and 14.7 when I jump it and is charging... is the battery dying or is the alternator messing up. I currently have a 2014 Chevy Cruze 78k miles still has first battery

Doug D

William - I would suspect a weak battery. Have the battery load tested at a local auto parts retailer (Advance Auto, AutoZone, O'Reilly's). They usually do it for free. Minimum voltage for a battery at rest is ~12.6 (engine not running) at 13.8-14.4 volts when the engine is running. Voltage readings don't tell the entire story. You can have good voltage readings and still have a weak battery that cannot handle a load (starting). Your battery is 5 years old and is probably in need of replacement. Modern vehicles with all the computer modules need good voltage. Even a slight drop in voltage can cause weird electrical issues. I usually try to replace the battery at the 5 year mark though I did have one that was still fine (no problems) after 7 years. I replaced it with winter coming.