akcalvery

In2pro,
I will have my wife check as I am working away from home. Don't want to have to tow to the dealer. This low mile equinox was bought recently so I would not have to worry about vehicle trouble while I am not home for weeks at a time. We will see how reliable it is I guess.

vtbigdog

I'd say your battery is weak and cannot generate enough amps to start the car. If the problem started after disconnecting the battery I would check the connections as previously stated. I would then take the battery out of the car and take it to your nearest AutoZone or other parts place for testing particularly if it is the original battery.

If you do not want to test it, you can check the fluid level if it is not sealed, add DISTILLED WATER to bring the levels up to snuff and then throw it on a battery charger.

Let us know how it goes.

ruley73

What you can do is turn the key on (but don't try to start it) while your Equinox is connected to another car (as if you were jump starting) and see how it acts then. Make sure your blower fan is turned off to minimize the electrical load before doing this if possible. If everything seems to work fine (e.g. dash lights up, door chime works, radio turns on, etc.) when you do this then your battery is bad and probably needs replacement.

If that battery is the original, it lived a good life considering we replaced ours when it was only four years old. Make sure the replacement battery has at least 650 CCA which is the rating on the original battey. Many replacements I've seen will physically fit, but only provide around 600-610 CCA and are therefore not suitable. The yellow Everstart Maxx H5 at Wal-Mart is a good replacement and easy to obtain. The factory battery is an AC Delco 47-7YR, but is a lot harder to find because many dealerships use a different brand that they get for a good price rather than the AC Delco batteries.

akcalvery

Thanks for the tips. My wife tests our vehicle batteries frequently by leaving on lights,radios,domes, hatches etc. I thought the equinox would disconnect power after being drained to a low level for one last attempt for starting after the lights get left on all night. I believe she had the ignition on or in the acc position while the radio was on all night. This explains the key stuck in the lock.
Because of the tests she likes to put on our batteries she is a very competent jump starter. The report is that there is only a dim engine light that comes on when connected to another running vehicle. No power to door locks or anything else. Over the weekend she is going to try looking for fuse, recheck battery connection, disconnect/reconnect terminals and try to start again.
I do keep an eye on battery conditions and replace in fall often. I do like the MAXX batteries from wal- mart too. One of the few things I will buy there. I talked to the local Chevy dealer yesterday and he had a costomer with similar situation recently. He said a module may not be activating properly? I did not get clarification if it was another Nox. Any thoughts on wich module, where under the hood and possibility of repair without a tow and repair at the dealer?
Thanks again for help in my long distance repairs.

vtbigdog

If you get dim lights with the jumper cables attached there is a connection issue...either a bad battery connection or a bad ground.