Battery vs Stereo

[Gunzz]

Hello all. I have a question to you guys who have aftermarket stereos installed in your H2's.

I have a 05 H2 and just had an Alpine W200 head unit with separate Nav unit, Sirius satellite box all hooked up to the factory Bose system, and On Star with a PAC unit. It is also tied into a rear seat headrest DVD system which came from the dealer. I also have a Viper alarm system installed.

After the install of the stereo system I have noticed that the voltmeter on the truck seems to go higher then what it used to after sitting over night. I figured that was OK since there is more power being drawn for memory to the equipment, and after asking the installing dealer he stated it was normal. However after the truck has sat over 24 hours one day I noticed it was slower to start. Seemed to turn over much slower than before and the lights came on at the same time and seemed to dim pretty low. It was sitting with the alarm activated for the entire time but no equipment or lights on.

So here is my question. Is this normal or do you think something is drawing power that shouldn't be? I know there is the engine computer, and body control module drawing power for the memory along with the alarm system and stereo memory, but I wouldn't think it would draw that heavily on a battery in a little over a day.

What do you guys think? Is there a way to test power being drawn from the battery with a volt/amp meter and if so how? Just to let you know all systems do seem to shut down and off properly when the vehicle is off so it maybe something else drawing on the battery.

[Tex_h2]

Go and Buy yourself and Yellow Top Battery...

[H2 GTS]

Originally Posted by Gunzz

Hello all. I have a question to you guys who have aftermarket stereos installed in your H2's.

I have a 05 H2 and just had an Alpine W200 head unit with separate Nav unit, Sirius satellite box all hooked up to the factory Bose system, and On Star with a PAC unit. It is also tied into a rear seat headrest DVD system which came from the dealer. I also have a Viper alarm system installed.

After the install of the stereo system I have noticed that the voltmeter on the truck seems to go higher then what it used to after sitting over night. I figured that was OK since there is more power being drawn for memory to the equipment, and after asking the installing dealer he stated it was normal. However after the truck has sat over 24 hours one day I noticed it was slower to start. Seemed to turn over much slower than before and the lights came on at the same time and seemed to dim pretty low. It was sitting with the alarm activated for the entire time but no equipment or lights on.

So here is my question. Is this normal or do you think something is drawing power that shouldn't be? I know there is the engine computer, and body control module drawing power for the memory along with the alarm system and stereo memory, but I wouldn't think it would draw that heavily on a battery in a little over a day.

What do you guys think? Is there a way to test power being drawn from the battery with a volt/amp meter and if so how? Just to let you know all systems do seem to shut down and off properly when the vehicle is off so it maybe something else drawing on the battery.

Well, how does it sound? W200/XM/DEI is also the little Christmas present I am giving myself this week. How do you like the sound?

[Gunzz]

Sound is good. Definitely need a subwoofer with separate amp though. Stock Bose subwoofer does nothing. Shop showed me a sub and enclosure made by JBL audio that fits on top of the wheel well box behind the spare tire. Looks good. Also with the W200 the sub can be hooked up separately so that you can control the sub from the unit and use the built in crossover to stop the bass from going to your regular speakers, allowing MORE volume.

As far as the unit goes it is awesome. Controls everything. Three separate zones sort of. You can have your Nav on screen with guidance mix, with your Ipod or satellite radio playing and send a DVD movie to the rear seat for the kids.

I think you'll really like the unit. Good luck.

[H2 GTS]

Gunzz,

I had the JL Stealthbox installed with a JL500/1 amp and I couldn't be happier. I have it working off the stock lux bose now, I havent had time to install the Alpine.

If you go with that JL Stealthbox letme know, I have some tips on installing it that arent in the instructions(which I found lame)

[rocketw19]

Originally Posted by Gunzz

Hello all. I have a question to you guys who have aftermarket stereos installed in your H2's.

I have a 05 H2 and just had an Alpine W200 head unit with separate Nav unit, Sirius satellite box all hooked up to the factory Bose system, and On Star with a PAC unit. It is also tied into a rear seat headrest DVD system which came from the dealer. I also have a Viper alarm system installed.

After the install of the stereo system I have noticed that the voltmeter on the truck seems to go higher then what it used to after sitting over night. I figured that was OK since there is more power being drawn for memory to the equipment, and after asking the installing dealer he stated it was normal. However after the truck has sat over 24 hours one day I noticed it was slower to start. Seemed to turn over much slower than before and the lights came on at the same time and seemed to dim pretty low. It was sitting with the alarm activated for the entire time but no equipment or lights on.

So here is my question. Is this normal or do you think something is drawing power that shouldn't be? I know there is the engine computer, and body control module drawing power for the memory along with the alarm system and stereo memory, but I wouldn't think it would draw that heavily on a battery in a little over a day.

What do you guys think? Is there a way to test power being drawn from the battery with a volt/amp meter and if so how? Just to let you know all systems do seem to shut down and off properly when the vehicle is off so it maybe something else drawing on the battery.

other than the stuff you already mentioned the head rest monitors draw power also even if they are off. do you have a back up camera? that draws also. if i let my truck sit for a couple of days it is realy slow to start. sometimes when i let it sit 4-5 days it wont start. i have a huge battery and it still drains. this is normal for the stuff you have.

[kodiakz]

Rocketw19, your hearests should not draw more than about 10ma when off (that would take about a month to drain the battery).

[f5fstop]

Originally Posted by kodiakz

Rocketw19, your hearests should not draw more than about 10ma when off (that would take about a month to drain the battery).

Don't forget the other parasitic drains from the BCM/PCM/Onstar and other stock modules throughout the vehicle. If Sirius is installed like XM, it is wired directly to the battery and draws all the time; but I can't believe it would draw much juice. H2s still use the older style BCMs/PCMs which draw more load when off then the newer vehicles on the market. However, the BCM and PCM should go to sleep after 20 minutes cutting their parasitic drain by at least a half.
Here is a chart GM uses for troubleshooting that might help, if we knew the entire parasitic drain load.

Based on a 690 CCA battery with a 110 minute reserve capacity (60.5 AH) starting at 80 percent state of charge will last with a constant current draw until it reaches 50 percent state of charge.
Current Drain/days to 50% capacity
25 mA/30.5
50 mA/16.5
75 mA/11
100 mA/8.25
250 mA/3.3
500 mA/1.65
750 mA/1
1A/0.8
2A/0.4

[dochummer]

Interesting info f5fstop. My problem is that my battery will randomly die on me...pretty much over night. I have a yellowtop optima, and had it tested at a tire shop. They said the battery was good, just low on charge (11.78v), and the alternator was charging at 13.38v. I've had the air suspension module fixed previously, which took care of the problem for about a year...but now I've run into the same problem again... Any idea what would be the most likely to draw on the battery too much? I could pull the fuse to onstar - seeing as how I don't use it....

[f5fstop]

Have a reliable shop do a test to see how many amps (milliamps) are being drawn when the ignition is off, and after a wait of 20 minutes. Modules go into sleep mode after approx. 20 minutes, so the parasitic drain will go down. If there is a high drain, then start pulling fuses until the drain drops. This will tell you the circuit that is at fault.
It might be the air suspension system again.

The Onstar module draws an extremely low parasitic drain.

[kodiakz]

I have always proceeded on the 25ma or less draw to be safe. Believe it or not, the newer bcms are trickier than the old ones as any micro draw can keep them awake and kill the battery fast (learned this the hard way ). In fact, the new lan systems will draw upwards of 3 amps for up to 20 minutes after the car is turned off.