A friend's 2011 Buick Enclave wouldn't start after sitting for quite a while - they were away in India for three months, were back for awhile but used their other vehicle*, and then vacationed in Palm Springs for several weeks. They figure the car sat for close to five months.
The battery wasn't that old (2 to 3 years) but I figure normal dark-current draw ran the battery flat, and the battery then froze in their unheated garage.
Anyway, the battery would not take a charge, so we replaced it.
The battery sits in a tub in the floor behind the front passenger seat.
You flip back the floor mats, remove a couple of panels, undo a couple of plastic electrical connectors, the vent tube, the negative and positive terminals (10 mm) and the hold-down clamp at the base of the battery (14 mm).
The hardest part is lifting the actual battery - it's very large and heavy, the AC Delco battery has no handle, and the tub or vault is small for the dimensions of the battery, so you can barely get your hands down there.
Anyway, we replaced the battery with a Kirkland that does have a handle.
Unfortunately and stupidly, I installed the plastic elbow for the vent before lowering the battery, and broke it off while lowering the battery into the confined space.
Removed the battery, extracted the broken-off section with a threaded awl, and tried unsuccessfully to glue it back on. Two seperate miracle glues didn't work.
So then I sacrificed a small straight vacuum line connector which slipped snuggly inside the broken piece to provide an internal splint. It still passed air through fine.
The battery had a vent hole on either side of the cap. I plugged the one we didn't use for the vent hose.
I was a bit surprised the battery came not fully charged. It took quite a bit.
Anyway, just a PSA to be aware of that fragile 90° elbow if you're working on one of these.
The battery wasn't that old (2 to 3 years) but I figure normal dark-current draw ran the battery flat, and the battery then froze in their unheated garage.
Anyway, the battery would not take a charge, so we replaced it.
The battery sits in a tub in the floor behind the front passenger seat.
You flip back the floor mats, remove a couple of panels, undo a couple of plastic electrical connectors, the vent tube, the negative and positive terminals (10 mm) and the hold-down clamp at the base of the battery (14 mm).
The hardest part is lifting the actual battery - it's very large and heavy, the AC Delco battery has no handle, and the tub or vault is small for the dimensions of the battery, so you can barely get your hands down there.
Anyway, we replaced the battery with a Kirkland that does have a handle.
Unfortunately and stupidly, I installed the plastic elbow for the vent before lowering the battery, and broke it off while lowering the battery into the confined space.
Removed the battery, extracted the broken-off section with a threaded awl, and tried unsuccessfully to glue it back on. Two seperate miracle glues didn't work.
So then I sacrificed a small straight vacuum line connector which slipped snuggly inside the broken piece to provide an internal splint. It still passed air through fine.
The battery had a vent hole on either side of the cap. I plugged the one we didn't use for the vent hose.
I was a bit surprised the battery came not fully charged. It took quite a bit.
Anyway, just a PSA to be aware of that fragile 90° elbow if you're working on one of these.
