How long will battery hold up from playing radio??

[FADEC]

Got a question here about a new to me vehicle, a 2009 Chevy Avalanche. Got it about a week ago. The first night with it I washed it with the radio playing, probably about an hour and a half max. Went to start it later that evening..click click...battery totally dead. Put on a charger all night. Totally charged in AM. This time I timed the radio. Had it on at low to med volume for 45 minutes. Tried to start again..click..click. dead battery.

Took it to dealer for some other issues today. Dealer said that a half hour of radio use is the max before you get a dead battery. WOW my other cars could go for hours and hours with playing the radio and turn right over. Had them load test the battery they said it was fine.

Is this really true, or is the dealer misinformed?? I would gladly buy a new battery if I thought it would'nt die so soon. Tom

 

[DrDusty86]

It really depends on the size and age of the battery. I've had my PSD playing the radio not running the clatter box for over 3 hours. it busted right off. Once you kill a car battery..ie click click. it will never ever come back 100%, maybe 85% at most

 

[The_Jeff]

There was someone on here who discovered onstar was draining his battery through the radio fuse. So he never had a "full" battery and if he left the truck 2-3 days it was dead.

If you have all sorts of fancy amps and what not it will run it flat faster than a 40 watt head unit. IMO it should easily last the length of a drive in movie.

 

[FADEC]

I've only had the vehicle a week so its hard to say how the battery was treated by the previous owner. I do believe it is the OEM battery.

Are load tests a good indicator of a batterys condition??

I would gladly buy a new battery if I was certain it would improve things.

 

[FADEC]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
There was someone on here who discovered onstar was draining his battery through the radio fuse. So he never had a "full" battery and if he left the truck 2-3 days it was dead.

If you have all sorts of fancy amps and what not it will run it flat faster than a 40 watt head unit. IMO it should easily last the length of a drive in movie.

Its all stock. Although it does have the premium Bose sound system.

 

[sleddriver]

I was listening to a ball game one evening with the windows down. The radio was on about 3 hrs. Same thing...click...click. I needed a jump to get home! Put the battery on a 2amp charge over night, then let it equalize for a few hrs.

Checked for a parasitic current draw with an ammeter and everything off, then started turning on inside lights, take a reading, radio, take a reading, etc. Nothing unusual.

This never happened in any of my previous cars. I don't think they make batteries like they used to! {Including InterStates}. Something weird going on though. . . haven't quite nailed it yet.

 

[bigmike]

I wouldn't expect more than 10-15 minutes, personally, even from a stock radio.

My last custom stereo system would kill a battery in less than 1 minute, but that was nowhere near stock.

 

[tinmanSC]

Was the ignition set to "ON" to "ACC"? With it set to ON, lots of other stuff is running. My GS will hold out for maybe 30-40 minutes, on ACC it's held out for quite a long longer.

 

[The_Jeff]

FWIW your battery is probably rated at around 80 amp-hours. With a 20 amp fuse, a 2 hour performance should only run it (less than) half dead and it will still start the thing.

 

[Gotch]

Get the battery tested to be sure. Could be sulphated plates if it's original... Are you running the radio in ACC or Ignition on position? Ignition on will draw more amps.

 

[FADEC]

Originally Posted By: Gotch
Get the battery tested to be sure. Could be sulphated plates if it's original... Are you running the radio in ACC or Ignition on position? Ignition on will draw more amps.
The key was in the ACC position. Nothing on or running except the radio.

 

[wolf_06]

I had a 12V in my hyundai, Solite cheap brand, everything was fine until I went to the grocery store, clic clic clic, dead, no sign or anything.

Boost the the battery during the night, was fine in the morning. a week after, same thing dead, no sign at all.

Got the batterie checked many times, apparently nothing wrong.

The 12V are like that apparently, everything is fine and then, boom...dead.

You should check your alternator.

 

[wolf_06]

Originally Posted By: wolf_06
I had a 12V in my hyundai, Solite cheap brand, everything was fine until I went to the grocery store, clic clic clic, dead, no sign or anything.

Boost the the battery during the night, was fine in the morning. a week after, same thing dead, no sign at all.

Got the batterie checked many times, apparently nothing wrong.

The 12V are like that apparently, everything is fine and then, boom...dead.

You should check your alternator.
btw I had to replace the battery, I put a Energizer, good stuff so far.

 

[BrianWC]

Neither of my SAABs (97 900 and 01 9-5) would run the radio for more than 15 minutes...

 

[Food Scientist]

I have been listening to the radio in my car for several nights as I worked on stuff during the past week. The max I can go is about 3 hours before the car won't start. I even drained it so much the radio quit working!

My battery was completely drained at least once for a few weeks during this past winter so I partly contribute it to that.

 

[FADEC]

Maybe the dealer is right. If someone has a later model 07-2012 Avalanche or Tahoe or Suburban maybe they can let me know how the battery life is on their vehicle. Thanks, Tom

 

[SteveSRT8]

My personal Silverado is an 05 with a Bose system.

I have run the radio for over two hours LOUD in the shop we have while working. Still started right up.

 

[abycat]

Also depends how loud it is. Louder it is the more it drains.

 

[mechtech2]

In the old days, cars had 6V systems and TUBES in the radios.
They could eat a battery fast.
Nowadays, it would take a LONG time for a factory radio to suck up a battery's reserve. [Some aftermarket stuff that the kids use with 1,200 watts is different.]
To make a test for an individual car, put an ammeter on either battery cable at rest [series], then turn on the radio and read the difference.
Battery amp ratings are close to reality, and all we have to do is multiply the amp change over 'X' hours of use.

 

[JHZR2]

A typical automotive battery may have around 40 Ampere hours. Generally this is measured at a very very slow right like a constant power discharge over 8 to 20 hours. Your truck probably has a bunch of speakers and a decent sized amplifier let's say 200 W.

So let's say that your car was actually pulling about 120 W which is approximately 10 A.

So the discharge rate would be approximately C/4. If at C/8 you got 40Ah, at C/4, you might get 32, so the radio should be able to play for about three hours.

But just how powerful is your stereo system and how loud did you play?