Just bought 2006 ls430 w 105k miles. Drove the car off the lot and was fine. Next morning I cleaned out my es330 next to the ls430 but left radio playing. Turned the key in the ignition on ls43o when I was finished and battery light came on the dash. Called the dealership and they said when both keys are around the car the computer tries to read both. Is this true? Tried to jump and recharge but car is dead now. Looking to replace battery this weekend. Any suggestions???

 

Lets get to the bottom of this. So you left the radio playing on the LS430? How long did you drain the LS430 battery by playing the radio and leaving the switch in the ACC position? Did you leave it in the on/run position?
Do you have an LS430 owners manual? In the manual there is specific wording covering smart key storage within a certain distance of the LS430. How old is the battery? There is usually a manufacturers stamp or sticker even if you don't have the receipt.

 

If your LS sat on the dealer lot for months before selling, I would bet that the battery was close to dying before you purchased it. Leaving the radio on just finished it off. I would get the dealer to replace the battery at their expense

 

Just had the battery replaced and car runs perfect BUT the battery light on the dash is on. Will this go away?

 

Did they check to make sure the alternator is charging the battery properly. Your battery light should not be on. I would have them check the whole system again. Pulling the negative off the battery for 15 seconds will reset any engine codes.

 

If you have a voltmeter, you can check the volts at your battery terminals with the car running. If alternator is working, you should have around 14 volts.

if not go by Advance Auto, AutoZone, NAPA, O'reilly or whatever auto parts store you have in CA and have them check it. They'll check it for free and pull any codes you have.

 

Any large chain auto store will check the battery and charging system for you for free. It takes 5 minutes max. Tests the charging, starting draw and the battery. If you're an auto club member, call and tell them you need battery service. They will come out, tests the system and jump the car for you as part of the membership service. The keys being near the car causing a problem cracked me up! Ridiculous.

 

Battery light should not be on. Assuming battery light was not on when you took it in to get battery replaced you need to find out what happened when the shop replaced your battery. Did someone short the cables and blow the diode on the alternator? Or maybe just error codes need to be reset? Nothing about installing a new non-defective battery correctly should have lit up the battery light.

 

I went to buy an alternate this morning because every time I got a jump or tow the guys said it might be the alternater. It that doesn't fix the problem. I QUIT.

 

I'd have it checked out first. I just had a loose wire on my alternator last weekend.

 

Our stock alternators are pretty reliable. My (now totaled) 2004 with 196,000 miles had original alternator. If u went out and bought a cheap alternator, especially if the original one was fine, u may have problems with it down the road that u would not have had had u kept the original one. Did the mechanic that replaced ur battery damage ur original alternator or something?

 

You can check the alternator output on the display screen in the vehicle. Press and hold the OPTION button and hold down while the car is running or not. Turn the parking lights on and off 3 times and the menu pops up. Push MENU, "Display Check", then "vehicle signal check" to bring up the mode that reports battery voltage. Start car to get correct alternator voltage output. A very healthy alternator puts out 14+ volts.

 

Actually, it's not ridiculous. This is truth for 2004 - 06 models with Smart Access. There's a button under the dash that turns on/off Smart Access for that reason. The Smart Access is a key proximity sensor that does draw a small amount of battery power from the car battery and the key fob battery to detect when the key fob nears the vehicle so that lights come on, doors unlock, and the car can be turned on without key in ignition. Some here have noted a slight car battery draw down over time, while leaving Smart Access button "on", while others don't notice or experience a draw down. The Owner's Manual recognizes this stating: "If you are not going to drive your car for a long time, push the cancel switch to deactivate the smart access system." Also the Owner's Manual states: "To prevent the batteries from being discharged, the smart access system is automatically deactivated in the following conditions: If the key is left within 3 ft. outside of the vehicle for more than 10 minutes." Then there are procedures to reactivate the key fob. (See page 9 of Owner's Manual.) There's a 1 buzzer sound and "low key battery" on the display when the fob battery is low.

 

Hope you had the alternator tested. Even in cars with a faulty alternator, new batteries work great, until they don't.

 

I understand appreciate the post, but the keys being near the car is not going to kill the bTtery in a day, or a week. When the manual says a long time, which is pretty vague but as precise as they can generally be, is most likely referring to multiple weeks if not months. I'm not dying to start an argument, just saying the dealer should have stepped up a bit more.