I went through a bunch of threads but couldn’t find anything on point. So here’s the story.

Car sat for a few days and struggled turning over on the first try (sitting for a few days has not been a problem in the past). Second try and the car turned over. Took for a 45 minute drive and then parked it. We were going away for 10 days so I put it in the garage on the tender. Came back after Labor Day and all was good, as expected. Last week after driving the car and I tried to start it to come home and it again “hiccuped” and struggled to turn over the first time. Second try it started no problem, except this time the CEL and VSC lights came on. The next couple of days no problem starting and on Friday I hooked up TechStream. There was a P0031 code. I cleared the code and was waiting to see if it came back. The car sat over the weekend and was dead again this morning. Put the charger back on got it started and the CEL VSC lights are back on.

So the question is, can a failing battery trigger the lights? The battery is less than 23 months old from Costco.

Any ideas??

 

Mine also had the P0031 code a couple of years ago. It was the O2 sensor (bank 1, sensor 1). I had my mechanic replace the sensor, and all is good.....no more dashboard lights!!
Not sure about the battery causing this issue, but I also replaced my battery around the same time. I always put it on a battery tender in the winter.

 

Either you have a parasitic drain on your battery (which is common on the SC, due to the Car Alarm) or your alternator is going out. I would have your alternator tested. Often times a power steering leak will kill your alternator. If you feel under your power steering reservoir and it is wet chances are REALLY good your alternator is going bad.

A bad alternator will cause all kinds of lights to go off on your dash

 

The odd thing is when the car started without a hesitation it did not trigger the CEL VSC lights. Only when it did not turn over on the first try did it trigger the lights (and I assume it threw the code). I’m going to replace the sensor and check the battery and alternator.

 

Update: took the car out, started right up and the CEL and VSC lights had cleared. I’ll check for codes but it seems odd they would clear by themselves.

 

Check/clean your battery posts and cable ends.

 

[QUOTE=Rayzerr;11963468]I went through a bunch of threads but couldn’t find anything on point. So here’s the story.

Car sat for a few days and struggled turning over on the first try (sitting for a few days has not been a problem in the past). Second try and the car turned over. Took for a 45 minute drive and then parked it. We were going away for 10 days so I put it in the garage on the tender. Came back after Labor Day and all was good, as expected. Last week after driving the car and I tried to start it to come home and it again “hiccuped” and struggled to turn over the first time. Second try it started no problem, except this time the CEL and VSC lights came on. The next couple of days no problem starting and on Friday I hooked up TechStream. There was a P0031 code. I cleared the code and was waiting to see if it came back. The car sat over the weekend and was dead again this morning. Put the charger back on got it started and the CEL VSC lights are back on.

So the question is, can a failing battery trigger the lights? The battery is less than 23 months old from Costco.

Any ideas??

Batteries and starting up..I would return the costco battery on warranty and suggest an a higher end interstate battery, altought you belive they are the same they makea lineup just for costco but w'/o the higher end. , also check the contacts and battery cables make sure they are tight and clean.