[dwb88]

2012 Enclave Leather with Service Battery Charging System message intermittently shows up in DIC as it comes and goes with few occasions Battery Saver Activated message sometimes showing up.

These seem to be randomly showing up and then randomly disappearing -- not finding a pattern. When monitoring the battery voltage gauge in dash while driving, when it happens the voltage dips below the 13 mid point and then the Service Battery Charging System message shows up....then "something" kicks in to send the battery voltage above 13 and the message disappears. The time the message is on can vary before the kick in and if lengthy, the Battery Saver Activated message shows up. Sometimes either message is still on when turning off the vehicle at destination and when turning the vehicle back on immediately, no messages and battery voltage is 13+ (which may be a sign not mechanical???).

2.5 yrs ago Service Battery Charging System message initially showed up and went away. Took to dealer who checked it out and said everything was fine. 2 weeks after, the vehicle shutdown while driving on 50 mph road. Dealership said new battery and new alternator and $1200 later back up and running. However, the message has started appearing the last several months what appears to be randomly.

Need help to see if others have experienced this behavior and what was needed to fix. Would this randomness be the alternator again or something like the ECM not controlling when alternator should be kicking in or a belt?

Wife is now numb to the messages since they come and go and says dropping another $1200 for battery/alternator is unacceptable. She also was not happy and still is not happy being sent on the road by the dealership there was nothing wrong and then the vehicle shut down while she was driving it. She has lost trust in local dealership so doing some crowdsourcing here for info.

TIA

 

[JayS]

I'd start by having the battery tested. If it's bad at 2 years it should still have some pro-rated warranty left.

 

[dwb88]

I'd start by having the battery tested. If it's bad at 2 years it should still have some pro-rated warranty left.

Battery tested ok at auto zone. Anyone else have said issues/ ideas?

 

[Sdabrowski]

I'd start by having the battery tested. If it's bad at 2 years it should still have some pro-rated warranty left.

2012 Enclave Leather with Service Battery Charging System message intermittently shows up in DIC as it comes and goes with few occasions Battery Saver Activated message sometimes showing up.

These seem to be randomly showing up and then randomly disappearing -- not finding a pattern. When monitoring the battery voltage gauge in dash while driving, when it happens the voltage dips below the 13 mid point and then the Service Battery Charging System message shows up....then "something" kicks in to send the battery voltage above 13 and the message disappears. The time the message is on can vary before the kick in and if lengthy, the Battery Saver Activated message shows up. Sometimes either message is still on when turning off the vehicle at destination and when turning the vehicle back on immediately, no messages and battery voltage is 13+ (which may be a sign not mechanical???).

2.5 yrs ago Service Battery Charging System message initially showed up and went away. Took to dealer who checked it out and said everything was fine. 2 weeks after, the vehicle shutdown while driving on 50 mph road. Dealership said new battery and new alternator and $1200 later back up and running. However, the message has started appearing the last several months what appears to be randomly.

Need help to see if others have experienced this behavior and what was needed to fix. Would this randomness be the alternator again or something like the ECM not controlling when alternator should be kicking in or a belt?

Wife is now numb to the messages since they come and go and says dropping another $1200 for battery/alternator is unacceptable. She also was not happy and still is not happy being sent on the road by the dealership there was nothing wrong and then the vehicle shut down while she was driving it. She has lost trust in local dealership so doing some crowdsourcing here for info.

TIA

I’m having the same problem! 3 alternators abs batteries later I’m still struggling! Associated with buying used car and having bad luck but maybe not!

 

[Ssims]

I’m having the same problem! 3 alternators abs batteries later I’m still struggling! Associated with buying used car and having bad luck but maybe not!

I am having the same problem! I have had 3 alternators and 1 battery within 1 year.

 

[electbc]

Check voltages at the battery terminal and the engine compartment. Some members have been having issues and the connections at the battery were not up to spec. There is some corrosion between connections thus reducing the voltage at the fusebox. Make sure all your connections are good and the voltage is the same from battery fuse box.

 

[LoveMyPapillon]

I’m having the same problem! 3 alternators abs batteries later I’m still struggling! Associated with buying used car and having bad luck but maybe not!

I am also having a very similar problem! Our battery was tested at Auto Zone and he said nothing was wrong withh it. Our battery looks brand newtoo. No leaking, terminals clearly connected. But the battery randomly drains overnight! I keep getting the message "Service the Battery Charging System" and I can't get an answer as to what that means!

 

[Thejarhead]

You need a digital multimeter, available at Walmart or Home Depot or any auto parts store, usually less than $30. You tube an instructional video on how to use it. You will need to set it to read a 12v system and you’ll need to take readings with the car running and with the car off.

Car off, a new or freshly charged battery should be 12.6-12.8 volts. A battery a couple of years old but still not causing problems will be 12.3-12.5. When a battery shows a charge of 12.2 or below that’s when problems occur. 12.2 will start your car in summer/warm weather but the first time the mercury sinks below 32F you car will start hard or not at all. Anything 12.0 and below is essentially a dead battery.

Running, measured at the battery terminals you should now see 13.8-14.2v. This is the alternator voltage, charging your battery and running the various accessories the vehicle has. When the charging rate falls below 13.2-3 the alternator will not be able to keep up with the electrical demands placed on it by the accessories you have turned on and still be able to keep the battery charged.

If your battery is draining overnight then you have another problem. Something is not shutting off properly. The most common place for this to happen is aftermarket accessories, radio, radar detector etc. I had a plug in device my wife uses to stream music over the radio cause a dead battery on her vehicle one morning. We learned to disconnect it when we shut the car off. Do you have any aftermarket accessories installed?

 

[LoveMyPapillon]

To Thejarhead: Thank you, and yes we do have an aftermarket dvd player that we bouggt to replace the one that was already there. We just did it about a week ago and the car was already acting up like this before we put this in. But maybe the old one developed an issue and this one is doing the same thing as we installed it to the existing wires. I'll unplug it over night to see if it still does it. I'll post an update either way. Thanks again!

 

[Clem420]

To Thejarhead: Thank you, and yes we do have an aftermarket dvd player that we bouggt to replace the one that was already there. We just did it about a week ago and the car was already acting up like this before we put this in. But maybe the old one developed an issue and this one is doing the same thing as we installed it to the existing wires. I'll unplug it over night to see if it still does it. I'll post an update either way. Thanks again!

Do you happen to still own the vehicle? My ol lady has an 09 Enclave and she’s been having the same issues it actually died on her on interstate 70 last night and before I go spend $200 on an alternator and however much time to install I’d just like to see if you ever figured out what the problem was exactly

 

[Mel0927]

I have a 2011 Buick Enclave. I have been having the same issue. Problem went away temporarily with alternator and battery. My car died 2 weeks after new battery. Autozone said battery was dead and replaced under the warranty. I do not have any after market parts or leave anything plugged in and I keep having the problem intermittently. I believe it is just a bad design from Buick!

 

[Thejarhead]

If you put a new battery in your car and 2 weeks later it was dead and replaced under warranty then the most likely culprit is a bad alternator. You can check everything with a multimeter as I out lined above.

 

[electbc]

Mel. Did you do ANY aftermarket work to the vehicle? Even changing license plate lamps to LED?

 

[sobrietyordiecarlmcm]

Battery tested ok at auto zone. Anyone else have said issues/ ideas?

I'm experiencing this issue now. Ty.