2017 Buick Verano Sports Touring trim. I don't drive this car, my daughter does. She went out this morning to do her med student rotation, says "car won't start". I turn the key, the Check Engine light starting blinking. There is a clicking and I think it's low/dead battery. I wanted to take battery out and put on a charger, but removing the battery is impossible with all the stuff they encase around the battery. So I just charge with battery in vehicle.

Charger does not go into power mode, reading 12.3 V, saying battery is 100% charged. Temperature outside in upper 30s, so that's not an issue. Oil OK (no suspected engine seizure). Coolant level good. Issue with starter? Or its solenoid? Should I try jump starting first? What am I looking at?

 

I would jump start just to see if it works. If it starts then it points to a bad battery which can have a decent voltage at rest but when it's put under a load crashes. If it doesn't turn over or start then I'd pop the hood and listen when a helper turns the key. If the clicking sound you hear is coming from the starter then it may need rebuilding or replacing.

 

It looks like the jumper cables I have are too short (only 8 feet long). The car faces up a driveway and needs to be brought to the street curbside (2 images shown) since the driveway wont accommodate with of two vehicles and is constructed not to allow any pulling up to side (can't even get on grass). I would like to move the car in neutral by manual pushing, but I have to say I have not seen a way to get the transmission in neutral (the parking brake is not set electronically). A release is not obvious

 

Not sure I understand why you can't shift into neutral. The key has to be turned at least one position and your foot has to be on the brake; then you should be able to shift to neutral.

Before you try anything else, make sure the battery cables are tight on the battery.

You could always pull the battery out of the other car and set it next to her car to do the jump. You don't want to crank too long or you will run the battery down too far, but a short test would be no problem.

[eta:] If it's the original battery, it's on borrowed time....

 

Thanks for the tip on getting to neutral. I'm a boomer who knows about manuals and push-starting vehicles, although it's been at least 15 years since I probably ever push-started a vehicle, so getting an automatic into neutral has not been something I've done before. Lucky I guess. Car rolled down to street and I jumped it with the charging vehicle with the 8 foot cables. Started up after a few minutes charging. It has 65,800 miles on odometer and I'm guessing it's the original battery. Can't see date of manufacture on body of battery since the positive pole distribution terminals cover it up., and taking that off as well as getting batteries pulled out--which I will have to do anyway in a replacement--is like solving a 500-piece puzzle. I'm going to see if the charge holds and for any more issues, but you're right, that battery on borrowed time.

Now my daughter informs me there is a message "Service power steering" which seems odd. That now immediately on the to-do list.

 

Replacing the battery in my Ranger was a bit daunting because of all the extra relays and fuses mounted to the battery, plus the insulating jacket and the type of hold down. But there were several youtube videos showing how to do it and they made it easy. So you might want to search for videos for changing the battery in that model; there are sure to be a few vids.

 

In a pinch, borrow or buy a 16 foot or two 8 foot and connect the clamps to reach.

 

If you have access to scanner, delete DTC codes. They are, likely, simply triggered by low voltage battery. If it comes back after few days then yes, you have problem. Service this or that on GM vehicles does not prevent them from being able to drive. I just had several days of Service Suspension System on my Tahoe and it drove fine.
Also, make sure, nothing was knocked off during jump starting. I knocked off ABS sensor plug replacing rear shock on same Tahoe, end ended with several warnings in the dash.
Clean battery cable terminals, btw. I bet they are corroded.

 

i just had the same issue come up on a 2017 Chrysler 3000. Pushed power button and got clicks, no start. (what really surprised me though was that I could not turn the engine electrical power OFF with the dash start button. I had to disconnect the battery to shut off all the little fan motors that came on with the initial attempt to start) Checked battery in trunk and although it had 12 volts, it failed load test. AAA came out with a better tester and he said the battery tested ok but the numbers were all on the low side. CCA 100 on a 730 CCA
amp battery. I told him since it was almost 6 years old. replace it anyway. Problem solved so far. 3 starts today, no issue.

 

Weak batteries cause all sorts of weird electrical issues in cars! 6 years is on the low end but not un-expected.

 

My wife and I are both in our mid 70s so having a battery failure on the road is not an option. At least this one happened in our garage lol

 

I'm here late for some reason. This is the 1st time I've seen this thread.

As for physically changing out the battery, most auto parts stores say they will check & replace a battery free. If you get it started, drive down to the closest preferred auto parts place & have them remove all that stuff & replace it.

There have been some excellent answers given. As for other possible problems:
Battery cables (or cable ends) need cleaning or replaced
Check ground cable end at block or frame to ensure its tight, good condition & a good connection.

Otherwise, since its been jump started, that eliminates starters etc.

Good luck

 

My first time seeing it, too; little site glitch I guess. My first advice, of course, would have been to call a Tow Guy!

 

The late models with power everything including electric power steering and electric parking brake have all sorts of issues when the battery goes south that cars never had back in the day. I was having all sorts of strange electronic display issues, check engine lights and even a low windshield washer fluid alarm. And then a single digit temperature cold day comes along and the engine barely starts and I knew that was the day I would get a new battery, but then I had to find one. For some reason AGM batteries were hard to find, but I finally found a Diehard at Advance Auto Parts. It's been 13 months and no more of those strange electronic issues.

 

Casual Joe, 10-4 on the strange electronic issues. probably owned 20 cars in my lifetime and this is the first time a sick battery kept everything else( except the engine) running under the hood and couldn't be shut off with the button. I suppose those little motors would have eventually drained the battery completely, but what damage would that do? (Rhetorical question lol)