Wife called and said the ONLY response is the seat belt light. Other than that, power to nothing. Leaving work now, time for trouble shooting. Anything I should look for?

 

Forgot to mention, 2008 lr3 61000mi

 

Hopefully just the battery. At that age/mileage, it's possible the original battery is still in there. If so, it's due for a change regardless. Check the voltage and cross your fingers.

 

About to order pizza and I'll put that first on my list thanks!!

 

Battery was first on the checklist..... It is the battery but I am still baffled as I'm experiencing something I haven't before.

For the two weeks we've been driving it, everything has been perfect as far as the battery goes. Strong starts etc. The truck was started (perfectly) then driven from the back of the house to the front and killed. Five minutes later, no power. One and a half hours later, I come home and there is corrosion on the negative terminal but the battery is very warm to the touch which is what I've never seen. The corrosion looks like it's been going on for a short while and there is a streak of liquid trailing down from the negative terminal. Battery is clean and doesn't look very old. (It seems nobody punches out the dates on batteries anymore)
Checked the volts and was only getting .2 so almost zero. Double check my tester on another battery so it's good)

Is it possible that the battery wigged out and died at the drop of a hat? I pulled it out BTW.

 

Check your negative battery cable carefully. There have been instances in the past where people's negative battery cables have corroded almost completely, but it's not readily apparent from the outside. The corrosion happens inside the wire strands of the cable and isn't visible from outside the insulation jacket. If you put the key in the ignition and turn it to the ACC position, then you wiggle and negative cable around and put pressure on it in different directions, does it do anything to the power? Any different voltage readings between the terminals on the battery and between the positive of the battery and the car chassis?

As far as the battery wigging out and dying at the drop of a hat... yes, it's possible. If it overheated due to an alternator issue it could have literally ruptured. I wouldn't go there first, but it's certainly a possibility. If/when you get the car started again, test the voltage at the battery with the car running. Hopefully, it will be around 13.8-14.4V or so (more or less depending on external temperature). If it's significantly more (like 15V), then you may have an alternator regulator issue.

 

I hope not.

I did clean the terminal and clamp but still had no power. I didn't check voltage other that straight to the terminals, but I'm positive the terminal is completely intact. Since it was started and only driven for absolutely no more than two minutes the whole day, I'm hoping it's not the alternator. Just felt the battery on the porch again and it's still pretty warm to the touch. Looks like I will have to get another battery then test again. Good to know the running volts. I appreciate that.

 

Just found a sticker with the date... January 14 (guessing 2014)

A two year old battery being in this shape has me worried. But I did just trade in the battery on my Avalanche because it went bad one year after buying it new. I will say though, I got it at home depot and they didn't ask a single question. Just got one off the shelf and out the door. No receipt or anything.
Hopefully, that is the case here.

 

I've seen battery plates crack/short internally though. The temperatures involved might vent acid out of cracks or something like neg. terminal.

Any charging system problem in this vehicle should give you many warnings (not only does it closely monitor voltage AND amperage / loads, but the computer can monitor available charging capacity, compare it to current loads, and even adjust as required..) This definitely isn't the kinda car to just turn on the red battery "idiot light" on the dash.

Another possibility is that once a battery DOES get to the end of its life, they usually hate taking a charge. Dead batteries themselves are almost a direct short, and if you get it started it's possible that throwing 14+ volts and some amperage at it might really cook the battery. I've tried to charge some damaged batteries in the past and it'll just boil the acid and cause it to vent/leak out and get very warm like you mentioned.

Oh also, I know you found the sticker but as you said most shops / stores NEVER USE THEM. Interstate uses date stamps melted into the plastic on the side/edge of the upper molded plastic "top" of the battery case. J8 or something like that for example - there's conversion tables from Interstate. Just for future reference or to help anyone else who might run into the thread.

 

Ah ha that's good to know. I'm going to see if this one is stamped too, besides just having the sticker. Bout to load it up