eddie44

The wife and I came out of Costco this afternoon and you guessed it the Vette was dead as the proverbial doornail. Nothing, no accessories, no click, nothing. I got a kind gentleman to jump the Vette. I think he just saw the opportunity to get a parking spot 10 ft from the door and we all know how hard those are to find at Costco.

Get the Vette home and took the battery out. I see on the side of the AC Delco AGM battery that it's a 3yr free replacement and 7yr prorate. Thanks to Spongevette, I know the battery was installed in Apr. 02. I call my local dealer to see if the parts dept has it in stock and they don't (imagine that). Long story short, I end up with the Service Mgr. who tells me in order to exchange the battery they have to do a complete check of the system. I explain that I know it's the battery and I just want to just exchange it. He says they can't do that and cover it under warranty. Now comes the good part.

Because it was 4:00pm on Sat and all their technicians were gone I could claim it was an emergency. He advised me to go purchase a battery, bring them the vehicle and the receipt on Monday and they would submit it to GM under the emergency clause of my warrant and GM would cut a check in about 2 weeks. I confirmed with him that I could buy any brand I wanted. He replied "I'd go buy an Optima Gel battery if I was you" "Those Vette's are really susceptible to acid leaks". I again confirmed that GM would reimburse me for the Optima. He said they would definitely do that.

Guess what I just got for FREE! I suggest if any of your batteries go out that it's on a weekend when the Service Dept is closed and you have to invoke the emergency clause of your warranty. I don't imagine this is covered by the GMP or other aftermarket warranties but the original 3yr / 36K warranty does.

Sorry for the lengthy post but hope it helps some of you fine folks!

C5naples

Love the Optima batteries. I took a perfectly good Delco battery out of my car and gave to my cousin for his forklift. I didn't like wondering when the Delco was going to leak.

Grumpy

don't count your money until the check clears..

Mike98SilVert

eddie44

You mean "the checks in the mail and they'll respect me in the morning"? The General wouldn't do that to a Vettel owner would they?

CE2004

Hopefully, you won't need the savings to pay for the electronic damage done by jump starting your car off of another running automobile. If you need a new alternator in a few days, or a new computer in the next 6 months, don't forget that today's jump start probably caused it.

FLACHUSNRET

What is the proper procedure for starting a C-5 when it has a dead battery?

Vetteman Jack

Didn't know about this provision. Good news for people that may have battery failures. The Optima is an excellent choice.

jrose7004

1EvilC5

Eddie,

That happened to me in the wife's Tahoe on a Sunday night. I had to take the vehicle in to be inspected by service with the new Optima installed. They verified the new battery and completed the paperwork.

Now for the BAD news, if I remember correctly, they only refunded about $75. It would have been their cost to replace the bad battery under warranty.

But you can not beat a new OPTIMA for about 1/4 of the price.

Hope you get the entire amount you paid.

Later,

Phil...

mfh4

I'm ready to switch to Optima. Have a C5 and will be buying one this week to replace the Delco. But in my Cherokee I have a Diehard. Always had complete confidence in the Diehard and their warranty, especially after I left my lights on all day (many years ago), and the car started right up. However, two months ago, the Diehard in my Jeep went dead even though the fluid levels were good. Took it to Sears for the warranty replacment. They required a test of the battery, alternator, etc.. By the time I recieved the pro-rating on the battery, paid for the required scan, tax, etc, the total bill was $87.00. A real deal!!!! Not. I am switching to Optima for all my batteries from now on. Diehard can take a hike.

1Patriot

Never had that situation with a Sears store. I get a new battery and a refund on the remaining warranty of the bad battery and drive away. You are being owned by your local Sears. You need to speak to the manager.

nuke61

Don't believe the myths. LS1 Z28 folks have been doing this for YEARS without any problems.

Sponge Vette

CE2004

You'll want to use a BoosterPac (under $100) or jump it from a disconnected but good battery. Never jump start any vehicle from another running vehicle. You would want to shut the other vehicle off, and disconnect one of the battery cables on the donor vehicle to break the series. Yes - the risk is 2 dead batteries if you can't get the first car to start.

What happens is that once the stalled vehicle is started, you have 2 alternators trying to charge that dead battery, so you'll wind up with a surge or a dip in each electrical system when you disconnect the jumper cables.

This is not a myth. Sure, cars are started every day with jumper cables. But 6 months down the road, will they remember that day as the cause for their current electrical problem? Probably not. Jumper Cables are obsolete.

Kens06

I guess you missed too many classes of DC electrical theory 101!!
The batteries (good and bad) actually shunt spikes! The connect and disconnect sequence is what's important!

dead bat +, good bat +, good bat -, bad bat CAR metal part!!
Reverse the order for disconnect!!

I guess it's either that or every car manufacturer in the world forgot about the possibility of a dead battery and a jumpstart roasting their computers???

Ken

gordonb50

Hope you get the full refund. Even if it's only a partial, it will help offset the price of the Optima.

Darkness

WTH kinda theory is that??? lol

nuke61

Out of my '02 Corvette Owners Manual, page 5-3, summary of steps:
1) Other vehicle must have a 12volt system.
2) Get vehicles close to each other.
3) Turn off ignition on both vehicles.
4-9) Find batteries, check jumper cables, connect + to BAD battery, connect + to GOOD battery, connect - to GOOD battery, connect - to Ground AT LEAST 18" from bad battery.
10) Start vehicle with GOOD battery and run engine for a while.
11) Attempt to start dead battery vehicle.

Seems GM thinks it's O.K. to jump start your Vette... just make sure the both vehicles are OFF when hooking jumper cables. Jumper removal is opposite of installation.