wydopnthrtl

Last week I upgraded my battery and added the Big-3 kit.
(I'm in no way sponsored for these parts)

Starting and volts shown on the DIC are both improved.

Made a video....

Hitman227

Not sure what a big 3 kit is, however great! I scanned the video, nice. Yes I noticed better and more consistent starting as well with a new battery and upgraded high performance terminals.

wydopnthrtl

Here is a link to it -> https://www.saccitycorvette.com/Big-3.html

Hitman227

Ah I see, interesting, actually quite similar to what I did on my GTO, without the actual kit, well worth the while

knewblewkorvette

Cool video but why did you cheap out and get a lead acid battery? They can leak acid onto the PCM and cost you major $
Do a advance search on "leak battery" and you will see lots of horror stories.

wydopnthrtl

I'm sure you mean well but in addition to "knowledge" one must add understanding.
The majority of lead acid batteries in C5's don't overflow. If they did most C5s would show problems. Do we see that? Do the majority of them leak? Do they leak when new? Middle age? Old? Maintained or not maintained? Neglected?

Life lesson: Car guys (and people in general) need to LEARN to address the root cause. Not the symptom. Putting ointment and bandaids on skin cancer will NOT fix the problem.

Assuming a lead acid car battery is not overfilled, their are several leading causes of why they might leak.
#1 is: Overcharging due to bad voltage regulation. Whether it be from the cars regulator or a cheap battery tender.. overcharging is #1.
**This is a very good example of what I'm trying to get across. 99% of people see the battery either sweating or leaking and they blame the battery. When in reality (I prefer reality) there is a preceding causation.
#2 is mechanical damage due to:
- Extreme cold temperatures
- Overheating (causes the sulfuric acid to expand)
#3 Age and/or neglect (sulfation)

btw, if someone is truly interested... a lot of higher quality new batteries have vent ports (my new interstate does). Simple add a tube and route it towards the ground. (just like cars that package the battery inside the cabin or trunk)

tbrowne

Doesn't matter much why a battery leaks - it's a catastrophe on a C5 when it happens. Going AGM makes perfect sense when replacing the battery. Top post batteries were a big improvement over side posts but they can still leak.

knewblewkorvette

Yeah, I wasn't trying to be a butthead or anything.
Never said anything about "majority" of them leak. Just enough of them to make me to always buy a AGM. Do I need a AGM, I doubt it. But same goes with seat belts. Do I really need them, I doubt it but I'll still wear one as you never know when you might need it.
It's your Corvette, do as you please.

GCG

roegs

Life Lesson 2: Learn from others that have gone before me.

I like the upgrade, but have to agree with others. Why even take the chance of the battery leaking? For a few dollars more, an AGM is cheap insurance.

Bottom line - if you're happy, that's what counts.

mcm95403

A simple battery box will prevent problems with a leaking battery. I tried one of those supposedly awesome Optima batteries in my C6 and it sucked. Returned 2, then finally got a normal battery and no more problems.

Also, the Big 3 kit from Sac City is a great addition! I don't know why GM always just uses the minimum when it comes to important cables.

wydopnthrtl

Back at the timing of C5 engineering we designed for 10yrs and 150k miles for chassie and 200k for drivetrain. (I sat right next to the design engineer who designed the water pump for SBC. I even helped a little on the LT1 WP for the late C4 vette) For electrical things its not the miles so much as it is time. In 10yrs most cars won't have corrosion or degradation problems. Also we have to justify costs so things like lengths of cables, qty of cables, and mass have to be justified to our managers and accounting. If "cheap" meets the SPEC of 10yrs / 150k miles then we are not allowed to go overboard.

If I were allowed to design cars to my liking, cars would work forever and perform exceptionally. But they would probably cost 50% more than they currently do. I doubt many people would buy them because of the cost of quality. Avg people always gravitate towards cheaper things and will accept some amount of imperfection to get it. This is the whole premiss of walmart and is why they have been so successful. Instead of selling 10 high quality widgets at 100% profit they would rather sell 100 cheap versions at 40% profit. (3x the net)

One thing I noticed on both my C4 and my C5 is the compromises in design as compared to my current design criteria (I work at a different OEM now-a-days). I see things in those cars that simply don't meet the standard I have to design to. Things like drip loops, connectors with wires facing incoming water / airflow, grounds exposed to incoming water, and of coarse... placing the battery directly above any PCM.
Which btw.. the stock battery box does offer a little bit of drip protection as it has a lip running 360degrees around the battery. At least my 04's does. (still is a design that would never fly where I now work)

GCG

As you explained, those are the rules of the game. In addition to that, there's really no advantage in going so much more beyond the required gauge for a given maximum current plus some reasonable headroom. The gauge is chosen so the maximum current that might flow through the wire doesn't produce a voltage drop above an acceptable threshold (usually around .1V in cars). Increasing the wire gauge to make that voltage drop go down just one order of magnitude (from .1V to .01V) would require a gauge change of 10 AWG sizes (which translates to a lot of additional weight) with no practical advantage in obtained results!

One thing is to beef up one's own car and another to set a parameter in a production line.

wydopnthrtl

Update: Last fall the battery was pretty sluggish in starting the engine. My tester was showing only 60% health and winter was coming. So I returned it to costco and they replaced it for free.
New battery has been in there for about 4-5 months and all is well.

I like the AGM but considering the price at the time was double.. just not worth it to me.

JHrinsin

GM made the switch from the wet cell to AGM battery design in 2001 at the same time they switched from the Group 78 to the somewhat lighter Group 75 battery. This was one of many changes seen as part of the 2001 mid cycle freshening/updating process.

Now we all know that everyone here on the forum is much smarter than the GM engineers, right? So there is no reason for this change, right? We don't have to buy a more expensive replacement AGM battery, right?

Take a look at this picture. Notice the corrosion (rust) on the frame under where the battery is mounted?




The cost to fix that corrosion, as well as the cost to replace the ECU and repair/replace the wiring harness located under the battery would far exceed the cost of upgrading from a wet cell to an AMG battery (even after several battery replacements cycles over the years). In fact the cost to repair the damage of a leaking wet cell battery maybe enough to total a C5 as far as an insurance company would be concerned. So consider the cost difference of buying the AGM battery over a wet cell battery as "inexpensive insurance". I am sure no one here would forgo having insurance on their Corvette, right?

BTW, try doing your job with a cost account breathing down your neck all the time, questioning every decision and choice you make. Also we all have the luxury of being a Monday morning quarterback sitting here with +25 years of hindsight on our side. I will get off the soap box now.

JHrinsin

You may want to watch this video as well.