Wolfbane

It has been cold here in maryland recently so I have not driven the vette in a few days. I go out to get something out of the car and it is stone cold dead. Battery appears to be totally drained. I thought I might have left out of reverse but when I got the door opened I noticed that the seat was all the way back. I have the auto exit feature on so it only does that when the car is in reverse and the parking brake is on. This means I didn't have it in the wrong gear and when I checked the gear shift handle it was indeed in reverse. I tried hooking up my battery charger. The car just sits there and makes a strange clicking noise. (Sounds like a couple of relays and perhaps a solenoid.) After about 15 minutes I took the charger off. I'll call the dealer in the morning to get them to check it out. Anyone else have any electrical problems?

Vette_DD

Beginning to have more and more reports of bad batteries.

StanNH

There have been quite a few posts concerning Delco OEM batteries going dead when the car has been left for a few days. It's probably the battery since defective cells have been reported for these.

My guess is that the dealer will just replace it with the same type battery. It would be to your advantage if you could persuade them to put something in with greater capacity than the OEM unit.

lager99

Elite Engineering

Good luck. I went round and round with a C5 battery. The dealer would not replace it with anything but the same "no-good" OEM unit. I even tried to pay the difference between the OEM and optima battery.

Wolfbane

Hmmm......I can count on one hand the number of OEM delco batteries I have had that didn't die within a year. I might just go and buy a battery rather than deal with the hassle. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

burtonbl103

thats why i invested in a battery tender
it was great on my c5 and i am shure i will be using it on my c6

CudjoeScott

Same here. I left town for three weeks and came back to a dead battery. I charged it up and drove to town (45 minutes). Gauge read 14.4 amps so I know it was charging during the drive. Turned it off for 10 minutes. Dead as a doornail. I got to try out the roadside assistance.

So it's been charging since last night. I'll take it out later for a spin and see if it starts. Since my dealer sucks, I guess I'll end up running up to Sears. Never had any problems with DieHards in my cars or my boats.

05C6400

Here is your stupid question for the day - What is a battery tender? And where would you get one? Any websites that explain what it is?

Thanks.

Sandy S

At least make the dealer give you a new battery (even if you plan to get one of your own) otherwise GM will never know the extent of the problem.

crabman

Donate it to charity and get a write off.

CudjoeScott

Point taken.

AC54ME

Battery Tenders are available at most auto stores - costs in the $40 area.

They are used by many people for maintaining the battery during extended periods of idle time.

They maintain a charge, and automaticaly turn off when the charged level is reached.

Get one, they are great.

Corvette Junkie

http://www.batterytender.com/

mikeyc6

I'm putting my money on the battery too. I'm also in Maryland so we have had similar weather lately. Mine has been sitting for about 2 weeks. Went out in the cold today to start it, and it started just like it was brand new. Didn't even hesitate and turned over just as fast as always. If it were me, I'd just buy a new/better battery. It's not worth the hassle to me to have GM fiddle with it. But that's just me. Of course, then you take a chance that it might not be the battery.

Mike

CRABBYJ

I've had an OEM battery last 5 plus years, and it was still going strong when I sold the car. I only put approx 5K miles on this car in all that time. It was mostly on the Batterytender. I set it up so as to see the indicator light every time I went through the garage. Indicator light starts out red then changes to green while maintaining battery fully charged. I'm going to use it on my C6 this winter.

JFTaylor

Wolfbane, Search CF for dead batteries in the C6 gen site. Think there was talk a month ago about a few Delco problems.

seesix

Wolfbane, had same problem back in Sept. Seems to be exclusive to manuals. Mine died (only came off line 2 weeks prior) with car left in reverse as instructed. Not an authority at all but I have to believe its not the battery but something regarding linking circuitry between the transmission and the battery. Authorized Corvette Tech couldn't find anything and insisted the car wasn't left in reverse which was rather insulting because I knew more about the design changes in this car than practically everyone there. Since that time had it in very cold storage for over three weeks and recently started up like nothing ever happened. Hmmmm.

gator87

What is so different about vettes that they eat batteries? Or is it just the Delco battery?

C1ANDZR1

Fellas,

I have found a less expensive alternative to the Battery Tender, is smaller, and works just as well. It is called the Battery Butler and it is made by Lectric Limited. This is the same company who makes the repro wiring harnesses for older Corvettes and musclecars. I ordered two a couple of weeks ago for my ZR-1 and '60 and they work great. It is only about as big as a cell phone charger and best of all, it's only $15.00. I called the companys order line, but I think you can buy them online at their website.

I hope this didn't sound like a commercial, I don't know anyone from the company - it is just seems to be a good product for the money.

Jason