khoeysr

My car is stored in a commercial storage unit without access to power. My thought was to go up weekly and run it for 15 minutes or so and drive it 10 -15 miles when possible. I did this with all three of my CTS Vs and never had an issue.

But my vette is going dead. And I mean dead. Nothing. Can't open the doors. This is after as little as three days after I drive it.

I can start it by connecting an external power pack to the battery. After about 5 minutes I have lights, LCD screens, chimes, everything. After about 7 minutes I can start it, although it may take a couple of tries.

I got it down to the dealer and they can't find a draw, the battery tests good and strong. They did suggest I store it in transit mode. After they charged up the battery I went up two days later and it started, and I drove it about 15 miles. Put it back in the box and came back 7 days later- deader than soccer.

Is it possible that these cars are this sensitive electronically? That if I drove it to the airport and parked it for a week, I can expect it to be dead when I come get it? I know they want us to use the battery tender.

Any input is appreciated.

Glen e

I'd have someone look at it...maybe a bad battery? I just left my vette in airport long term parking for 8 days and it started fine.

khoeysr

Glen the dealer had it for two days. They claim they couldn't find any draws; no codes, nothing. They tested the battery as better than good, and they charged it fully.

I did tell them that one time I got a "service theft deterrent system" warning once I got the car started. They claim to have checked that out, but nothing.

It's crazy. Can't believe there isn't something drawing it down.

Glen e

Chevrolet could not simply sell a car that went dead in a parking lot after a week...keep looking, and have the batt load tested, not just voltage...

Landru

Funny analogy, Kevin.

Just guessing here but a 15 mile drive's probably not near enough time to allow a cell to recharge after starting. A solid 30 minutes driving seems to be the consensus at CF for the recharging question.

IF dealer couldn't find a draw, and, there isn't any power for a tender?
Only other choice is disconnecting batter during storage. Could find storage w/ power too, I 'spose.

Bummer to hear you're having this issue with a new '14, seriously don't think (hope) it's the same 'DBS" as experienced w/ the '05 C6 though at this early stage who knows.

Good luck, hope you get it sorted.

bgood

subscribing to this thread. Would like to know how this issue plays out over the next several weeks.

I too expect that the C7 should be able to sit for a couple of weeks and still be able to crank.

Eleventh

Me too. Now I'm nervous, my C7 has been sitting in a storage unit for two weeks now (my temp tags ran out, finally got my plates this weekend). Curious whether it will start.

26112808

I had the exact issue with my '09 during the winter -- 7 days in the garage and it was stone-dead. Brought it mulitple times to multiple dealers and no issue was found. Solution was a Battery Tender -- which is what I'm doing now with the Stingray for the long winter's nap.

Eleventh

I'll let you know later this week, mine's been in storage for two weeks. But I've left it sitting in my garage for over a week without any start problems.

I really doubt this is the cause, but for completeness: any reason to believe that the unit you store it in effectively has alot of RF shielding that could cause the car to do something funny with the radios to try and reconnect? Like how your cell phone can get sucked down when it has no signal? I'm not sure how active onstar is, but I think the sat radio turns itself on periodically to update codes.

You aren't leaving your key fob anywhere near the vehicle are you? That'd run down the battery faster.

Finally - Does your storage unit have a light inside? As soon as I can find a ladder tall enough, I'm going to tap the lightbulb socket in my unit so I can run a power cord down for the battery tender.

sprtplt

Unacceptable.

4XLR8N

In general, a battery should not drain so much that it cannot start the car in a week.

If there is no significant draw, then the only other possibility is a bad battery. Beyond a simple defective battery (it happens), it is possible that the car sat for a long time after being built and the battery was deeply discharged and effectively ruined.

I would get a new battery. If you cannot use a battery tender, disconnect the battery if the vehicle is going to be long term storage. Starting it and running it for 15 minutes every week or two does more harm than good, especially considering the moisture in your oil and exhaust system.

Glen e

this brings up a good point, once a battery is flattened, it is not the same. One battery seminar I went to when in the marine business, I was told a simple flattening once could take 20% out of the life of the batt, esp if it sits for a few days flattened.

Eleventh

Sorry for the multiple posts. This is obviously abnormal behavior. Some more thinking on the trouble shooting here:

Let's assume you dealer is doing the standby amperage test correctly and the powered down draw is normal and the battery is good. Something is still drawing down the battery, so I'd think it is either:
a) parking condition: there is some key off, but there is some heavier standby loads that are getting triggered when the car is sitting. Either because of where you are storing it (the crazy radio theory) or how you park it (you're leaving the fob in the garage with the car)
or
b) fault: something that is very infrequently triggered / unsuspected is turning on and has an electrical fault that is shorting the battery to ground.

Have you done the obvious test of parking it somewhere else for a few days and seeing if the same thing happens? Leave it at the dealer for a few days and see if the same thing happens. If yes, I'd look towards a fault explanation, that's definitely abnormal, the boards would be flooded if folks cars weren't starting after sitting for a few days.

If not, then look again at the facility. I'm not sure what 'transit' mode is, but we know that OnStar still is turned on when GM ships the car.

Eleventh

I agree, I'd try swapping the battery out for troubleshooting's sake. I'm guessing your storage unit isn't heated, cold weather is the final nail for a failing battery. Not sure why the dealer's tests wouldn't catch it, but my last battery in my other car failed fast as soon as the weather changed:
The car lasted two weeks no problem.
Then after a week it needed to be jumped.
Then 3 days. Then I left on an road trip, it wouldn't last overnight. Had to limp home, afraid to even turn the thing off at the gas station (V12 engine, getting that to turn over takes some cranking amps!).

Not sure what the OEM battery is, but get an AGM (advanced glass mat) or OPTIMA replacement if you can.

PaulB

I had also hoped that the DBS issue would be gone with the C7. But, it appears the DBS is still an issue. I think Chevrolet does also since they still offer the $100 Battery Protection Package (Battery Tender) as an option. These cars have a lot of draw from electronics so batteries just cant hold up for that long. I think its pretty clear in that no C5 or C6 or C7 should be stored for any length of time without a Battery Tender being used. I agree that this is downright upsetting but it is what it is. I am still driving a C6 and just recently I went to start my Corvette and after 10 days all was dead. Up to that point I thought I could go at least 2 weeks without a problem. I learned something. I have been told that it takes 13 volts to start a Corvette. With less than 13 Volts, the radio might play, the door locks might open, the interior lights will come on etc but it just wont start unless it has 13 volts. Just use a battery tender and you should avoid this frustration. My questions are even on a new Corvette, how many times has that Corvette been jump started from being built til sold. Every time a battery is jump started its less of a powerful battery than what it was prior. And it is very clear some Corvettes will last longer than others but I think in the end a Battery Tender is your best advice.

Glen e

Chev offers a batt charger as many store their vettes, more so than normal cars. It's not because the system sucks energy and it "needs" the charger.

Like it was said above, something is worng here, chev cant sell a car that would sit in a parking lot at an airport for 2 weeks and be dead when you come home.

Petcare51

Had the same issue with my C6- they found a short in the trunk light- they fixed that I was all good.

khoeysr

Thanks for the thoughtful input. The storage building is typical metal shell with a garage type door. Can't imagine there is any type of shielding, but just can't confirm. I do not leave the fob in or near the car. There are no lights inside. When I conracted with them I asked about power and they said no. There are outside lights and a working power outlet on every other building (not mine) but I do not believe they are interested in offering power. Plus running an ext cord with be problematic with periodic snow plowing, etc.

Any way, we have snow and frigid temps, so it's not going anywhere, but also means it's not getting fixed. Had it at the dealer during a break in the weather.

LIStingray

Running it 10-15 minutes at idle will not charge a battery much - it certainly won't get it to full change. Those are 40-50 amp reserve batteries, and the alternator doesn't put out 80% power until 2,000 rpm, so even if you ran it at a constant 2,000 rpm, you are looking at 20+ minutes to bring it from 50% to full charge with nothing else (lights, radio, heat, etc) turned on.
You might be better off disconnecting the battery. One of the biggest regular draws is the active alarm system - it may only take 0.05 amp/hr, but that is about 1.2 amps/day and will deplete your battery to 50% in 15-20 days, and that likely isn't the only small draw.

PaulB

I have wondered for some time now if the Corvettes should be getting 2 Batteries. One for the abiity to start the car and the 2nd for all the electronic draws. The DBS has raised its ugly head on me several times now. A year ago I bought one of the Power Pack Instant Starters. It just sits in the garage and gets used as needed. Well a month or so ago mine went dead. I went to use the Instant Starter. I charged it first up to the 100% line. Then I used it on the Corvette. The Corvette would not start. The doors would unlock, the radio came on, the lights were on, it just would not start. It would only get up to about 12.5 volts. I called the mfgr and they asked had I been charging it every 30 days. I said no. They said thats a must. If you dont charge it every 30 days it probably wont ever get over to the needed 13 volts. I asked the lady to send out a survey to all Instant Power Starter Owners if they charge it every 30 days cause I seriously doubt it. She suggested replacing the small battery in the Instant Starter. I went to a battery store. That battery would cost about the same as buying a new Instant Starter. Some days ya just cant win at all...