Corvette_fetish

My Vette is a recent purchase. I've discovered it has a slow battery drain. The first time I let the car set for six continuous days the battery had power, but just not quite enough to start the engine. I assumed it was the battery, so I took it to Auto Zone. They charged it for an hour & tested it and said it was a good battery. Once re-installed, no problems until another time weeks later when the car set five continuous days and that had the same bad result. Drained just enough not to start. A jump start solved that, and again since, no problems. (No major corrosion on the terminals & cables by the way) Now, the car has sat for up to five days at a time in the past and started right up, so ???

The volt meter shows the alternator is charging the battery while the engine is running, but the other day I noticed right after a "good" strong start, the volt meter kept showing a drain (under 13) for like 30 secs, then the "GEN" light flashed on and off for just one second, and suddenly it started charging normally (over 13). Then last night I noticed, while the engine was running but with the lights off, that the "GEN" light is continuously giving off a very slight dull glow. You could never see it in the daylight, but it slightly glows as long as the engine is running.

My question is: Do these "symptoms"/observations seem related? Could the alternator be going south, and if so could that be related to the power drain while not running? If you had not guessed, I'm far from ASC certified, lol.

1979toy

That sounds exactly like what my car was doing just before the alternator quit.

Corvette_fetish

That's what I was afraid of, oh well, it's only money right?

ROD NOCK

If your dash alt light is on, brite or dim, your alt's output isn't to spec.
And yeah, it's only $$. That's part of the fun with vette ownership, spending lots of it!! :lol:

stingry

I got mine upgraded to 70 Amps and rebuilt for $65. AUTOZONE sells them for about $50. Probably worth doing to remove the unknowns.

Good luck.

markdtn

I would get a Delco rebuilt from Advance. I have had poor luck with the 'Zone and alternators/starters.