Higrpwd

Hello,

I am a new member.. first Vette.. 98 Vert and I'm a woman. SO I think I can get away with asking this question! haha

My battery is dead after not driving for three days and its leaving me unimpressed! My 350z has sat for weeks and I ended up driving it today instead of the Vette.

So, before I go into the WHOLE trying to track down what, if anything, is draining the battery I'd like some help on figuring out what year this battery is and maybe I just need a new one.

The Battery is a Delco 78-6yr battery. I have read a few internet "how to's" on where to find the date of manu. but I don't get it. I'm pretty savy.. but maybe I'm missing something. It says check the stamp. The only things I see "Stamped into" the battery are 19MLR and the other numbers I don't know what they mean are 129R that is on the label.

Any help here would be appreciated.. I can buy a battery tender but I live in Calif and would like to drive this by just getting in and going.. not unplugging and plugging it back in.. I would have bought a Chevy VOLT if I wanted to do that. I'm frustrated.. I dont want to drive this just because the battery will go dead if I dont.

Thanks for the help. If its not the battery I can start going through the LONG list of steps to figure it out. But I think I should start here. :will y:

Ole Blaster

sorry to hear your having probs with you vette.. sounds to me like a drain..I would have the battery tested at the auto parts store which should be free ...hopefully someone will chime in and be helpful...

Mastertvtech

I would get the car started and go to the local parts store and they can check the charging system too...No reason to suspect any drain until you verify the battery and alternator are ok.

Higrpwd

Ok.. I went to the Delco site and figured it out. P129R = Manufactured in Dec of 2009. How long should a battery last? (So its about 4 yrs old) The guy that I bought it from had three cars also and seemed to drive his Porsche or his new Jeep most so it may have sat a lot. I've had it since August and already had to jump it once. (Going to be twice once I get around to it) Any suggestions on the best battery to get? I will take it down and get it tested but I want to be ready once I am there as to which one to get if I need one. THANKS!

Jeff T.

I would agree with having the battery checked out. Being a relatively new owner myself, there are plenty of posts about keeping a battery tender on the car as well.

Good Luck!

Mastertvtech

I went with AutoZone's best that has a 3yr full warranty and then prorated from there. I have them in all of my vehicles and they have always lasted well past the warranty. I believe it was in the $120 range last year.

Bill Vett

If the car is not run, the battery will go dead in about 10days if not kept on a battery tender. If you car with a 4 year old battery is going dead in 3 days I would suspect that damage was done to the battery before you purchased the car. Every time the battery discharges to the point it will not start it does damage to the battery. If you purchase another battery, also get a battery maintainer, this will insure the battery will be maintained at the proper level and diminish the chances of a dead battery.

Higrpwd

Ok.. I'll get it down to Sears or my Mechanic (Sears is closer to work) sometime this week and have the battery and the charging system checked. The guy at Sears said they have the AGM 78 on sale for $156. It has a (3yr) warranty with it. Anyone use that one?

It's maybe been sitting for two days and it will barely light up the radio when I turn the key. I'll probably use this 4-5 days a week.. since its the newest member and would rather not have to get the battery tender. I can see that many people have issues with these things draining I thought it was mainly because they don't use them as daily drivers. I'm near the beach in California and its a daily driver car out here if you want to.

Higrpwd

Hey.. I wear Boots sir! haha And no.. the guy on the phone looked it up.. I didn't pick one out because it was the shiny'est one!

wamara

Hi Higrpwd,
Welcome to the forum. Just a few thoughts, based on my own experience....
I don't recognize if your present battery is an AGM; one year I let my OEM battery (an AGM which was about 3-4 years old at the time) go dead (I was doing some work on my car and didn't drive it for about 5 weeks, and didn't bother with a battery maintainer), and I found that it would never hold a charge after that....
If your battery is good (can you inspect the cells for water?), you should be able to go 2-3 weeks (in warmer weather) with it still holding enough juice to start (again, just my experience with a non-AGM battery). Have the battery checked; they can short even if not too old, which yours isn't. If it's okay, start the tedious process of looking for the source of your power drain. Good luck.

Higrpwd

Yeah.. I have been reading the difference about AGM and the other kinds.. I'm not sure which it is. From what I have read the AGM is a good kind to have or the Gel.. Sears doesn't sell the gel so its the AGM if I go there. I'll talk to the guys at work tomorrow and our mechanic there.. see what he says. Then tomorrow after work I'll jump the vette and bring it in after work to get this process started. I've found that a quicker way to search through the different threads here is to do a regular internet search and it sorts it better than going through the forum search here. haha I go back to Google.. type in what I want to find and it brings me back here rather than sort through 500 threads on the search bar above. I'll figure it out.. if it cant be fixed I'm not too attached yet that I cant sell.

Higrpwd

Thanks 87! I definitely have learned a lot from reading the daily posts. I have 3 brothers.. none around here so they aren't much help. Been emailing my one brother in Australia today but he's been there so long he doesn't even know which side of the road to drive on anymore.

I'll get it worked out.. It's a 4 yr old battery on a car that hasn't been driven much so I think I'll start there and work my way out! I'm also going to pick up a battery tender just in case it keeps this up.. that way I can drive it when I want. I do think that is a hastle tho.. never had to do that before and I've had plenty of cars. Shoot my Dodge Ram is 10 this year.. going on 11 actually and it still has the original battery in it. Ya know.. that thing has been a really good truck.. haha Besides putting a flowmaster exhaust on it.. and new tires.. it just keeps going.

Higrpwd

Awesome.. that's what I was looking for some facts! Thanks! I'll get a nice battery and a battery tender! I'm not cheap.. just wanna drive the car when I wanna! If I walk out with that set of keys thats the car I expect to drive. Thanks for all the help! If this works the next step is to get rid of these wagon wheels! Luckilly I can't see them when I'm driving. haha

f1reb1rd

your battery is likely december 2009

mrlmd

About AGM batteries - I've had a lot of experience with them for my motorcycles and have done a lot of research on them and have spoken to more than one manufacturer, and all say the same thing - an AGM battery MUST be fully charged before first use or they will prematurely fail after the first attempt at starting the engine and thereafter will never hold a full charge. If you get a new AGM battery, YOU must put it on a charger first when you get it home, before you use it, or make the battery place you buy it from put it on a charger for a few hours before you install it, don't rely on the salesman telling you just put it in the car, you are good to go. If you want that new battery to last you really have to heed this advice.

Choreo

Why did it have to be replaced twice? Do you drive the car every day?

Corvette_Ed

Just in case your problem is just the battery only, my 2000 coupe sits for 3-4 days per week and I never have a problem with it starting. You should not have any problems if you're driving yours 4-5 days per week.

I grew up about 90 minutes north of you. I spent many a summer day at the Santa Cruz boardwalk and beach before I moved to Texas. A vert is perfect for that area.

DanSavage

Another option is if you're a AAA member, you can call and have their battery service guy come to where your car is located.

He'll test your battery and charging system on-the-spot and tell you exactly where the problem lies. If it's the battery, he will then replace it. Their prices are very competitive.

If the problem lies somewhere in the charging system, you'll know that right then and there.

The battery in one of my daughter's cars died recently, and from a time and hassle standpoint, it was easier to have AAA come out than for me to pull the battery, take it down to the auto parts store, have them test it, buy a new one, then take it home and install it.

CalF

Here is the battery you need.http://www.sears.com/diehard-platinu...p-02850090000P Here is the tender. http://smartercharger.com/products/b...multi-us-3300/

Higrpwd

Thanks.. I didn't know AAA did that! That's another good reason to sign up with them.. I almost did last month. I went as far as to call my insurance co. to cancel the road svc that I had so I could get AAA and then I decided it was so cheap with them that I will just keep it unless I start going on long drives. Right now its just around town so my insurance coverage is good enuf. But thanks for the tip! That's great to know.