1996Z15

So I take my 2002 Z06 to work today; starts right up and drives fine all the way in. I take it to lunch at noon; again no problems. I go to head home at 5:00 and the battery is dead..........I mean DEAD!!! won't even crank.
I get a set of jumper cables and use one of the work trucks to jump start the car. I agreed to drop one of my co-workers off in Atlantic City which is about 15 minutes away; again the car drives fine. After dropping him off and now heading home I start to see error messages flash across the dash;

"Service ABS"
"Service Traction Sys"
"Service Active Handling Sys"

I was hoping that this was due to low voltage caused by the dead battery and that it might go away as I continue to drive.....no such luck.

I get home and put it away in the garage; just for the heck of it I try to start it up to see if the long drive home charged the battery enough to start the car.................again it is DEAD.

Can all of those errors be a result of a bad battery?
Do you think that is all that is going on with the car? A bad battery?
Car has 48,000 miles and may have the original battery for all I know.

I have read some of Bill Curlee's sticky post and did see that the C5 is particularly sensitive to battery voltage. I have no problem replacing the battery; I just want to make sure that is the cause of all these messages and that there isn't more going on here.

Any advice / suggestions would be appreciated.

dgrant3830

If there is a battery drain going on, then you'll need to isolate the source. Usually is a seat bladder motor running. If you don't know how old the battery is, you can either replace it or get it load tested.

Paul 75 L82

You can get weird codes with low voltage. I did after a cam install. You got to find out if the battery just died or if you have an electrical problem.

Dave68

Check your battery terminal connections before charging your battery. Driving the car often is not sufficient to fully charge the battery.

I recently experienced a completely dead "car" because of a loose battery connection. By the way, if your battery is an AC Delco with "AGM" printed on it, it may very well be the original and at 9 years of age, is due for being replaced.

Silverbullet00

Have the current juice source load tested. My 2000 is on it's third battery,,,just this year,,,,they don't last forever,,,,and yes,,,Code City if the juice ain't there!


my $00.02

jrose7004

Make sure the cables are tight and corrosion free.

Bill Curlee

Look for any removable caps on top of the battery and if there are any, check the fluid level in the battery.

YEP, even maintenance free batteries have caps SOMEWHERE and can be removed. Usually under the top lable. You would be amazed at how many MAINTENANCE FREE batteries that I have found to be very LOW on fluid!

If the level is low, refill with distilled water and recharge.



CHARGE the battery till its FULLY CHARGED! Take the car and battery into Autozone or advance or anywhere that can fully test the battery.

It may not have sufficient CCA or it ready to die.

BC

TK6

I would have the battery tested to make sure it really is low, and not a problem with power not getting through. (I have a DieHard battery where the side-post terminals crapped-out, but the top-posts work fine.)

melvingregory

Low voltage causes more problems with modern cars. The codes you are seeing are the type you will see with a weak battery. Normally, it takes at least 30 minutes to replace the amount of charge used cranking and starting a car. That's with no accessories running. So your drive out wouldn't have been enough to recharge your battery even back to the point it was before you jumped it. I've owned several C5's over the years and got my first one in 1999. That one I bought in 99 went thru 3 batteries while under warranty. Since replacing the last battery in 2005 I still have the same battery in it with no issues. The difference? I keep the car on a battery tender when not using it and for sure when I know it's going to sit for a week or more. I do the same with my 98 vert also, and the battery in it's 5 years old. Check your owners manual, make sure you have the correct rating for your year, they are different based on the year. Have the battery charged and tested to see if still meets the requirements. Buy a battery tender and use it when the car sits to maintain it. I use a CTEK, but there are several choices available. Good luck!

bsmutz

Here's what I would do. I'd disconnect the battery and then check the voltage (should be lower than 12 volts if the battery is losing charge). If it is low, then I would charge it with an external-to-the-car charger. Once it is charged, measure the voltage again (make sure it is a little over 12 volts). If it doesn't charge, your problem is with the battery. If it does charge, stick it back in the car and fire it up. Now measure the voltage again. If it is lower than the last reading you took (should be over 13 volts with engine running), then the alternator isn't charging the battery for some reason.

Alternatively, if you can jump it and get it started, measure the voltage with the engine running at about 2500 rpms. If it stays steady at 13 volts or more, then it's the battery. If the voltage steadily drops with the engine running, it's the charging system. Of course, make sure your terminals are clean and tight whichever method you use.