Stardusterone

I'm a new member of the forum and have owned a 1998 coupe for 2 years. I have been working my way through the general and tech forums and have seen numerous posts concerning electrical problems.

My question is how prevalent are electrical problems with the early C5? Should every owner expect to have to deal with most of these problems or is it a small percentage of owners that are using the forum to find answers?

My car has 110K miles and I have not had any problems other than the traction control/ABS light activating when I hit a big seam on the interstate.

There's s saying about pilots who fly planes with retractable landing gear...there are 2 groups: those who have landed with gear up and those who will.

I hope this does not apply to the early C5 owner concerning electrical gremlins!

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

Stardusterone

dadaroo

In my opinion there are no years more prone to issues. New or good used part availability is harder for some parts like EBCM. SWPS, PCM, and BCM for pre 2001 cars at this time.


Mr. Sam

jackthelad

Early build '98's had more than their share. I think GM was still on a learning curve. However, most were shaken out during the warranty period. At least, my '98 settled down at about 2+ years old and has been relatively trouble free since.

The first couple of years were a royal PITA though - in the dealership about every 2 months, all for electrical/electronic issues.

73Corvette

If the battery hasn't leaked on the PCM... and it's been replaced with a good quality battery... and you keep the battery charged and the voltage up... I would not expect electrical issues... but, if you have low voltage and corrosion problems then YES you might expect problems.

Vetteman Jack

This thread has tons of information on electrical problems with the C5. However, that does not mean that every C5 will have problems with the electronics on the car. It is a good reference point though if you do experience any issues.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...tion-long.html

lionelhutz

The issue is unavailable parts for the older C5's.

My car hasn't had much for electrical issues. A couple of relays, the HVAC resistors and the connections at the solenoid resulting in a new starter are about all that I've fixed electrically. I have a bunch of records from before I owned it and I saw a headlight motor (probably the gear) and a BCM in them. My car has around 160k miles on it.

The starter was still working but I had the header off to replace the AC compressor and I was just messing with the connections at the solenoid post a few weeks before that so I replaced it. It was pretty ugly looking so it was due to be replaced.

73Corvette

Nothing to do with fat fingers... just a brain fart. I know which goes where and what they do..durr Thanks for the heads up...

popshumphrey

I have a 97 and have had it for 6 years. 14k on it when I got it. Today it has 43k. I am currently having some voltage issues but not big. I have had no problems and I have maybe the worst year of them all. I have found the connectors are the biggest issue for me. The traction control on mine also kicked on at bumps. I cleaned the wheel sensor connections and taped them and the problem seems to go away. Just enjoy the car. I am a novice so disregard anything I say.

Stardusterone

Thank you all for your notes...I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.
I'm just going to keep on driving and enjoying every mile!

Stardusterone