Smooth9883

Last night I was on the forum reading all the posts of everyone with a dead battery. I was thinking to myself, "Geesh, these guys have some really bad luck and possibly faulty cars, I sure am glad that I have a great car that has no problems."

As I'm sure you guys can tell, I'm eating my words right now. I went to start the vett for work today and nothing but clicks. Battery is down right dead! I was a little surprised because I drove the car just under two weeks ago for about 2 hours and it never showed any signs of battery problems.

So here are my thoughts and questions and yes, I've read the other threads on this:

- 2010 GS produced in April
- I will get a battery tender to keep this from happening again.
- Will the tender restore the battery from it's current state?
- When I connect the tender do I need to remove all the car connections?
- Why does a $70,000 car have battery problems?
- I do plan on driving my car at least a few times a month, is there anything I should be aware of with the tender?
- Should I call chevy road side assistance and have them take the car to the dealer?
- Is it possible the battery is drained to far charge? (Horn barley chirped when I walked away. Key fob does not work anymore.)
- Will I need to reprogram my key fobs?
- For the initial start will I have to insert the key fob in to the slot?
- What will need to be reset in the car? (window indexing, radio, climate?)
- What am I not thinking of?


Thanks guys!


Update:

So this stupid issue has bothered me now for a few days. I have been so busy at work though that I haven't had time to worry about it. Tonight I finally had time. First I tried to jump start her with no success. Everything lit up just like normal but all it would do is click. I did shut all the lights and power draining items off but it still didn't matter. So I just went to Walmart and bought a Schumacher XC-10. I have it on the fast charge mode hoping the battery will have enough juice in the morning to start up.

Few questions about chargers:

- The XC-10 indicates that after the battery is charged it will go into maintain mode and not fry the battery, do I need to worry about leaving the charger on all night?
- I have the connections of the charger connected to the positive post under the fuse box lid and a bolt that holds the header to the engine. Is this the best place to charge?
- When I tried jumping tonight as soon as I made the negative connection the alarm went off and I had to shut it off with the fob. With the charger plugged in the alarm has not gone off, will it go off on me tonight some time?
- The charger lights appear to indicate that it is charging correctly. But about every two minutes I hear a fan start up then I hear it shut off. Is this normal?

keyplyr

Nothing personal, but if the last time I drove my car was 2 weeks ago for only 2 hours, I might be pissed but I wouldn't be *surprised* especially with all the DB stories on this forum.

You may want to consider getting a battery tender

dads toy

Ha, I was thinking the same thing 2 winters ago. all these guys and THEY all have problems. Mine was totally fine! Went out and nothing but a dead battery too. asked the same questions you asked, Little secret, I think most C6 owners have or will be asking the same thing sooner or later.

StKnoWhere

No worries, FOB and all else should be OK, will just need to re-index the windows.

Recharge or jump start (roadside will do this) then have the battery tested at the dealer, they will replace it under waranty if it does not pass.

I wonder if part of it could be the car cruises at such a low RPM the charge rate on the battery is low, especially at night with the lights on. Was your previous drive highway at night?

Red Rochester

Take it to the dealer and have them check for the source of the drain in the system.

Raazor

As I 've stated dozens of times... 17-18 days is usually MAX once the car is a year old or so.

Jeffthunbird

So many questions. My '05 would die after 3-4 weeks as the car sucks some juice when sitting there. 2 weeks seems too quick. From my experience with a battery tender, it may bring it back but you should buy a $40 trickle charger to get it up there and use the tender from there.
Fobs will work after dead battery. You can hook up the tender pig tail without worry.

St.Char

If you have a 2010 you are still under warranty. However, you will probably need a tow to the dealer for them to replace the battery, I would call your salesperson or service manager and ask if you could just bring the battery in. Personally, I would just purchase a new battery and a battery tender on my own because you'll run a higher risk of damage if towed.

If you purchase yourself, after you install the battery about the only thing you will need to do is re-index the windows. Procedure is in the manual and very easy. You could also search this procedure too

Before you do anything, you may want to take your existing battery to a auto store and have them charge it there. They can tell you whether or not you'll need another one, which you probably will.

mack morrow jr

Your car is full of electronics which is why it will easily go dead when not regularly used. The 70K gets you the performance and feel you get when you drive it. Try getting the same feel and performance elsewhere and you will find it cost significantly more. The tender may bring you back to full capacity but that depends on the state of drain. Have a load test done. You do not have to disconnect anything when using the tender. Just put it on and forget about it until you drive the car. Short bursts like you describe dont allow the alternator to recharge the battery after an initial drain on start -up.After letting it charge up you will be able to see if indexing and other resets are Needed. I doubt it but you wont know until you try. You have a great car. I have owned many Corvettes, Porsches and other high performance machinery since the late 60s and I have NEVER had a battery issue and rarely use the cars between late November and mid April. I have ALWAYS used a tender even during spring and summer and indeed year round. Anytime my car is parked for the evening it has a tender on it 365 days a year. If you heed this your troubles at least with batteries are over. If you have to replace your current battery get an Optima red top and a CTEK 3300 battery tender and use it. Good luck.

dads toy

when my battery died they dealer charged it and it has been fine for well over a year. I do not let it sit like I did though. lesson learned.

dgrant3830

Nothing lasts forever and that includes batteries. When a 5yr battery hits 3yrs of use and you notice the engine turns over a hair slower, replace the battery then rather than waiting and getting stuck...advise for all of us and not just the OP. Make sure the connections are clean and tight and do not forget the connection at the starter solenoid which is where the entire electrical system comes together.

Raazor

this

phileaglesfan

I leave mine parked for 2-3 weeks at a time with no tender and it fires right up (knocking on wood). My car is almost 3 years old so my guess it is waiting for the warranty to expire like my Impala did.

Raazor

the first two years mine lasted also. then i went a month one time and that was that. 17 days is max now.

djbrun

I leave my car for up to 5 or 6 weeks at a time and no issues thus far, hopefully it will stay that way.

Raazor

tic tock tic tock tick toc.....





click click click click..... "DAMMIT"!!!

mikeCsix

Batteries, one of my favorite topics.
Some answers:

- 2010 GS produced in April
Sweet. I hope to be able to get a brand new one in a couple of years with a museum delivery. I love these cars. Mine is an '08 I recently purchased with 5200 miles on it.
- I will get a battery tender to keep this from happening again.
Good idea. With the Deltran battery tender, you get some connectors to install permanently to make this a plug and play process.
- Will the tender restore the battery from it's current state?
Yes, provided there is no or very little draw on the electrical system. There had to have been some though to cause it to go dead in the first place. The Battery Tender does not produce a lot of current, in the neighborhood of one amp depending on the model. Mine is the Jr. model which recharged a 50% approx. group 24 battery in 24 hours. I would consider doing a bulk charge with something like a basic unregulated battery charger, drive the voltage up to about 13.8v, disconnect the charger, then top it off and maintain it with a regulated battery charger like the Deltran Battery Tender (the brand I use).
- When I connect the tender do I need to remove all the car connections?
Not if already brought up to charge and all you want to do is keep it up. Once again, mine is the wall-wart model and will bulk then float the battery indefinitely.
- Why does a $70,000 car have battery problems?
Maybe it doesn't like being a garage queen and wants to be driven...Computers/sensors running all the time using up energy. It has to sense you approaching the car, open the locks and get ready to be started, plus the alarm system, plus on-star, etc...
- I do plan on driving my car at least a few times a month, is there anything I should be aware of with the tender?
Not really, just disconnect before driving. I'm sure some have forgotten that little detail.
- Should I call chevy road side assistance and have them take the car to the dealer?
I wouldn't. Just jump start it and drive it in if that is what you want to do...
- Is it possible the battery is drained to far charge? (Horn barley chirped when I walked away. Key fob does not work anymore.)
No. What has happened is sulfate deposits have built up internal to the battery which shortens its life. This happens in the discharge state and is more prevalent when deeply discharged. These batteries are built for starting cars, not carrying loads as in a deep cycle battery. Once the car is started, the load is transferred to the alternator/charging system.

The only way to get rid of the deposits is with some serious battery conditioning equipment. The battery would have to be removed from the car because the voltages are much higher, on the order of 16.2v with very low current to accomplish this task, and the equipment is pretty expensive to buy. It would be cheaper just to buy a new battery if you are worried about it. Depending on how long the charge has been off the battery, you may have shortened its life by about a year.
- Will I need to reprogram my key fobs?
Don't think so.
- For the initial start will I have to insert the key fob in to the slot?
Don't think so here either, but don't have experience in this regard.
- What will need to be reset in the car? (window indexing, radio, climate?)
probably all if you have removed the battery, maybe none if you haven't.
- What am I not thinking of?
I think you covered the bases pretty well.

One question I have is, how sensitive are the electronics in the car? I would read the owners manual pretty closely about jump starting the car, perhaps talk to the dealer about it too just to make sure there isn't anything odd or unusual about the process.

I hope this helps some...

BobBass

I've been reading these DBS posts ever since joining "CF" a few months ago. Has anybody ever done a survey to figure out why there are lucky people like "djbrun" who are able to "...leave my car for up to 5 or 6 weeks at a time and no issues thus far, hopefully it will stay that way?"

Maybe there are certain options that create a drain on the battery when parked. I know there's something about the M2W NPP exhaust controller that, if left in one position or the other, causes a drain.

If we could figure this out, then a blanket statement could be made that if you have a car with <fill in the option(s) causing the drain> you better make darn sure you keep it on a battery maintainer or you're sure to have DBS.

All I know is when I bought my '85 in '88, the first thing the owner told me after buying it was that the battery would run down if it sat for any length of time. As a result, I kept it on a tender and was able to go from 1996-2010 on one Delco battery.

When I traded the '85 in on an '09 coupe a few weeks ago, the last thing the detailer said was virtually the same thing - keep it on a battery maintainer...WHICH I DO!

For the record, I have:
'09 Coupe
MN6
3LT
Z51
NAV
NPP

Smooth9883

I hadn't actually heard that M2W could drain the battery. Is this true? If so, what is the cure? I also have the PAL installed. I'm wondering if the PAL didn't switch off for some reason when I shut the car off. I still need to research this to ensure that it is a viable answer. I really do think I have a drain since I do drive the car as much as possible. It is definitely not a garage queen even though I do take care of it. I have just under 9,000 miles on it since April.

cclive

You can either track down the source of the drain, and you mentioned two good places to start...or you can forget the actual problem and just treat the symptom and add a battery tender. If you drive the car often, I would expect that connecting and disconnecting a tender before and after every drive would be a real pain. If driven less often then it wouldn't be a big deal.