stingray6507

Good morning, My 2008 is having a problem starting. You push the button and get a clicking sound as if the battery is bad. Sometimes you get one click and then nothing. The battery reads 14 so it is'nt that. If you keep trying it evenually turns over. Then yesterday I got a message on the screen that said to recharge the system. I don't know what that means. Any ideas would be appreciated. joe

Apocolips

I don’t think that the battery reading 14 volts is a good indication of it’s condition. It depends on how many amps the battery is capable of producing. If this happens most every time, hook up a known good battery and see if that fixes the problem.

SDB_FTW

Just because your gauge reads 14V under low/no draw doesn't mean the battery is good. It's all about current load. Sounds to me like a bad battery.

Wildmanht

Does sound like a bad battery. Just pull it out and take some where like autozone and have them bench it with a load. Quick and easy way to find out either way.

speedraider

HarleyB

That happened to my '08. Battery was bad. Are you still on your original Delco?

JLMounce

Definitely the battery. Just because it pulls 14 volts without a load, doesn't mean it has enough cold cranking amps to spin the starter and engine.

etaylor14

I would take a look at the connection at the starter. There have been several posts saying that the solenoid cracks from the exhaust heat making a loose connection.

CO Lightfoot

Like this: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...t-problem.html
Also check the battery clamps:
http://www.ls2.com/forums/showthread.php?t=846931

But the smart money says it's the car battery.

Let us know what finally fixes it.

SDB_FTW

It seems that an easy way to narrow down the problem (battery vs. starter) is to see if the interior electrical components stay on and strong while the engine is trying to crank. To do this you'll want to put your car into accessory mode before attempting to start it.

Under normal operating conditions, and in "ACC" mode, the interior lights, gauges, stereo, etc. will stay on and functioning while the engine is started. If your problem is a dead/bad battery, I would suspect that attempting to start the vehicle would cause all the gauges/lights/stereo to lose power. If the starter is the issue, those interior components would stay on while the engine was attempted to be started.

I've never actually verified this, but it seems logical. Someone on here can correct me if my logic is flawed.

Matt Clawson

I have been down this road, check the wires going into the starter. The heat causes the starter solenoid to brittle and fall apart. Your lights and radio work inside, and showing correct voltage. This is the one of the few problems with headers in the car.

Matt

Rocketmanwpb

Easy way to determine if the battery is good or not. Take it out of the car to a shop for testing.

cclive

A good battery will not show 14 volts unless it is receiving current from the alternator when the engine is running or it is on a charger.

djbrun

CClive is correct, the battery should read around 12 volts static. When you actually load it, it should not drop below 9.6volts. Once the car starts it should be around 14volts due to being charged by the alternator.

If you want to know how much the starter is drawing for current. You first must have a proper functioning battery and check and repair any wire connections. Then you can use a current clamp around the starter cable during the starting process to read the current.

You can do a quick voltage drop test from the positive battery post to the starter cable lug on the solenoid to see if you are dropping any voltage. If you are, then you have a bad connection or corroded or burnt wiring that needs to be fixed.

DJ

VET4LES

Sounds like a bad battery. A load test is the only way to know if it's good or bad.