ClashBandicoot

wait. all that for a new battery? I tested mine at Auto Zone yesterday and it came back OK. not sure should i just go buy a brand new one? its still pulling 13.2 + volts and 685 CCA.

DroppinLs1Vette

Honestly, I would buy a new one and see what happens. It's worth a shot. That was the issue with mine. I had over 50 hours in it myself, plus what ever the dealership had in it. Elco Chevy ended up calling Advanced and explaining it to them because they wouldn't warranty the battery because it was testing fine. They ended up listening, gave me a new battery, and paid the tab at the dealership.

ClashBandicoot

Crazy thing is I checked all the connections, solid, and ended up charging the battery fully and it seems to work...for now. It was drained down to 12.2 V with my radar connected overnight for a few days. What a piece of junk! It doesn't have a 12V+ connector?! only 12V permanent? I have to have one put in now...$$ spending for something that should have come from the factory. Considering how finicky this car is, i was driving to work and 55 mins into my commute, all lights come on again and i can't open the door without using the manual exit...frustating. Volt meter is reading 14V when driving around, but periodically drops to 13.5V and reads 13.5V on startup. I'll monitor the situation and likely purchase a new battery if this one wont hold a charge.

Any suggestions? i'll look to purchase an AGM or something with increased capacity, (Stereo going in sooner or later).

Thanks for all the help, i would have panicked if it wasn't for the forums.

Joe_G

Instrument cluster.

The pic you are looking at is the right front fender, it's off the car as the computer is down below the battery on that side.

What are your symptoms exactly? Maybe someone can help....


In my experience anything plugged into your OBDII port or any add on radio devices plugged into the xm radio port can cause problems.

ClashBandicoot

Oddly enough as long as I unplug my radar when im not driving the car i'm good to go now! I want an upgraded battery for piece of mind though...any suggestions?

Joe_G

Where is the detector plugged in?

I've had the best luck with wal mart batteries believe it or not. Never saw anyone have long life from those expensive batteries people buy, wal mart seems to last as long or longer in my experience.

DroppinLs1Vette

I'd go with a factory AC Delco battery

ClashBandicoot

Background: Old battery is a Group 85 Interstate Battery, 620 CCA, 95 reserve,
New battery is an AC Delco battery, Group 35, 640 CCA, 100 Reserve

Ok so I bought an AC Delco battery over the weekend...installed it (checked the charge, it was around 64% or 12.2V :-/)

Once i charged it fully and turned the car on, still dash lights illuminating like its christmas once again...frustrated i turn the car off and start to problem solve.

Charged the battery some more, a day passes, i start my car up again, dash is a disaster, i'm pretty angry, i swap back in the old Interstate Battery and start the car up, same problem again, so now i KNOW its not the batteries, as they are both fully charged and the car was working last week just fine.

I start the car up again and in my troubleshooting ways, i revved the engine a bit, tried driving around and left the car in my driveway and turned it off, started it up again, and somehow the problem went away...

This isn't right I was saying to myself, no way the problem just disappears now, i put it back in my garage, once i pulled in, the problem occured again, then it clicked, my ALTERNATOR is shot. As soon as the headlights turned on, my stereo turns off, gauges stop working, dash goes crazy.

It seems as if my alternator can't handle the headlights being on, or the dash goes bonkers. But it drives around during the daytime just fine.

Anyways, is it bad if i drive my car home at night, with the headlights on, and the dash going berserk, saying "check ABS" "Check Traction control" I understand my ABS might not work, but should i be concerned about anything else? Its been nice and dry, i don't drive this car in the rain.

Looks like ill be taking the car to the dealer for a new alternator soon...I'm not going to let this stop me from driving the car though!

Joe_G

What volt reading does you gauge say when this problem is happening? Can you test the voltage when the car is running on the rear post of the alternator?

Do you have headers on the car?

ClashBandicoot

No headers. I'll go measure the voltage now.

What do you mean by the rear post of the alternator?

Thanks for the help!

ClashBandicoot

Ok so i measured the voltage with my voltmeter tonight.

Battery is around 12.7-12.6 without the car on, soon as it fires up: 14.4V steady, although i saw it drop to 13.7 for about a second on the way today, it held around 14.0V for the most part on my drive

Measured the current at the alternator, was 14.4v as well...is my alternator not the problem? What could it be?

Joe_G

14.4 is perfect. Try putting a full load on the alternator (bright lights, full AC) and see what the voltage is at idle. It won't be 14.4 but should be around 13.x.

BTW the alternator doesn't kick in instantly when you start it - the computer sends the dc signal to excite the field shortly after starting, and if the battery voltage is low, sometimes it seems it doesn't send that signal - once in a while if I haven't driven my car for a while and the battery is low I have to rev it a little to get the alternator to start working. That's normal operation.

Do you have a OBDII code reader? I'd be curious if your car has any codes stored (it might not as they reset each time you unhook the battery). If you could get it to do the problem again, it'd be interesting to see if any codes are stored before you swap batteries.

Check the condition of the wires plugging into your alternator, perhaps they came loose? Pull the connector make sure the connections are clean...if you connector was loose or a wire came loose from the connector that'll cause this problem.

Joe_G

Dano523 did a great thread on cleaning and inspecting the alternator brushes - before I bought a new alternator I'd do this.

Your intermittent alternator problems lead me to an intermittent wiring problem however. I'd check all wires. Note that the large wire on the back of the alternator is hot all the time even when the car is off - unhook the negative battery cable if you are going to take it off and check it.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...nator-fix.html

ClashBandicoot

Ok ill give that a try at idle. I looked at the wires plugging into my alternator and it seemed fine. Maybe i need to buy an OBD2 code reader? Where can i plug that in for the C6? I can replicate the problem, as soon as i turn on the headlights, but the stereo and gauges shut off? Why would that happen? Is that the alternator or the computer sensing there is not enough power to run them?

Joe_G

Ok it's new news that you can replicate the problem by turning on the headlights. That gives us something to work with. Either the alternator is bad or your headlights are causing too heavy a load for some reason. I could speculate on reason but let's do some testing first to see if it's the alternator.

What about turning on the AC on max but no headlights - does this load cause the problem?

Please check voltage at the alternator big wire when you make the car have the problem, both headlights, then separately, AC max, and report back. Be sure and rev the engine a bit to ensure the alternator has been excited and is producing the 14.4 volts or so before you start the test.

Code tester is always a great thing to have on hand. They plug into the OBDII port directly below the steering wheel, get under the dash the first time and you'll see it. I use mine more for helping friends so they have an idea what's wrong before they head to the mechanic.

ClashBandicoot

Thanks again for the help. I bought an OBDII scanner on Amazon today, should be in by Thursday.

The problem now is solely replicated when i turn on my headlights only. Given, my car did work with the headlights on, just about a week ago, so something obviously is deteriorating, and its not the battery, because i charged both fully, and they both throw codes with the headlights on.

So i went out at lunch and drove around the car for 5 mins, sitting at 14.0V with the headlights off, A/C on mildly, crank it up to max A/C and still 14.0V solid.
Waited another minute of so, and cranked the A/C up to max again, and this time it dropped to 13.8V at idle. Turned off A/C and the volts sat around 13.8/13.9V

I tested the alternator at the big wire last night, and it was pulling 14.4V at idle, with the headlights on and off? Something is triggering my volts to spike or tell my Radio/Gauges/ABS to shut down. Can't figure it out. I will check the plug for the Alternator today when i get home and keep measuring volts

Thanks again for the help in trying to troubleshoot this problem, very frustrating

Joe_G

Headlights. Duh. What's the matter with me.

There is a recall on Vettes because the headlight circuit in the fuse boxes melts and it causes problems - normally the problem is the headlights won't go on. Sounds to me like yours is manifesting itself by shorting out and causing a huge drain on the alternator.

Did you have the recall done? I suggest you do that. I think it'll fix your problem.

ClashBandicoot

Really? Is there a recall? Can I call a dealer and provide them with my VIN to see if they did the recall on my car yet for that? 2008 C6 LS3. Should i check the headlight fuse? Even when i click on the first light switch, not the headlights, but just the taillights, the car still goes bonkers, wonder if this is all triggered by the same thing?

ClashBandicoot

Spoke to a dealer on the phone, and they said my car had the headlight recall was already done in april, as the low-beams were inoperable?

Ok so maybe this wasn't fixed all the way? Time to take the car into the dealer?

Joe_G

I would, something isn't correct with your headlight wiring. Have them check their work.