Battery recharge.....
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,713
Likes: 31
From: Shreveport LA
LA Events Coordinator
Battery recharge.....
New battery (about 1 year old) from AutoZone (the top of the line)....Haven't driven the car for about a month.....came out this morning to finally drive it and found a dead battery. Have a battery recharger (12v / 6amps) on it now and will throughout the night. Do I need a new battery? or will it be OK for this time? The reason the battery ran down....electronic security system on the Vette....whenever I test for a "drain" of the battery, I get a very slight glow on the tester (security system = on) but when I turn off the security system, the glow goes away.
Advanced
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 71
Likes: 0
From: Bossier City Louisiana
I would think it's going to be okay once you get it charged back up. If you are only driving it periodically, I would put a charger on it that will set itself to do a trickle charge once the battery has been fully charged. I just put a Optima red top in my '81 and I could not believe the difference in how fast it fires up now that it has a good battery.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1,165
Likes: 24
From: Boston MA
the only thing that would draw in a security system is the LED, or the proximity sensor, if you don't have any active components such as those you have a short somewhere.
Lead acid batteries like to be kept fully charged all the time, use a tender.
Lead acid batteries like to be kept fully charged all the time, use a tender.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,713
Likes: 31
From: Shreveport LA
LA Events Coordinator
The security system I have is an AUTOPAGE & is connected to the starter (becomes disabled if the alarm goes off), it also has a mercury level switch, it also pages me if for any reason the car is jarred, bumped, or messed with in any fashion. The page can reach out 1 mile...great for when your in the mall or store or at home. So you can see there's alot tied to the battery. If I drive it at least 3 time per week.....no problems...it just when it sits for a month (first time) it drains the battery. Going to get a Battery Tender tomorrow.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
Letting a regular lead-acid battery go completely dead is never a good thing for battery life. The best thing for them is to keep them fully charged all the time. Since it went to complete discharge, you really don't know if the battery is permanently damaged or not. Try to recharge it and see what happens. If you have a constant (or likely) drain on the electrical system, either find and fix it or install a battery disconnect switch.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,545
Likes: 3
From: 406ci SB, AFR 180 Heads - 490 HP @5,600 RPM 529 lb-ft @ 4,100 RPM
As stated just charge it up, maybe you should install a quick battery disconnect switch for when the car sits. But a Battery Tender is your best friend if you car sits for extended periods. 
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