I went out today to start up the 96 CE Vette and my battery was dead

This is the second time it has done this to me after it sitting for about 2-3 weeks. Is this normal? Do you think the battery is bad? The battery came with the vette when I bought it about 1.5 years ago. It is a Interstate brand battery.

I guess what I am curious on is how long a known good battery will hold a charge at least enough to start the engine.

I put a charger on it for about 1 hour and it fired right up and ran fine.

I know I should get a Battery Tender, which is in the works.

 

Take it to a place that checks batterys (most any autoparts store). Both my Corvettes would drain the battery after sitting connected for over 1 week without being cranked. I installed a quick disconnect on the neg of both batterys. I can disconnect them and go (longest I've tried is ~3 weeks) and they still crank and start. Only problem is it clears out the computers memory.

The battery tender is on my list as well (long list).

 

Better Check Your Alternator's Output As Well... If It's Not Charging At 100%, All The New Batteries In The World Won't Help.

 

A charged good battery should be able to sit for 3 weeks and still start your C4. Lead acid batteries self discharge up to 1% each day disconnected. Normal leakage current increases that discharge rate. GM says leakage current should not be greater than 50 milliamps. It is 27 ma. in my 87. There is a wide range of internal leakage current in the same model battery and amp hour capacity decreases as batteries age which reduces the time you can leave them sit and still have enough amp hours to crank an engine. Lead acid batteries do not like sitting for long periods doing nothing because as they discharge, lead sulphate collects on their plates and lead sulphate is an insulator. A fully sulphated battery is a door stop. The lead sulphate is converted to lead and sulfuric acid when the battery is charged, but if left for long periods, the lead sulphate turns hard and charging will no longer convert it back. If you leave your car sit for long periods, buy a battery tender and use it, your battery will experience a normal lifetime. The deeper you discharge your battery and then charge it back up, the faster the battery deteriorates and comes to the end of its useful life. A discharged battery should always be charged back up fully with a battery charger. A battery tender only charges the battery when it detects its capacity has dropped about 10% and then the turn themselves off preventing overcharging.

 

http://www.batterytender.com/

Linky for you..

 

Do you have an after market alarm system. They will draw it down over time.

 

As will the factory stock alarm.

I've left mine for six weeks at the longest w/o battery woes but that was in my climate controlled garage. I've left it as little as one week before and found it w/o enough juice to turn it over. But that was airport parking for a week in 30-40 degree weather.

 

I can go two weeks without a start. Never went three weeks but I would doubt that any of our batterys would last three weeks with there normal drain.

 

Just bought one off ebay: Battery Tender Jr.

 

Nope, just the factory alarm.

 

there is a constant drain on your battery, small but constant.

 

I use the Battery Tender Jr for a number of my vehicles/boat/motorcycle, but I was able to buy them at a time when Arizona Motor Sports had them on sale at $19.95

They are currently "expensive" at all the sales points, starting at $39.95.

I've since found a suitable alternative, at (gasp) Wal-Mart. They sell a Battery monitor, NOT a continuous charger, for $17.97. Good buy, good equipment, and mine has worked well since I bought it. Actually, just recently purchased another.

Hope this helps, will save you $20 anyway.

 

I had an issue like this with my 90. I have a optima series battery with side and top posts. The cap on the postive side of the top mount chaffed causeing intermittent contact with the frame. Same symptoms as you are describing. Damn lucky the car did not catch on fire as the battery was discharging along the frame. Took me a while to figure this one out as that particular top post (positive) is well hidden. Just a suggestion to look for and solved my battery charging (dis-charging)problem. Goldcylon

 

Hey Guys,
Please try this tip before you worry over nothing , locate the radio fuse in the fuse panel and remove it , if your car is going to sit for a while . My 1992 has sat for periods over 6 weeks and still started right up , I think the radio memory fuse draws more amps when the ignition is off then we realize....GOOD LUCK!

DESERT