Stupid Question-Battery
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 355
Likes: 0
From: Concord, California
Stupid Question-Battery
Haven't started the Vette for 4 to 6 weeks being I have some tranny issues.
The battery is 1.5 years old and has minimal hours run on it being the Vette sits way more than it is driven.
Went to start the car last night and not even a light or anything on the digi dash, no turn over, no noises no nothing. Must be a dead battery right?
Is there a way to charge the battery with a trickle charger or battery charger or do I need to get a jumped by someones elses car?
The battery is 1.5 years old and has minimal hours run on it being the Vette sits way more than it is driven.
Went to start the car last night and not even a light or anything on the digi dash, no turn over, no noises no nothing. Must be a dead battery right?
Is there a way to charge the battery with a trickle charger or battery charger or do I need to get a jumped by someones elses car?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 7,030
Likes: 10
From: Edmonton, Alberta
If it's that dead, you'll probably need a smart charger that knows the battery is dead and attempt to bring it life slowly. If you continually leave your Vette idle for long periods of time, invest in a battery tender that will keep the battery fully charged while you're not using it, or unhook the battery.
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,313
Likes: 5
From: Middle Tennessee
Just received my Battery Minder today and put it to work on my '94. The battery tested at 12.35 volts before I put the minder on it.
Now I need to charge up the battery on the '88 that I am baby-sitting and put the minder on it in the "desulphate" mode to rejuvenate it as it tends to discharge quickly when not used/charged on a frequent basis. One's work is never done!
Now I need to charge up the battery on the '88 that I am baby-sitting and put the minder on it in the "desulphate" mode to rejuvenate it as it tends to discharge quickly when not used/charged on a frequent basis. One's work is never done!
Banned Loser
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 53,409
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From: They say you learn from your mistakes, I must be a genius
2017 Corvette of the Year
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Creator of the "Original" whining and crying thread
St. Jude Donor '14-'15-'16-'17
If it's that dead, you'll probably need a smart charger that knows the battery is dead and attempt to bring it life slowly. If you continually leave your Vette idle for long periods of time, invest in a battery tender that will keep the battery fully charged while you're not using it, or unhook the battery.
As stated bring the battery back to life with a SLOW charge. Disconnecting the battery is the next best thing if you don't have a battery tender, but the battery will still discharge over time. Your best bet is to invest in a tender, it will also extend the life of the battery. 
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 5,620
Likes: 206
From: Orlando FL
My car can sit for 2 weeks and starts strong with no problem. I'm sure 3 weeks or maybe 4 would be OK with my present battery. But to have no lights on the dash tell me that the battery was basically completely dead and probably would have measured a few volts.
When a battery is that dead it may hard to charge it up and may not have the full power or stamina that it should. It might not be able to sit for a week and start the car. Batteries don’t like to be DEAD for long periods of time because it will destroy them.
I would think since you had no dash light that a light was left on, there is a abnormally larger current drain on battery or the battery is just tired and can't go for a long period of time without being charged very regular.
At this point I would not be surprised if you needed a new battery now regardless of whether you have a current drain in the car. With a little luck the car is probably fine and a battery will solve the problem.
If you want to measure your current drain when all is off, the FSM says less than 50 ma. My car draws about 30 ma. but I think the norm is about 35 ma.
When a battery is that dead it may hard to charge it up and may not have the full power or stamina that it should. It might not be able to sit for a week and start the car. Batteries don’t like to be DEAD for long periods of time because it will destroy them.
I would think since you had no dash light that a light was left on, there is a abnormally larger current drain on battery or the battery is just tired and can't go for a long period of time without being charged very regular.
At this point I would not be surprised if you needed a new battery now regardless of whether you have a current drain in the car. With a little luck the car is probably fine and a battery will solve the problem.
If you want to measure your current drain when all is off, the FSM says less than 50 ma. My car draws about 30 ma. but I think the norm is about 35 ma.
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Racer
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 301
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From: Flint MI: Birthplace of the Corvette
I have found that when a battery is totally dead as you describe, it will often not 'take' a charge when hooked up to a charger. What I have found is if you disconnect the battery cables for a period of time, like overnight, and then try to charge the battery it will often recharge. Unhooking the cables removes the constant drain from the battery and allows it to 'normalize' for lack of a better word. I have been able to charge many batteries that seemed to not take a charge by doing this. Your battery probably has plenty more life in it. In the future you might want to disconnect the negative terminal when the Vette sits for a long period or add a battery disconnect switch. Good luck!
Dave T.
Dave T.
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 158
Likes: 0
From: Norco California
I have found that when a battery is totally dead as you describe, it will often not 'take' a charge when hooked up to a charger. What I have found is if you disconnect the battery cables for a period of time, like overnight, and then try to charge the battery it will often recharge. Unhooking the cables removes the constant drain from the battery and allows it to 'normalize' for lack of a better word. I have been able to charge many batteries that seemed to not take a charge by doing this. Your battery probably has plenty more life in it. In the future you might want to disconnect the negative terminal when the Vette sits for a long period or add a battery disconnect switch. Good luck!
Dave T.
Dave T.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 460
Likes: 1
From: Oliphant Ontario
Sometimes just the opposite is true with smart chargers. My second boat battery will go stone cold dead sometimes. When it does, 'stupid' charger says "open cell" and refuses to charge it. I jumper it to a good battery for 10-15 mins to force some charge into it, then the 'stupid' charger says, cool, lets charge this puppy up!
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 11,757
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From: Rolla Missouri
2021 C4 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist
St. Jude Donor '10 thru '25
If you have a known good battery, and it's so dead after 4 weeks that you can't even get any dash lights then you have something drawing too many amps while the car is shut down.
My car will routinely sit for 3-4 weeks at a time during the winter months without any issues.
And I know I should hook up a battery tender, but so far I've never done that.
I have one for the Harley though.
Ideally if it's going to sit for more than a week or two without going for a good long drive, you should hook a battery tender up it.
Google "battery tender" and you'll find various options.
A battery tender is not the same as a trickle charger. A tender (Battery Tender is a name brand), can be left connected for extremely long periods of time.
They are made to "maintain" the charge state of the battery, and will not over charge it.
But they are not meant to charge up a dead battery either. For that you'll need a regular battery charger.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 4,328
Likes: 15
From: Jacksonville FL
I actually use my marine battery charger for all my charging/maintenance. Its slow to get a full charge but its a good charge and the auto function will maintain it just like a deep cycle boat battery.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 6,314
Likes: 508
From: South-central Missouri
I have found that when a battery is totally dead as you describe, it will often not 'take' a charge when hooked up to a charger. What I have found is if you disconnect the battery cables for a period of time, like overnight, and then try to charge the battery it will often recharge. Unhooking the cables removes the constant drain from the battery and allows it to 'normalize' for lack of a better word. I have been able to charge many batteries that seemed to not take a charge by doing this. Your battery probably has plenty more life in it. In the future you might want to disconnect the negative terminal when the Vette sits for a long period or add a battery disconnect switch. Good luck!
Dave T.
Dave T.
The new B&D "Smart Charger" I bought will assess the battery before charging it. If the battery was drained completely down, for some reason, that charger will indicate the battery is toast and will not make the attempt to charge it. Harumph!!
However, I still keep my dumb ol trickle charger around for just such an occasion, and over night it will bring that battery up to the level the B&D will recognize it as being worthy of charging/de-sulphating.Once I installed the Battery Tenders, my battery woes ceased to exist!
P.
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,313
Likes: 5
From: Middle Tennessee
HlhnEast, I sent you a PM with a link to the BatteryMinder that I bought. It's a great product IMHO. I am going to pull my '07 Frontier into the garage and put it on this thing as it still has the original battery in it and probably needs de-sulphating as it sits idle quite a bit.
Last edited by proracr; Apr 1, 2011 at 08:22 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 8,448
Likes: 27
From: Valparaiso
You might not believe this but i have the same battery since 2008
i had my car parked from Sept-2009 to Sept 2010.
I used the battery several times to roll the windows down when working on the car.
Man ..it still as good as always !!!
All thanks to my little friend , battery kill switch !
I kill the battery everytime the car is parked,that's the only way to go for me.
I don't think everyone will like it but i love it !
i had my car parked from Sept-2009 to Sept 2010.
I used the battery several times to roll the windows down when working on the car.
Man ..it still as good as always !!!
All thanks to my little friend , battery kill switch !
I kill the battery everytime the car is parked,that's the only way to go for me.
I don't think everyone will like it but i love it !
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 877
Likes: 0
From: Broken Arrow Oklahoma
Don't use these on your Harley, "Battery Tender" is the best for your Harley.