Here are the relevant details ...

Yesterday evening, when I started the Vette to move it back into the garage, I noticed that it turned over just a bit reluctantly. Not enough to keep it from starting, but just on the edge of my consciousness.

This morning, getting ready to pull it out of the garage, it did the same thing (this time I was paying attention to it). I pulled it out, shut it down, then restarted it, and the starter motor sounded like it normally does.

This afternoon, Annie and I decided to take a Friday afternoon drive. It was back to the "slow" start - but started. When we stopped to get a drink, I stayed in the car with it running. At that time, I noticed that SYS was flashing.

We then returned home (no sense tempting fate). I then consulted my trusty FSM, which states to pull the codes.

I also took a look at the Delco battery (I'm pretty sure it isn't the original), and it has a nice green dot showing.

At that point, I decided to fire it up again. Battery voltage prior to starting (after the fuel pump primed & stopped) was 13.7 V. During starting, it dropped to about 10 (hard to tell). The car fired up with no starter hesitation, and battery read 13.7 V. I turned on the AC, and battery voltage crept up to about 14.

However, this time there was no SYS light flashing.

I'm going to try to get the codes read tomorrow morning. I spent too much time fooling around outside today to tackle it tonight.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks!

Steven

 

The green dot indicates that the one cell is healthy, the others could be drained. I'm betting it's the battery.

 

check it on a load tester.

 

It takes a minute to pull the codes. Are you in bed yet ??

 

check the HFSM for the section on reading CCM codes. That's what you need to read. Module 1.0 will display on the speedo, and that's the code set you are immediately worried about (any code is worth fretting over, tho).

 

I pulled the following codes this morning ...

H31, H33, H35, & H37 - all from Module 1

There are no current codes.

How long before these codes go away? 100 starts?

I also took the car to Autozone, where they tested the battery. That test came back indeterminant. At the end of the test, the machine said to recharge the battery and repeat the test. That would seem to point toward a battery that is getting ready to fail.

Steven

 

Afternoon update ...

Had to move car out of the garage to finish up my insulation project. It started slowly. When I moved it back into the garage, it started slowly.

I concluded that I needed to remove the battery for further testing (although it was looking more and more likely that the battery was the culprit).

When I attempted to remove the postive cable, the battery post came with it - and not a lot of force to do it, either!

So, I have concluded that the battery is the likely problem, and went to Autozone to get a replacement. When the temp drops a bit more, I'll get back out there and see if I can get it all buttoned up.

Steven

 

Evening update ...

New battery installed.

Lessons learned ...

1. I bought new terminal bolts to replace the one for the positive side (very corroded). Did you know that the positive termonal bolt is LONGER than the negative terminal bolt? I didn't, and spent a good bit of time trying to get the short negative bolt into the terminal on the battery. Just on a whim, I checked the other one to see if it would screw into the battery, and then I thought maybe they are different - and they are!!! Once I made the swap, the positive cable hooked right up.

2. Once you have the right bolt for the positive cable, it is much easier to get it started if the battery is only partially set in the battery box. The first time I tried this, I had installed the hold down bracket, and I couldn't get my fat fingers into the small space provided near the positive terminal.

3. Clay bar works really well on the inner fender, and a couple of other places around that bettery. I'm not much of the detailer kind of Corvette owner, but I spent some time cleaning up a little while I had it apart. The clay and detail spray left a nice factory looking finish without a lot of work on my part (very important to me!).

Once I got everything buttoned up, I climbed in and she fired right up. No SYS flashing its nastiness. I set the clock, enjoyed the AC for a few minutes, shut it down, and restarted it. No problems.

I'm declaring this one solved - unless someone else has any suggestions about those history codes I found this morning.

Steven

 

My SYS flashing was cured by a new battery. I think you are 'good to go'.