"SYS" Code?
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 4,833
Likes: 1
From: Castle Rock CO
Cruise-In III Veteran
"SYS" Code?
Hi guys,
My '96 Grand Sport has been stored in my garage since November. I have had it hooked up to a battery tender all this time and noticed last week that there were no lights on the tender. The lights were on several weeks prior, so it's not like it's sat there for months without the Battery Tender/charge. Anyway, I decided to start it up this weekend and it hesitated slighty but started up. Every 10 seconds or so my display is flashing "SYS". The car is running fine however I didn't drive it because it's just on comprehensive insurance for now. So we plugged our other Battery Tender on to it last night and the green light was on the tender at that time but this morning same thing, no lights. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.
My '96 Grand Sport has been stored in my garage since November. I have had it hooked up to a battery tender all this time and noticed last week that there were no lights on the tender. The lights were on several weeks prior, so it's not like it's sat there for months without the Battery Tender/charge. Anyway, I decided to start it up this weekend and it hesitated slighty but started up. Every 10 seconds or so my display is flashing "SYS". The car is running fine however I didn't drive it because it's just on comprehensive insurance for now. So we plugged our other Battery Tender on to it last night and the green light was on the tender at that time but this morning same thing, no lights. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 34,988
Likes: 515
From: Riverside County Southern California
Co-winner 2020 C4 of the Year - Modified
2018 Corvette of Year Finalist
2017 C4 of Year
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St. Jude Donor '09 thru '20
Oh yes, my battery tender killed my battery two years ago. I only use it now to charge the battery, once the light goes green I disconnect it.
SYS, your battery is going bad.
SYS, your battery is going bad.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 460
Likes: 1
From: Oliphant Ontario
SYS is no different than a check engine but for different computers. It will have codes, pull the codes and see what they tell you before you buy a battery.
I asked the same question months ago, I got 2 "check for codes" and 30 "I guarantee it's your battery".. Pulled the codes, said grounded or bad courtesy light relay (imagine that since the courtesy lights weren't working). Found a wire problem, fixed it and no more SYS, just working interior lights.
By the way, I almost fell for it since my battery is really tired, only good for a few weeks then no-start and only good for a handful of cranks. Eventually I will get a new battery, but the SYS was NOT my battery, hasn't come on since.
I asked the same question months ago, I got 2 "check for codes" and 30 "I guarantee it's your battery".. Pulled the codes, said grounded or bad courtesy light relay (imagine that since the courtesy lights weren't working). Found a wire problem, fixed it and no more SYS, just working interior lights.
By the way, I almost fell for it since my battery is really tired, only good for a few weeks then no-start and only good for a handful of cranks. Eventually I will get a new battery, but the SYS was NOT my battery, hasn't come on since.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 4,833
Likes: 1
From: Castle Rock CO
Cruise-In III Veteran
I'm taking the car in hopefully next week (weather permitting) to have it checked out. I just wanted to get a little education on what it could be. I've owned the car for 8 years and haven't changed the battery, so it could very well be that. I just thought the point of having a battery tender hooked to it was to keep the battery charged? The only other thing I could think of is a mouse got up in it over the winter and chewed something. I don't even want to think about that.
Also just out of curiosity, what's involved in changing out the battery? Can you do it without having to remove the side body panel?
Racer
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 460
Likes: 1
From: Oliphant Ontario
Try this.. see what the car tells you first.. Make sure to scroll down to the section for your year..
http://tech.corvettecentral.com/2011...trouble-codes/
http://tech.corvettecentral.com/2011...trouble-codes/
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 9,058
Likes: 214
From: Epping NH
I've owned the car for 8 years and haven't changed the battery, so it could very well be that. I just thought the point of having a battery tender hooked to it was to keep the battery charged? The only other thing I could think of is a mouse got up in it over the winter and chewed something. I don't even want to think about that.
Also just out of curiosity, what's involved in changing out the battery? Can you do it without having to remove the side body panel?
Also just out of curiosity, what's involved in changing out the battery? Can you do it without having to remove the side body panel?
You do need to remove the side panel to remove the battery, but that is very easy to do. I would suggest removing the battery and bringing it to a local auto store for them to test out, but I'm sure it's going and may just be easier to buy a new battery at this point.
The flashing SYS post is very common in spring after our cars have been sitting all winter.
Last edited by bac22; Apr 4, 2011 at 01:51 PM.
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Pro
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 666
Likes: 0
From: Walton KY
I get the SYS after mine has sat on the Battery Tender for a while. But to add to it, my headlight/key chime is very random at best (usually works when either very cold or very hot) horn doesn't work (assuming buttons could be relay) and some of my interior lights don't work regardless of buld.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 2,153
Likes: 2,986
From: So Cal
2023 C4 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
My SYS code was caused by the CCU located under the dash. <<Correct. SYS message is the indication that the CCM has a malfunction Code in it.
It was causing my car to shut off when it was being driven! << Total, 100% BS. There is nothing in the CCM that can cause an already running engine to shut down. Nothing. Once started, you can completely unplug the CCM, and the engine will stay running.
It had to be repaired and/or replaced.<< Doubtful. CCMs are very reliable. More than likely, it was replaced because of an incorrect diagnosis by someone that is not familiar with these 25+ year old systems.
It was causing my car to shut off when it was being driven! << Total, 100% BS. There is nothing in the CCM that can cause an already running engine to shut down. Nothing. Once started, you can completely unplug the CCM, and the engine will stay running.
It had to be repaired and/or replaced.<< Doubtful. CCMs are very reliable. More than likely, it was replaced because of an incorrect diagnosis by someone that is not familiar with these 25+ year old systems.
IBTL
