Dead Battery or more?
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
Dead Battery or more?
Last weekend I went to start my 1990 and it was dead. I noticed that the glove box had popped open (I assume the previous time I had driven it) and the light in there drained the battery. I used a jump box and it turned right over. However once I shut the car off it won't start again without the jump box. Did I kill the battery by draining it with the light left on or could it be something more involved? I am trying to avoid taking the car apart to get at the battery if that is not the issue. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Drifting
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,336
Likes: 12
From: Chicago Executive Airport, formerly known as Palwaukee
No-IL Events Coordinator
St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
Yes. Most good battery chargers will have a low amp setting. Usually a 10 amp (high) setting and a 2 amp (low) setting.
A trickle charger will just have a low setting.
A long charging period at a low setting will make your battery last longer. Overnight is the best. You do not miss driving the Vette while sleeping.
Unless you are dreaming!
I have a maintenance charger hard wired to mine. Schumacher makes a very good line of all different types of chargers.
This is the least expensive Schumacher charger. Only a 1 amp setting. You can use the eyelets to hard wire to your Vette. Schumacher has many different chargers and many different prices.
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...A|GRP2005_____
Over the winter, I will plug mine in and the charger will maintain the battery without overcharging.
This last winter was so mild in Chicago, that I drove my Vette almost every day. No storage time to let the battery drain.
Hope this helps!
While driving your Vette charged up, please be sure to SAVE the WAVE!
A trickle charger will just have a low setting.
A long charging period at a low setting will make your battery last longer. Overnight is the best. You do not miss driving the Vette while sleeping.
Unless you are dreaming!
I have a maintenance charger hard wired to mine. Schumacher makes a very good line of all different types of chargers.
This is the least expensive Schumacher charger. Only a 1 amp setting. You can use the eyelets to hard wire to your Vette. Schumacher has many different chargers and many different prices.
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...A|GRP2005_____
Over the winter, I will plug mine in and the charger will maintain the battery without overcharging.
This last winter was so mild in Chicago, that I drove my Vette almost every day. No storage time to let the battery drain.
Hope this helps!
While driving your Vette charged up, please be sure to SAVE the WAVE!
Last edited by TorchRedlt4man; Mar 16, 2012 at 12:20 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,701
Likes: 1,667
From: moraga ca
A trickle charger will take forever to charge a dead battery. It is meant to keep a battery at a fully charged state, not to charge a dead battery. The Shumacher charger as suggested is a good one. Most good chargers will have a variable charge rate starting at 10 or 15 amps and tapering down as the battery charges. I have a Shumacher and am happy with it.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
5 Best & 5 Worst Corvette Daily Drivers
Joe Kucinski
The Headlights of Every Corvette Generation Explained
Joe Kucinski
5 Best & 5 Most Overrated Corvette Track Packages of All Time!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
It is safe to charge your battery overnight with a 10 amp battery charger. Keep in mind that a deeply discharged battery (light on beyond battery going dead) is bad for lead acid batteries, it causes lead sulfate to collect on battery plates and then you effectively have a smaller amphour battery, lilke a motorcycle battery. First, charge it up all the way and see if it will start the engine. You can tell the state of charge by measuring the battery terminal voltage. 12.0 volts and below, discharged, charge your battery up. 12.9 volts and higher, fully charged and linear in between.
Car batteries have their life shortened by continued deep discharge and car batteries self discharge even disconnected. Always connect a battery tender or trickle charger if you are not going to drive the car for long periods (4+ wks).
Car batteries have their life shortened by continued deep discharge and car batteries self discharge even disconnected. Always connect a battery tender or trickle charger if you are not going to drive the car for long periods (4+ wks).