Help major electrical problem
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,287
Likes: 448
From: Upstate NY
Help major electrical problem
I can't imagine what is going on, but I have a major elctrical problem -the story goes like this;
I have never had any big electrical issues with my 84.
I had been driving it all week before I went on vacation a week ago and left the Vette in my garage.
When I got back I put in the key and it was DEAD -nothing at all.
I put a charger on it and it just HUMs like a dead short and nothing even flickers, so I pulled it right off.
I have a Bosch battery that is maybe a year old and have never had any problems.
The last thing that I did to dissrupt the electrical was about 3 weeks ago I unhooked the battery when I put a new chip in, but the car had run great from that time until I left for vacation.
What do I look at first??
I have never had any big electrical issues with my 84.
I had been driving it all week before I went on vacation a week ago and left the Vette in my garage.
When I got back I put in the key and it was DEAD -nothing at all.
I put a charger on it and it just HUMs like a dead short and nothing even flickers, so I pulled it right off.
I have a Bosch battery that is maybe a year old and have never had any problems.
The last thing that I did to dissrupt the electrical was about 3 weeks ago I unhooked the battery when I put a new chip in, but the car had run great from that time until I left for vacation.
What do I look at first??
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,316
Likes: 246
From: Summerland B.C. Canada
A real dead battery seems to require a kick start before the battery will start taking a charge. I find putting the charger in crank or high amps, for about 10 minutes, then back to low amps, gets it going.
After you get charged, you can start checking for the drain, using your amp meter between neg terminal and battery cable.
After you get charged, you can start checking for the drain, using your amp meter between neg terminal and battery cable.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,287
Likes: 448
From: Upstate NY
A real dead battery seems to require a kick start before the battery will start taking a charge. I find putting the charger in crank or high amps, for about 10 minutes, then back to low amps, gets it going.
After you get charged, you can start checking for the drain, using your amp meter between neg terminal and battery cable.
After you get charged, you can start checking for the drain, using your amp meter between neg terminal and battery cable.
So, I tried my larger charger and got the results above; it draws real hard and there isn't even a flicker from the inteior lights -should I just leave it on?
Thanks,
Glen
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 9,758
Likes: 49
From: Houston Texas
It sounds like you should take that battery in for replacement.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,287
Likes: 448
From: Upstate NY
I may do that to have them check it out.
Maybe I should just leave it on the charger for a while to see if it will take some charge, i just thought that I would at least have the interior lights at least flicker when i put the charger on it.
Maybe I should just leave it on the charger for a while to see if it will take some charge, i just thought that I would at least have the interior lights at least flicker when i put the charger on it.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 9,758
Likes: 49
From: Houston Texas
Well if you haven't tried another battery it could be a loose connection or bad cable. If you take your battery in they will test it for you then you go from there.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,316
Likes: 246
From: Summerland B.C. Canada
What is the battery voltage ?
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Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,287
Likes: 448
From: Upstate NY
Ok, I need help.
Here is the update.
The car was running perfect, with 1 year old Bosch battery.
I parked it in my garage and went on a one week vacation.
Came back and the car is dead.
Trickle charged about 4-5 hours yesterday -nothing.
Tried to hood it up to my large charger and it peged the needle just like when you touch the 2 leads together.
I just tried leaving it on the charger and the charger trips out.
Is there any logical major short or other electrical component failure that could do this without popping a fuse in the vehicle and how could it have been fine when I left?
Here is the update.
The car was running perfect, with 1 year old Bosch battery.
I parked it in my garage and went on a one week vacation.
Came back and the car is dead.
Trickle charged about 4-5 hours yesterday -nothing.
Tried to hood it up to my large charger and it peged the needle just like when you touch the 2 leads together.
I just tried leaving it on the charger and the charger trips out.
Is there any logical major short or other electrical component failure that could do this without popping a fuse in the vehicle and how could it have been fine when I left?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,287
Likes: 448
From: Upstate NY
I'll let it auto charge over night.
The cable ends were a little corroded, so I cleaned them up.
I'll try hooking it up in the morning to see what I have then.
Thanks,
Glen
Pro
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 580
Likes: 8
From: Clemson SC
Sounds like you are on the right track. One additional thing I have noticed depending on what charger I use is that if a battery is relatively low in voltage, the charger will start to charge and then act like the battery has a short and trip off. Apparently, this is a safety mechanism in my newer chargers that have electronic controls that check the voltage of the battery as it charges and also show the % of charge. What I have had to do a number of times is to hook up my old charger for a time to get the voltage up some and then change out to my newer charger that will not over charge the battery which I prefer to use. It is kind of an aggravation though. As stated above, you do want to make sure that you have a good battery as it is about the cheapest thing and more likely to be a problem than about anything but connections/cables.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,287
Likes: 448
From: Upstate NY
The battery took a full charge overnight.
Hooked up the battery this afternoon and everything is back to normal!
I'm still not sure why it went dead in just a week -I had another vacation in March and no problem that time.
The only thing that happened between the two vacations is that I had disconnected the battery to install a new chip.
The positive cable did seem a little loose when I took it off yesterday, so maybe I wasn't getting a good connection or full charge?
The DIS volt check indicates 14.7 v now.
I also watched as I closed the hood and the under hood lights are turning off OK.
I guess I'll have to just wait and see.
Thanks to everyone that took the time to respond -it's a bummer when you can't drive your Vette!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,310
Likes: 9
From: KB7TIF Ville NV
The charger meter did do some weird things when I put it on and then it did swing over to the area indicating a low battery, but charging.
The battery took a full charge overnight.
Hooked up the battery this afternoon and everything is back to normal!
I'm still not sure why it went dead in just a week -I had another vacation in March and no problem that time.
The only thing that happened between the two vacations is that I had disconnected the battery to install a new chip.
The positive cable did seem a little loose when I took it off yesterday, so maybe I wasn't getting a good connection or full charge?
The DIS volt check indicates 14.7 v now.
I also watched as I closed the hood and the under hood lights are turning off OK.
I guess I'll have to just wait and see.
Thanks to everyone that took the time to respond -it's a bummer when you can't drive your Vette!
The battery took a full charge overnight.
Hooked up the battery this afternoon and everything is back to normal!
I'm still not sure why it went dead in just a week -I had another vacation in March and no problem that time.
The only thing that happened between the two vacations is that I had disconnected the battery to install a new chip.
The positive cable did seem a little loose when I took it off yesterday, so maybe I wasn't getting a good connection or full charge?
The DIS volt check indicates 14.7 v now.
I also watched as I closed the hood and the under hood lights are turning off OK.
I guess I'll have to just wait and see.
Thanks to everyone that took the time to respond -it's a bummer when you can't drive your Vette!
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,316
Likes: 246
From: Summerland B.C. Canada
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 10,036
Likes: 346
From: Anaheim CA
Batteries can die instantaneously. My most dramatic example was when I went to the gas station and filled up. When I tried to start the car it was absolutely dead -- no lights, clicking or anything. The mechanic measured the battery and it only read about 5 volts. New battery fixed it.