I have a 92 vette that sometimes won't and sometimes will turnover. Not the battery. When it turns over, it starts great. Whether it starts or not, the dash lights come on. I'm now wondering if my issue might be related to my cars security system. Perhaps something going wrong between the chip in the key and the cars brain. any thoughts ?

 

Moved to C4 Tech.

 

Dont get ahead of yourself.... K.I.S.S.

Check both battery cable connections first.... the negative ....and the positive at the starter which is a pretty common place that the cable can come loose. Also, the starter solenoid wire at the starter can be frayed or loose. Have the battery load tested despite thinking it ok.... After you verify those things, then you can move on to ignition switch and the related parts.

 

Toss the battery if more than 3 years old. Always look for the simple resolutions. Any corrosion on the battery terminals? Pull the battery have eye protection on and look at the bottom of the battery were it rests on the car for corrosion, and before disconnecting battery have your 9 volt plugged into your cigar lighter to maintain computer power.

 

Thank you for the post. The battery is brand-new and the old one less then 3 years old, no corrosion. I know the new one was fully charged.

 

Good ideas, thank you !!

 

Follow your battery to find where the fusible links in your car get their power from. On my 1988 C4 it is behind and under the battery in front of the drivers door. On my Corvette the post has 7 fusible links getting their un-fused power. I found corrosion there really has a big affect on the rest of the Corvette. On my car it was almost a 2 volt drop coming out from the post to my fuse panel. After cleaning the post all my accessories worked properly again. Be sure to wire brush each connector and the post to remove the corrosion and then apply battery grease on top when done to prevent more corrosion.

Whenever you buy a New automotive battery you should always charge it fully before putting it into use. Most "New" batteries have sat for months before being sold. Before testing batteries in an earlier life I use to "form" them before testing them. This got better results from the battery faster and help keep the capacity longer. It just requires a couple cycles from full (100% SoC) to 80% discharged using a special load that maintains the current despite the voltage changes. I use a special 4 stage charger to charge batteries in my shop to ensure that they are fully charged. I use a constant current electronic loads to discharge the batteries precisely.

Dirty connections cause a lot of slow cranking situations. Yes you need to check the connection at the battery and the big connections at the starter motor where the battery attaches. Be sure they are tight, if they have ANY corrosion be sure to disassemble and clean the parts before reassembling.

There are aftermarket modules to help disable the VATS equipment installed in your Corvette. I use one myself so I don't need the resistor in the key any more.

Let us know what you find! We are all ears so to speak... I was the "Battery Expert" for a Westinghouse Owned Solar Photo-voltaic Hybrid system builder and I learned more about batteries than I care to know. I had to develop the charging algorithms to ensure a long life from our products so I speak from experience regarding batteries.

Best regards,
Chris

 

These are great tips Chris, I'll definitely check them out and let you know.
Thank you so much !!
Tom