Hey Guys! Happy Thanksgiving! 1996 Lt4 6 speed. Went to take a ride yesterday and she wouldn't crank over. Put my battery charger on it and in a few seconds she turned over and had a great ride. I take the car out about once every week and a half or so. I started thinking about a battery charger/maintainer and if I should use one. I have had the car for a little over 2 years and its never not started. When I bought the car the previous owner had what was called a US 3300 Corvette Model 1051 battery charger that was in the car. It looks like it plugs into the lighter socket but not sure if this would work for my car. Can anyone tell me if this charger works for a C4? On the box it has GM part number 22969090.

Thanks

Dave

 

If it is a "Battery Charger" that inputs the charge through the cigarette charger lighter socket it should work just fine. I looked it up and it appears to be a nice charger. They are for sale still at $103.00 at Trunk Monkey.com.

The big question is does it regulate the charge or does it send out ~1 amp continually? If it regulates it should not harm your battery or electrical system.
I used a HF cheapo unit and it dried out a brand new battery in three months or so.. Saved money on charger, spent lots more buying a new battery.

When first using the charger check the battery while charging to ensure it is working properly. To charge through the lighter socket you have a Fuse that limits how much power can be sent to the battery.

I would also find out how old the battery is. When they get closer to the end of their life they tend to use a lot more electrolyte and the Self Discharge Rate tends to go up. What is the battery's normal Open circuit voltage currently? A good battery should stay about 12.6-12.7 with no load on it.

Another way to get an idea of your batteries overall health is to monitor the voltage over a period of time.

I have worked with Batteries for decades and have noticed a lot of folks do not maintain their battery anymore. Back in the days people used to check their electrolyte levels regularly. There have been some batteries that are standard Flooded Lead Acid battery but have a sticker covering the vent covers used to replenish the electrolyte. The intention is to help the battery expire prematurely and make the user buy a new one. I will only use FLA batteries in my Corvettes and only batteries that allow you to service them. The Fact is that FLA Batteries will "use" electrolyte and if not replaced it will lose capacity.

I would check the electrolyte levels and add Distilled Water if the electrolyte level is low in your battery. After topping off the electrolyte (if needed) charge the battery completely.
ANY time you replace the battery be sure to charge it completely before installing it. I like to have a note pad with data on every battery in my fleet. This allows me to see trends start to appear and get the most life I can out of the battery.

Do Not Buy a Battery based on the "Warranty Longevity". There are companies who offer Long warranties but you are stuck buying another battery from them. Sometimes they sell the same battery with different length warranties.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family as well!

 

SO what brand battery do you buy that is serviceable??

 

There's really no need to drop that kind of coin on a trickle charger unless you're dead set on getting a cute little unit with a "Corvette" logo on it.

I use a couple of Schumacher SP-1 battery tenders that both charge and maintain battery voltage, which are hooked to my '86 and one of my other rides that don't get used much in the winter. They come with 3 different adapters for hooking them up, one of which is for the cigarette lighter (which is the one I use on both of mine). I've been using them for the last few years and can say from experience, they work great!!

You can get it at Home Depot for just under $25.00.

 

If it didn’t start after a week or so of driving your battery may be on the way out as well.

 

CTMC thanks for the reply. The battery is an AC Delco and I can check the electrolyte in 1 side of the battery. Other side cannot check unless I pull the battery out. When I check the electrolyte in the side I can get to its a little low but not below the plates. I put some distilled water in the side I could service. I then checked the voltage in the battery and it showed 8.2 volts which won't start my lawn mower. I saw from some of the service records that the battery is 5-1/2 years old. I plugged that charger into the cigarette lighter and it is now charging the battery. The charger is supposed to be a smart charger and its supposed to desulfate the battery and then charge it and once charging is done it stops sending a charge and maintains the charge. If my battery is only showing 8.2 volts would this charger be able to bring the battery back to life or do you think it is too far gone at this point?

Red86Z51 I hear you about the cost of a trickle charger. I probably would not spend the money either but this charger came with the car. I wasn't sure if I could plug it into the cigarette lighter and it would charge the car as I have never charged a battery in this manner. I plugged it into the cig lighter and it appears to be charging the battery.

Anyway let me know if you think the battery is too far gone at this point to save. Hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving.

Dave

 

If it runs down to 8.2 V after a week and a half, the battery is probably not going to recover unless there is a recent cause for draining it.

I have used some maintainers that have a desulfation mode and they have helped. It saved a battery for another season, but it was not a cure.

More than likely, your battery is gone. You can use the maintainer to keep it topped off with a new battery when you get one and it can help extend the battery life.

Good luck.

 

Here's mine:



I added the lighter plug. It contains its own internal fuse, although the wiring to the lighter socket is fused at the vehicle's fuse panel. This photo is old, and I have since extended the wiring between the charger and the plug, which allows me to hang the charger on the garage wall, suspend the wiring overhead, and drop it down through the partially-open car window. The voltage drop across the additional wiring is trivial, and the battery is maintained with a near-optimal charge while it's parked. Works great. I can connect/disconnect it in seconds, can move it from one vehicle to another in a minute if desired, and it's pretty much impossible for me to forget to disconnect it before backing the car out of the garage.

Live well,

SJW

 

Thanks, I appreciate everyone's input. I will get a new battery and use the charger from time to time to keep it fully charged.

Dave