there is nothing else on that line to interrupt the power to the starter correct - if not it is looking like lack of power from battery to starter - I will try to look again tonight - damn water heater gave up today -

 

2 reasons i ask -
obvious i guess - anything that can stop power besides main line like one of those fuse lines

second - there seems to be "normal" positive lines you can buy and some of the harder to find "corvette" positive lines from some of the vette suppliers and not that price is the issue I want the right one - but one is $50+ and one is half that - even though they look the same -

just curious

thanks

 

And you definitely put a wrench on the battery connections? Make sure they are tight and clean.
And don't bang on the starter. If you crack a magnet now you need a new one.
You can tap the solenoid but thats about it and even then I'd go lightly.

 

I watched the two guys I hired from a restoration shop install a new battery line and on a C3 it is L-o-n-g and winds around. The C4 wire going from you battery positive should go to the Starter motor and power it constantly. That large wire should have run all the way to the battery. I would only suspect a bad wire in very rare cases, but it does happen.

It is more likely that you have a bad connection or a corroded connection, someplace The wires all look okay from the outside, once you pull the connection "apart" is when you see the damage.

Batteries are something I know a bit about. Maybe your battery is not fully charged and you are seeing a surface charge that might collapse as soon as you put a load on it. Batteries charged by little battery "Tenders" are more prone to the Stratification of the electrolyte. Most Corvettes are using Flooded Lead Acid batteries because that is what the car was designed for. Attach a multi-meter to the battery to monitor the voltage, now crank the engine and what happens?
A Stratified Electrolyte keeps the strongest part of the electrolyte eating away at the plates and will have a very "limited" capacity. It might show 12 volts and drop to 5 in seconds. The best way to charge a battery is to use a sufficiently large enough charger on it occasionally. You will need a good 10 amps to be able to charge a C4 battery and get the electrolyte bubbling away. Unless the car is driven regularly you should do this every once in a while. I pull my batteries every winter and store them in a battery friendly environment with an occasional charge to keep them ready for action. I clean them, check their electrolyte and add distilled water if needed and then charge them before letting them rest for the winter. Flooded Lead Acid batteries have a moderately higher Self-Discharge rate so this means you do not ignore them for months. I charge them monthly at a minimum so they last longer. I use a four stage "Charger" designed for Flooded Lead Acid batteries, it cost a bit more but is well worth it.

You are lucky the C4 has the battery closer to the engine and shortens the Battery Positive wires considerably. The C3 used an 11-12 foot long battery Positive Cable. Not so smart and more expensive. The tradeoff is that they kill your battery with heat by mounting it near the engine heat in the C4's. I really like having a few feet in between as the battery life is so much better and longer like the C3's. My battery area is insulated from heat outside of it, the battery is nice and comfy behind the driver .

Factory style or length battery cables with the right fittings is an expensive joke to some folks. I had no choice in my 1968 C3 as it was part of the "design". Adding a new, higher amperage alternator was easy as I ran a wire down to the Starter and was done. After I did this it kept 12 volts at the alternator all the time.

I don't know of any Factory tricks that could make the effects you are dealing with. Maybe one of the guys out there might like to help..

 

i am double/triple checking tonight before I buy anything - connections seemed good - i did not bang on anything - when I was getting a super low reading at the other end of the line (i think it was .5 maybe). that's when it was seeming to be a wire - seemed strange to me - but that was what the meter was showing - that's why i kept thinking i was missing something else - fuse, relay - something I am doing wrong in my checking - i feel like i keep asking stupid questions - just trying to be sure

 

I know I use a trickle charger in winter - this year has been a little off with other repairs earlier i did not drive as much usually couple times a week at least through the northern driving season - barring unforeseen circumstances

off the car the battery showed 12.78 with volt meter - i will clean up a few things and re-attach and try again -

 

I would get ready to replace the wire that had the .5 volts at the end with a new piece of wire and see if that fixes things for you. ZIP products here in Virginia has the wire for $50 for the original replacement wire.

If you are not driving the car all the time I would pull the battery but since you are using it during the week your Battery Tender should be sufficient for in between help. During the winter months I leave the batteries on a Bench in a heated garage and charge them as needed or once a month. In the winter is a good time to check the electrolyte and add any distilled water if the battery needs it. A lot of the "Maintenance Free" Batteries still have some way to check the electrolyte and add distilled water if needed.

12.78 sounds like a fully charged FLA battery to me!

Hope the Water Heater failed versus rupturing. Fortunately they are easy to replace as I have installed literally dozens and dozens of them. Mine died last year when the element went bad. I took a picture of the label and information and went to the store I bought the water heater at and guess what? They guys behind the counter said I had 2 days left on my original purchase Warranty so I got a new thermostat for free, this does not happen very often for me...

 

thanks - right now it's leaking - 20+ years old - figured I may be on borrowed time - hoping it lasts til the weekend - they are not that difficult to change I have had a harder time finding one that was the same that I had - but that's an awesome break you got - free thermostat to boot excellent

the wire was the thick one that bends on the top and connects to the larger bolt - positive - I was looking at zip and saw they had that - most likely order tonight if everything remains the same -

thanks

 

The ZIP offering I expect is a very generic replacement. I'd suggest a local buy from maybe NAPA or others. GM SPO actually mentioned different cables for an '85 W/HDC and also those W/O the HDC option.

**Maybe check both w/NAPA, remove yours and purchase a correct length after measurement. All generics ZIP or others will require modifications for the additional leads from the battery to a 10ga pigtail on the new. Lengths mentioned in GM SPO are 50" W/HDC and 55" W/O HDC

 

HDC? sorry

 

The ZIP part may be kind of generic option (For Corvettes) but they do try to keep it like the original design and length. I like companies that support the Corvette industry and ZIP is awesome at their speed and quality of service. I order before 3pm and I get it tomorrow. I have yet to have a bad experience with ZIP in my three decades of business with them.

NAPA is an "Awesome Resource" IF you can find a "good" employee that will really try to help you. I am even more fortunate that the local NAPA warehouse is less than 2 miles away.

When I needed the new Battery Positive Cable for my early 1968 C3 with a 427 and four speed and even NAPA had to order that one. I still bought it from ZIP. I trust ZIP.

RockAuto is another story, I have been hosed twice by them and I am not likely going to let them get me three times. RockAuto will sell you a "Very Generic Replacement" if that is what you are looking for.

I could easily make or assemble a wire similar to the factory wire but that is harder to do and more time consuming than just ordering it from ZIP. I also order from Mid- America Corvettes, Ecklers, Corvette Central, Van Steel and numerous others as with an old C3 Convertible and my 1988 C4 Coupe I am always fixing something and needing materials.

I am sorry but I must ask, Why are you down on Zip WVZR-1? Did they do something bad or wrong? I have heard about the fiasco regarding the Vacuum Hose Kits and Dr. Rebuild. Is there something else?

 

I doubt you can find anywhere that I've criticized ZIP if they had a 'premium' product. I doubt there's anything 'premium' regarding this product other than $$$$!

ZIP AIN'T LOCAL! !! nuff said - your $$$ spend as you wish!

OP - HDC is Heavy Duty Cooling

 

ok I finally got my positive battery cable - attached it to the battery grounded battery multimeter to end of the wire and I have 12.6 volts just as the battery does - when I checked the old cable - I removed it from the starter to check and make sure I had clean contact it showed .5v - so I am hoping this is the problem and the cure

now for the stupid questions - before I start cutting old wires - the new cable has an extra wire and crimp on it - as does the old - the old goes off to plugs and maybe a fusible link ? does that sound correct - ?

so I will cut and connect those at the new crimp - right? - i try to learn from mistakes - even the obvious things - before i start cutting wires

the cable seems to go into a convoluted cover along the fire wall that will require taking half of the engine apart to get at - is the convoluted casing necessary ? can or should I consider one of those fire sleeve options for better protection or is no protection really needed? -

that should just run down to the starter where I will need to bent the connection 90* as the old one was - and that should be all correct?

sorry if all of this seems so basic -

thanks
Sean

 

fusible links go bad over time. now's a good time to replace them. could try tying a string to the end of the battery cable before pulling it out. then pull the new one throw with string

 

good idea - like fishing wires in walls -

fusible links - i will look for those as well

 

On the later C4's the Isolated Post where the fusible links all get their power from is behind the panel over the battery on the drivers side. I would probably follow the smaller red wire that heads off towards the drivers door. The post will have the One red wire coming right from the battery connector at the battery. This smaller red wire feeds Seven Fusible Links on the 1988 C4. The post should be fairly easy to find. If not we will need a 1985 Expert to help locate it.

You should not need to be pulling wires with strings and I would not replace the Fusible Links unless they are bad. I have fusible Links in my 1968 C3 that is 53 years old and they are still working. You can tell their working if you have power at the fuse panel. They are not hard to check if you have a need to. For now just clean all the wires at the isolated Post and get the corrosion off the terminals. A dirty corroded post will cause you to see voltage drops inside the Corvette and this is clearly a bad thing.

Keeping the wires inside the convoluted plastic tubing is better for long term life. Run the new wire so it doesn't abrade or move when the engine is running. The very last thing you want is to have this New wire to short to ground. Batteries are able to produce hundreds of amps in a "dead short" condition and this frequently leads to fires. Fires on a Corvette don't turn out too well for the Corvette.

Did you try the engine with the new wire connected but not in final place? I hope the starter turns over easily when you have the new wire in place.

 

on my 84 the fusible links are the 2 wire that come off battery cable to a connecter. theres 2 of them

 

That is amazing as even my C3 which was built in early October of 1967 has more than that, last count 4 so far. They didn't put them in one place until much later.

On the 1988 base Corvette Coupe the Isolated Post is stacked with the terminals connecting the 7 fusible links. They are literally the "last" form of protection the Corvette has from "careless" people. Check your Fuse panel voltage and just be sure it is the same voltage as the battery or very close to the battery voltage at the time. I had close to a 2 volt drop between the battery and the interior objects and the car would not start. After cleaning the connectors used on the fusible links my dashboard and the rest of the Corvette was lit up brightly and everything worked again.

 

I would have a lot more respect for if you would just say there more then 2 fusible links. instead of being sarcastic and condescending . this is trying to help other people. not a mr know it all contest

 

Hello again, mike1111

I apologize for that slip. I try not to be condescending or talk down to people as I don't like it either. I don't know too much about the oddities of the 1985 Corvette as it used different fuel pressures and other things. I would suspect that GM has more of the fusible links but just not located together like on the 1988 C4. I really like how the fusible links are together in one place on the 1988 as it makes it easier to fix or check if needed.

Sincerely,
Chris

I am here primarily to "Learn" but I also try to help when something is in my field of expertise.