Bit by DBS!

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Jan 9, 2006 | 03:55 PM

egr2fly

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From: Hurst TX

Bit by DBS!

I too just got bit with this DBS. '03 vert, mn-6 with only 11k so when it first started occurring in Oct I thought the gel battery had given up. Dealer replaced battery with std lead-acid. I promptly bought a trickle charger to keep this from reoccurring. No luck, it still comes up dead with the triclke charger on! Sat. was out for a drive and upon returning home had trouble with the column lock not fully disengaging. Did a search on this forum (thanks!) and printed off a post describing DBS and possible causes (column lock not finding resting point and randomly being energized by the BCM???). It is currently at the dealer. They said it was the column lock mechanism and a dead battery. I feel that I have an uphill battle coming on.....Any suggestions?

Jan 9, 2006 | 03:57 PM

RENO

Drifting

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From: Lee's Summit MO

Let the flurry of optima comments begin....

Jan 9, 2006 | 04:08 PM

peter pan

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From: Converse TX

I have a Optima battery for 2 years without any issues, however I have seen some post lately that they are having issues with them, my red top has been fine and I had my car down for 3 months this year for mods and never put it on a charger

Jan 9, 2006 | 06:03 PM

talon90

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St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'10

Shame about the dead battery. Good luck with the dealer. Hmmm, as far as I've ever seen the term DBS is a phenomenon that is most commonly associated with the C6. I've never heard it used to describe a problem with a C5's battery.

Paul

Jan 9, 2006 | 08:21 PM

GUSTO14

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From: eastern NC

Quote:

Originally Posted by egr2fly

Eddie, check the area around the passenger side footwell. Look for any signs of it being wet. Pull the cover from the fuze panel and check the area around the BCM also for signs of moisture. The BCM's do really weird things when they get wet... well before they fail. Let us know what you find.

Good luck... GUSTO

Jan 9, 2006 | 09:44 PM

Z06ufgrad2002

Safety Car

Joined: Nov 2002

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From: Melbourne FL

I've seen a host of post about Optima batteries dying. But, I've got two of them, both a red top and a yellow top in two different cars. One is 3 years old and the other 1. Both are still going strong in DD's. I think the big difference is letting them sit. I think any battery is put to the test when it's allowed to sit especially in a vette.

Jan 9, 2006 | 10:37 PM

egr2fly

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From: Hurst TX

Thanks for the suggestions Gusto, I will check that out, but the car is garaged and I am one of those people that will make a 180 if I see a puddle ahead. There should be no moisture whatsoever! As per other related threads I suspect the BCM also.

Jan 10, 2006 | 01:00 PM

GUSTO14

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From: eastern NC

Quote:

Originally Posted by egr2fly

Eddie... rain or puddles aren't the major problem here most often... it's a plugged up AC drain that lets condensation back up until it spills down on the BCM. It takes a lot of condensation (a few quarts in fact) to back up and drain on the BCM, but trust me it will.

The bad news for me was that our local dealership insisted it was a leaking windshield causing the moisture... I remembered Bill Curlee's thread and said I'll take it from here... sure enough it was a stopped up AC drain on the firewall. Once I relieved the obstruction and dried the BCM out, all of my electrical problems went away... including a draining battery...

Good luck... GUSTO