Surprised someone does not sell either a battery tray that would contain some acid leakage or offer at least a shield that could protect everything underneath?

 

That would make too much sense. GM's design you ask? Funnel the acid DIRECTLY onto the PCM. If anybody has ever pulled the battery, they will see the tray is open in the center. It funnels the acid straight onto the frame rail and PCM. HORRIBLE design.

 

Could've put the battery in the back in one the little compartments .. it'd be away from ECM and heat to last longer - plus help move a little weight to the rear !

 

For a extra $.07, they could have made a tray with a drain tube down past the frame.

 

GM is pennywise and dollar foolish.

 

You guys make me laugh... As I originally suggested, no one has offered a practical solution to the problem, except the drain tube idea. The only problem here is that nobody plans for the battery to leak in the first place... if every part of this car was designed with 14 failsafe measures it would weigh 4000 lbs and be the size of a Towncar!

Enlighten me to how many cars fit the following description: Large displacement V8, HD drivetrain, very low hood/beltline, exceptional aerodynamics, 3200 lbs. I could be wrong, but only one vehicle comes to mind. Sure there were some compromises made in packaging to make it work, there HAD to be!

Some offerings to some of your replies:

1. "ECM hard to remove for a tune." It's really too bad GM didn't make this easier for you... LOL. You getting the car tuned was not their priority and nor should it have been.

2. "Relocate battery to rear of the car". Again, $$$. This is what they did with the C6Z, but that car has a much better profit margin (they also needed a place for the remote oil reservoir). The regular C6 has the battery in the same spot as the C5.

3. "Relocate ECM to driver's side". This is where the pedals are. No room there.

4. "Relocate to the interior". This one may have had some merit, especially since the fuse and relay panel is already there, though actually moving it wouldn't be possible. Extending the interior would be an option, as well as just covering it with a plastic cover, but again both would cost $$$. Simple plastic cover would be reasonable, though, but only if GM was planning to have leaking batteries.

5. "Use an AGM battery". I'm not aware of any OEM that uses these in a production street car (though I could be wrong). There surely are reasons for this, the obvious one being cost, but I'd bet you a week's worth of coffee that there are also performance issues. As nice as the C5 is, it was built to a price which is the main reason most of us are able to own one and be here bitching in the first place!

The REAL problem here is the battery, NOT the location of the ECM. Nobody designs the battery to fail (though if many of them do fail you could say they are designed to fail...LOL), and nobody assumes it will fail when looking for a location for the ECM. I'm sure the drainage provided in the battery tray is intended only for water...

Nobody suggested the OBVIOUS answer... move the battery down low where the ECM is, and move the ECM up where the battery is! This would lower the center of gravity and mean only a small increase in the length of the main harness. I'm not sure if there's actually enough room down there to do it, and thinking about it from that perspective that's probably why it isn't there.

It's a good thing they didn't put the battery down there... with all the failures you guys would all be complaining about how much of a PITA it is to change the battery! LOL!

You can't make everyone happy...

 

Don't have to write a book to solve this one.

Drop the spunge blanket around the battery, put in a full tray (with bottom) problem solved, no extra cost.

"What can go wrong, will go wrong." (has a battery ever leaked?) Engineers should know that. The problem was the battery tray, nothing else. Very poor engineering in this case.

 

The later C5's came from the factory with AGM batteries. They have a grey case. Mid America Motorworks sells a battery mat that fits under the battery, 5-6 bucks. However when it was time to replace my battery I went with the Excide Orbital. Look for another post that I have. Someone recomended rembattery.com. Super prices shipped right to your door. With all the bad posts with red top batteries I went with the Excide. When I think of red tops, I think of Clint Eastwood, "Well punk do you feel lucky today? " I want a battery that is going to work, start the car everytime, with all the posts, it doesn't seem possible with a redtop. David

 

with the info from tellefan, i have opted to get an orbital. stopped by the napa dealer earlier on the way back from jury duty and they have the 78 series in stock. tomorrow i'll take a core up with me and pick one up.

 

Hmm now let me think..............

Under the battery. Good plan.

Now I'll choose a battery that may leak.........

Maybe not

JMHO

 

So where's your solution?

 

Still surprised one of the Supporting Forum Vendors does not offer a half-depth replacement tray or something for sale that would contain a battery failure now that this has been identified as potential issue - doesn't seem like it would cost much in exchange for the peace of mind? Guess I will just make one myself.?

 

If you think it looks bad from the top-you should see it from the side and bottom. When I had the LSD doors put on and the fenders off my body guy could not believe the mud and dirt that covered the thing.I thought the car was clean- it looked like I was 4 wheeling through the mud. He cleaned it off and put a plastic cover over the exposed area.