i recently was away from home for 42 days and my car was not started the whole time. when i got home the battery was so dead when i turned the key thier was no sound at all. i jumped it with my wifes car and drove to a appoiment i had a 30 min drive and when i came out it would click but would not start, i called my wife to jump me again and took the car to advanced auto and they told me the battery was ok, i drove around for about one hour and the next morning the car started fine, i have been driving it everyday for about three weeks with no problem, last week i drove to richmond and there was a funny smell , my friend described it as rotten eggs, drove back home, parked overnight and drove it the next day, it started fine with no funny smells while driving,2 days ago after driving i went out to drive and the battery was dead, just a clicking sound when i turned the key. i put a battery charger on it yesterday and left it on almost 8 hours, when i checked it out the charger said it was less than 50 % charged, the car would not start, i took the battery out and took it back to advanced and they told me i needed to replace the battery, it was a optma battery only 14 months old i had to buy a new one, i installed the new battery, and opened the drivers door to start the car and the alarm went off so sence i dont have a working key fob i put the key in and started the car the pull key and wait 10 seconds message came up so i shut it off and restarted it, it started fine but when i put the car in gear( manual trans) and started to back out the car shut off, re started it several time and the same thing happened, as soon as i try to go back or forward, the only message coming up on the DIC is service column lock, that message has been coming up the last three weeks ever since the battery died the first time but i was still able to drive the car, as far ar i know my column lock has been disabled, with the car off i can turn the wheel all the way in both directions, can anyone help please, thanks for taking the time to read all this

 

Well I'm sorry to hear of your battery troubles. Since you had a Optima Red Top, (which do not sustain a deep discharge well, But Optima does makes a battery for this purpose, the yellow top) But if the red top went all the way down to zip, it's junk and you need a new battery. But one thing You really need to look at Is the battery compartment and see if the rotten egg smell, is really the smell of sulfer from a leaking battery. And if so right under the battery is the wiring harness, the PCM and some other things you don't want to go south on you.

Take your 'New' battery and have it charged, and if everything is OK in the battery compartment, then re-install the battery and drive it for a few days and if you go to Autozone, they will put a 'Load test' on the battery and if it passes, you fine. Anyway Good luck !

 

Besides the dead battery that you replaced, you may have something going on with the alarm system that was triggered with the battery replacement. Sorry I'm not much help but hopefullly someone else will chime in. Good luck

By the way, do you know if the car has the column lock bypass installed?

 

my battery was a yelloy top, but my main problem right now is that i can start the car but whwn i put it in gear( 6 speed) and go to back up it cuts out on me, the only message on the DIC is service collum lock, my collum lock has been disabled, but i can not drive the car rite now because vvery time i put it in gear and let off the clutch something is shuting the car down, any ideas?

 

my battery was a yelloy top, but my main problem right now is that i can start the car but whwn i put it in gear( 6 speed) and go to back up it cuts out on me, the only message on the DIC is service collum lock, my collum lock has been disabled, but i can not drive the car rite now because vvery time i put it in gear and let off the clutch something is shuting the car down, any ideas?

 

You got me beat buddy, I don't know what to tell you. I'd locate a Corvette specialty shop and seek advice and help from them ? Anyway, Good Luck friend !

 

u might have a short somewhere in the wiring..

 

Good luck with a fix

 

When you say the column lock has been disabled do you mean the factory recalls were done on the car or you installed a column lock bypass sold by corvettes of Houston? Factory recalls for 6-speeds created alot of confusion and new problems. There is a sticky in the tech section regarding column lock /fuel shut-off problems.( weak batteries can trigger the whole mess) good luck

p.s. DO NOT TAKE THE CAR TO A CHEVY DEALERSHIP!!!

 

i am not sure who disabled the collum lock it was that way when i bought it,all i know is that is what is comming up on the DIC and the car shuts off on me when ever i let off the clutch with it in gear, but something has been done to the collum lock because i can turn the wheel with the key out

 

Another quality battery by Optima
It is a shame how a company will produce crap just to save a few bucks
They used to make a good battery but now the quality is hit or miss.

 

Try unplugging the battery for a little bit and get it up to full charge. Then hook it back up and clear out all the error codes in the DIC. Then take it for a spin.
Keep us posted

 

i hooked up a charger to the new battery and it was full charged in about 15 minuets, then i tried disconecting the battery cables and reconecting them , whwn i started the car i got the pull kes and wait message, after that i started it and it is still cutting off on me when i put in gear and thke my foot off the clutch??????????

 

What current codes are you throwing in the DIC?

 

Take a deep breath and relax!!!

First you left an AGM battery for 42 days and it discharged. This car eats batteries so that's no surprise. Any battery would have been similarly affected.

First clear the codes and make sure the steering wheel is freed up.

The bad news is that the Optima Red Top being an AGM does not take kindly to being run down to zero. Its dead so all your efforts are almost certainly in vain. You need anew battery and if you leave it that long between drives and don't fit a battery tender, get a lead acid replacement which will be more tolerant. Better still, get a tender as well.

The column lock problems are almost certainly a spin off from a weak battery so don't do anything there until you've fitted a new battery. I'd bet $$$ that the problem will go away once you have a fully charged battery in there.

The other good news is that AGM batteries wont leak so there are no worries there. You just killed it.

Edit:

Just re-read the thread and I see it was a Yellow Top. That's unusual as they are more tolerant ( a deep cycle battery) and it should have been better able to cope. That said, my advice stands but I'd contact Optima for a replacement..........and get a battery tender.

 

I think he already replaced the battery with the new one. I am just curious on what codes are showing up in the DIC. I would reset all current and non-current codes and try again

The "diagnostic display" mode is entered with the following procedure:

1) Turn on the ignition but don't start the engine.

2) Press the "reset" button to turn off any warning messages

3) Press and hold "options" , press "fuel" four times within a 10-second period.

When first engaged the on-board diagnostics go into an "automatic" mode.

The computer will show two kinds of codes, "current" and "history," designated "C" or "H".
A current code indicates a malfunction is present in the system whose module is displaying data.

A history code indicates a past problem.

When the screen displays "manual diagnostics," select the desired module by pressing the "options" button
to go forward or the "trip" button to go back.

Press "gauges" to go forward or
"fuel" to go back for each code under a module.

 

I think he already replaced the battery with the new one. I am just curious on what codes are showing up in the DIC. I would reset all current and non-current codes and try again

The "diagnostic display" mode is entered with the following procedure:

1) Turn on the ignition but don't start the engine.

2) Press the "reset" button to turn off any warning messages

3) Press and hold "options" , press "fuel" four times within a 10-second period.

When first engaged the on-board diagnostics go into an "automatic" mode.

The computer will show two kinds of codes, "current" and "history," designated "C" or "H".
A current code indicates a malfunction is present in the system whose module is displaying data.

A history code indicates a past problem.

When the screen displays "manual diagnostics," select the desired module by pressing the "options" button
to go forward or the "trip" button to go back.

Press "gauges" to go forward or
"fuel" to go back for each code under a module.



http://www.stengel.net/diccodes.htm

 

The column lock often comes up with a weak or dead battery. He may have picked up another bad one. If its killed a 2nd battery there has to be a drain but it's still battery related. I'd bet there will be a bunch of U codes

A tender will keep it charged if theres a drain so he can clear the column lock related problem. If there is a drain (seat motor/switches?) than he needs to identify where that problem is and fix it.

In sum my advice is:

Battery being drained (time - 42 days - or electrics problem?)
Free steering column ( caused by bad battery)
Replace battery (refund?)
Fit tender to give time to troubleshhoot (Check Bill Curlee's electrical sticky)
Identify any drain and fix
Keep using tender (for a weekend warrior)

 

If he is a gambler and bought another Optima I would not bet against you that he got a second bad battery. Optima's quality is in the crapper

 

Always a difficult one. Who knows whether it was fully charged when he got it?

I've had a bad Optima but I killed it by 8 weeks on the boat to England. I'm convinced most of the problems are caused by too long between rides and infrequent use. But I cant prove it. My Optima Yellow Top has lasted 3 years (on a tender) and my sons Red Top survived 8 weeks on the boat and is still going strong after 6 years.

I guess its a lottery