battery drain
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 519
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From: Gilbert Az
battery drain
Have had my battery die (new battery Aug 2011) a couple times this week. Local Firestone charged it back up twice and tells me that when car is off something is drawing off battery too much. He says draw should be no more than 0.3 (don't remember what units) and mine is drawing > 1.3. Vette is 2002. Last battery lasted > 4yrs which is great for Arizona. He says biggest culprits are radio, power seats, etc. He can't diagnose what is drawing at his place but recommends dealership could pinpoint what the draw might be. Anybody ever have similar problem and found out what was drawing?? Thanks.
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 19,384
Likes: 87
From: Horncastle Lincolnshire, England
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Take a look at the end of this post I made
Identifying Battery Problems
The C5 eats batteries unless you take some regular precautions. If your battery continually dies its either the battery which is on its last legs or something on the car.
You also need to look at how you use the car. Is it a daily driver? If so the battery should be getting a good top up every day so you may have a problem.
Is it a DD but you do short trips? If so you'll be taking a lot out of the battery every time you start. For a short trip, say less than about 20 mins, you won’t top it off properly. Eventually it'll drain.
Is it a weekend car. If so, this takes a lot out of your battery. There’s a 20MA drain even dormant. If you don’t drive the car for a reasonable time every week or so, it'll kill the battery. In this case you really do need a battery tender.
You’ll know when your battery is bad. As it gets low you may get strange electrical indications (random warnings and U fault codes). As it gets lower it may drop the memory settings or defaults such as HUD settings. Eventually you’ll get the dreaded chattering relays in the footwell and eventually the lights on the IPC will disappear.
Most batteries can be recharged quite successfully, although AGMs are harder. Start by checking the charge on the battery. Don’t read the DIC when the car is off. The value you see on the DIC is alternator output when the car is running. It will always measure an inaccurately low voltage on the battery when the ignition is off and figures of 11.0V to 11.9V is normal in this case. With the engine on, the voltmeter should show between 13V and 14.5V. You need to measure voltage across the battery terminals using a digital multi meter if possible. A fully charged battery measures 12.7V and a fully discharged battery measures 11.9V. Partially discharged batteries will give a reading somewhere in between.
If the battery is low give it an overnight charge (or put it on a battery tender until you get a fully charged indication) and retest it. A true test is under load and Autozone will do that test for free.
If you have an AGM battery like the Red Top and it has been deeply discharged it's harder to recover it. This might help:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIoaL3DWWEg
If you’ve recharged it and it still runs down, then you need to start looking for excessive drains. Bill Curlee posted a good method for checking:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1567522286-post590.html
There are some common faults which are well known for causing problems:
First to check is the interior lighting rotary switch on the drivers panel. It’s possible for that to be turned on as there’s a setting (fully clockwise) which bypasses the auto off function. Turn it fully counter clockwise and check after about 30 minutes (preferably in the dark) that the interior lights have gone off.
If it’s not the lights something has failed or is badly installed.
Have you fitted an after-market device which draws current? Typically it’s a cellphone charger, radar warner or a similar device that’s the problem.
If still no joy, you need to start pulling fuses to identify the problem.
The power seat switches on the side of both seats are notoriously unreliable. The switch becomes sticky with use and can stick in the “on” position. You shouldn’t damage the motors as they are thermally protected. The fuse may blow so worth checking (Fuse 36 20A in footwell).
The driver’s lumbar motor can also cause issues so check this too (mini fuse 3 15A in footwell). The seat controls connect under the seat. Pull the connector and if the drain stops that’s your problem.
Less common but not unheard of are failures of the headlight motor control module the alternator and the Bose Amplifier under the dash on the driver’s side.
Identifying Battery Problems
The C5 eats batteries unless you take some regular precautions. If your battery continually dies its either the battery which is on its last legs or something on the car.
You also need to look at how you use the car. Is it a daily driver? If so the battery should be getting a good top up every day so you may have a problem.
Is it a DD but you do short trips? If so you'll be taking a lot out of the battery every time you start. For a short trip, say less than about 20 mins, you won’t top it off properly. Eventually it'll drain.
Is it a weekend car. If so, this takes a lot out of your battery. There’s a 20MA drain even dormant. If you don’t drive the car for a reasonable time every week or so, it'll kill the battery. In this case you really do need a battery tender.
You’ll know when your battery is bad. As it gets low you may get strange electrical indications (random warnings and U fault codes). As it gets lower it may drop the memory settings or defaults such as HUD settings. Eventually you’ll get the dreaded chattering relays in the footwell and eventually the lights on the IPC will disappear.
Most batteries can be recharged quite successfully, although AGMs are harder. Start by checking the charge on the battery. Don’t read the DIC when the car is off. The value you see on the DIC is alternator output when the car is running. It will always measure an inaccurately low voltage on the battery when the ignition is off and figures of 11.0V to 11.9V is normal in this case. With the engine on, the voltmeter should show between 13V and 14.5V. You need to measure voltage across the battery terminals using a digital multi meter if possible. A fully charged battery measures 12.7V and a fully discharged battery measures 11.9V. Partially discharged batteries will give a reading somewhere in between.
If the battery is low give it an overnight charge (or put it on a battery tender until you get a fully charged indication) and retest it. A true test is under load and Autozone will do that test for free.
If you have an AGM battery like the Red Top and it has been deeply discharged it's harder to recover it. This might help:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIoaL3DWWEg
If you’ve recharged it and it still runs down, then you need to start looking for excessive drains. Bill Curlee posted a good method for checking:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1567522286-post590.html
There are some common faults which are well known for causing problems:
First to check is the interior lighting rotary switch on the drivers panel. It’s possible for that to be turned on as there’s a setting (fully clockwise) which bypasses the auto off function. Turn it fully counter clockwise and check after about 30 minutes (preferably in the dark) that the interior lights have gone off.
If it’s not the lights something has failed or is badly installed.
Have you fitted an after-market device which draws current? Typically it’s a cellphone charger, radar warner or a similar device that’s the problem.
If still no joy, you need to start pulling fuses to identify the problem.
The power seat switches on the side of both seats are notoriously unreliable. The switch becomes sticky with use and can stick in the “on” position. You shouldn’t damage the motors as they are thermally protected. The fuse may blow so worth checking (Fuse 36 20A in footwell).
The driver’s lumbar motor can also cause issues so check this too (mini fuse 3 15A in footwell). The seat controls connect under the seat. Pull the connector and if the drain stops that’s your problem.
Less common but not unheard of are failures of the headlight motor control module the alternator and the Bose Amplifier under the dash on the driver’s side.
