Seems there is a constant flow of new owners and I had an experience last week that was a first for me and I thought I would share info that most of you already know, but not all. My less than 3 year old battery would not crank the engine over and I was sure that maybe something had been left on and drained the battery. I put the charger on the battery and it cranked right up, drove around a bit came back home. Turned the engine off and it started right back up so all's good. Next day, engine wont crank, so I thought double check the battery fluid. No dry cells but I topped them off and put the charger on for an hour. Went back later, hit the key and no start. Now I have a meter and should have just checked the voltage but I figured the battery had dropped a cell and just took the battery back and exchanged it under the 36 month free replacement warranty.

So all's good right? Well I had it on the on the kwiklift ramp and slid underneath and and I see this white powdery substance on the frame rail, on the lower control arm, and a trail running dowm the ramp behind the passenger front wheel!!! The battery had taken an acid dump!!! I was pissed to say the least .







Is there an upside to this story? The battery in question was on my Nissan Titan and not the FRC The FRC had an Optima battery on it when I got it and one thing I am sure of I will never have a wet lead acid battery on my Corvette. I know many don't have any love for the Optima battery but a word to the wise is sufficient.


If you are a newbie and unaware, the ECM and main wiring harness are directly under the battery in the C5.

 

For the noobies, this is good advice. Why GM put the ECM and wiring under that spot without more protection just doesn't make sense to me.

 

My O2 coupe has had the same Interstate battery in it since I bought the car in 2007. Just as happened to the OP, last week I had a slow crank on start up. I had to leave it on a charger overnight to be sure It would start in the morning. I had just assumed that the Interstate was an AGM (absorbed glass mat) battery. I was horrified when I found out it was just a standard old wet cell battery. Thank God it never leaked - I replaced it with a Deka Intimidator 9A78DT AGM battery. Not cheap, but worth it for the peace of mind.

 

It's called "planned obsolescence."

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Speaking of
'planned obsolescence," can you say "ebcm"?

 

And here I was thinking it was the PCM that was under the battery......

 

I used an old term in a generic fashion. ECM used to mean electronic control module. With all the electronics in the Corvette it is important to use the correct terms for everything especially when directing a post toward new owners and/or those who may not be aware of some pitfalls that can be avoided. I won't correct my original post with the correct term so as not to further confuse the issue.......

A regular lead acid battery can be a time bomb!

 

Got my '99 TR FRC new back in '99 & the factory orginal Delco leaked! Cleaned up the mess & put in a Red Top asap. I use a battery mat under the battery just in case. Suggest using a trickel charger like a CTEK 3300 on the C-5's. I use my CTEK yr round.

 

Luckily no issues with the stock battery that was on it when I bought it. When it finally died, went with the (craptastic) yellow top optima that a LOT of people here whine about and have had no issues at all.

-Alex

 

Regarding the bad rap that Optima batteries seem to get, the red top in my Z06 is now in its second C5. It is now about 12 years old and still working perfectly. I can leave my car sitting for a week or more and it still starts up prefectly.

 

My first Optima red top lasted a little over 2 years, the second several years longer, over 4 years. Then I tried an Exide orbital, a little over 2 years now, but the poisitve side threads are not as good as when it was new, and it has become touchy keeping the terminals tight. It still works fine, but I pulled it out Saturday and replaced it with a newer design Exide sealed battery. This is in 'daily driver' service with lots of starting every day, not a car that sits for a few weeks or even months between use.

...The old one is going in my boat as a second backup starting battery, it still works fine and it has top terminals in addition to the side terminals used in the Vette. so I can use it in the boat....Now I need to find the hold-down hardware and a marine battery switch at my boating supply store. I have wanted to have a dual battery system in the boat since I bought it last year, just as a reduntant safety measure.

So.... the Vette got a new battery, and the boat gets a great used one real soon.