[Z06] Battery Failures
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 154
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Battery Failures
I posted a few messages earlier this week about my experience with a dead battery in a new Z06. Not that I like publicly humiliating myself... but I thought I might be able to save others from making a similar mistake. So, here it goes.
It looks like my battery was being drained overnight by the light down by the foot pedals. Apparently, I had inadvertently turned them on. As I now know, the dial that turns up the dash lights also turns on the foot pedal light when you turn it all the way up (clockwise). That light, as it turns out, uses just enough power overnight to drain a Z06 battery.
Now, on to the next task... breaking her in.
It looks like my battery was being drained overnight by the light down by the foot pedals. Apparently, I had inadvertently turned them on. As I now know, the dial that turns up the dash lights also turns on the foot pedal light when you turn it all the way up (clockwise). That light, as it turns out, uses just enough power overnight to drain a Z06 battery.
Now, on to the next task... breaking her in.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 5,555
Likes: 9
From: Indiana
Re: Battery Failures (dvickrey)
Ahhhh .. don't feel bad. That's an easy thing to miss. The part I have found troubling about dead-battery posts is that it's beginning to look like once a battery's gone dead, it no longer wants to hold a charge. It seems like I've seen several posts describing that problem ...
Safety Car
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 3,651
Likes: 5
From: Atlantis
Cruise-In I Veteran
Re: Battery Failures (Jerry Velders)
These lightweight batteries in our cars just won't recover well from a deep discharge cycle.
The lead acid batteries don't like a total discharge at all and a lot of times won't charge back up or exibit a reduction in capacity after a heavy discharge.
I suspect the Optima batteries are more resilient to deep discharge.
They have a different type of electrolyte, I believe. It's not sulfuric acid and H20. More a gel type substance.
Glad your problem was just a little "user error".
The lead acid batteries don't like a total discharge at all and a lot of times won't charge back up or exibit a reduction in capacity after a heavy discharge.
I suspect the Optima batteries are more resilient to deep discharge.
They have a different type of electrolyte, I believe. It's not sulfuric acid and H20. More a gel type substance.
Glad your problem was just a little "user error".
