C5 Completely Dead
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4
Likes: 7
From: poway ca
C5 Completely Dead
I thought someone might benefit by my yesterday's experience. I cleaned the terminals after taking out old battery, then installed a new battery in my 1998 C5 automatic, after which the car was completely dead. First check was multimeter on the negative post and the input terminal to the fuse block directly next to the battery - 12.9V. Symptoms included locks activated, clicking sounds from the rear, clicking sounds under the hood, buzzing from the dash display, intermittent lights in the interior, then turned the key to start, all activities ceased and completely dead. Key back to run position and lights and clicking restarted. Concerned that I might be damaging some electrical component, I disconnected neg post. Then when tow truck arrived, I reconnected neg post, and all systems back to normal. Looked at Forum for "completely dead" and all posts pointed to the battery as the culprit. Apparently I had a very weak connection on the neg post the first time which was enough to make everything go wacky. Bottom line - wacky electrical symptoms?? check the battery connections
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 368,353
Likes: 24,781
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
Good reminder - thanks. 
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 3,473
Likes: 691
From: West Virginia
I had a similar problem some years back with side mounted posts. I had the battery disconnected and had the same symptoms on re-assembly. I pulled it agains and this time ensured everything was correct by getting rid of any "non shiny" spots with emory, then re-assembling with plenty of Vaseline - a good dielectric.
Oh, and carry that 8mm wrench in the car at all times. A lot cheaper than a tow truck. And carry the Vaseline as well - multiple uses for that......
Oh, and carry that 8mm wrench in the car at all times. A lot cheaper than a tow truck. And carry the Vaseline as well - multiple uses for that......
Last edited by jackthelad; Jul 12, 2017 at 04:11 PM.
Thread Starter
4th Gear
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4
Likes: 7
From: poway ca
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 1,820
Likes: 411
From: Somewhere in the middle of Kansas
I had a similar problem some years back with side mounted posts. I had the battery disconnected and had the same symptoms on re-assembly. I pulled it agains and this time ensured everything was correct by getting rid of any "non shiny" spots with emory, then re-assembling with plenty of Vaseline - a good dielectric.
Oh, and carry that 8mm wrench in the car at all times. A lot cheaper than a tow truck. And carry the Vaseline as well - multiple uses for that......
Oh, and carry that 8mm wrench in the car at all times. A lot cheaper than a tow truck. And carry the Vaseline as well - multiple uses for that......
What's the 8 mm wrench for?
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 2,398
Likes: 768
From: jefferson texas
Power issues make C5's crazy, bad batteries, posts, connections, grounds. Everything goes whacky, makes you think you need an excorcist to get the demon out. Glad you got it fixed and take care!