bad answer 
Another C5 Battery Dies!
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 101
Likes: 0
From: Cincinnati OH
Another C5 Battery Dies!
Got in the car Saturday and turned the key... click...click...click 
Put a voltmeter on the battery and it showed 9.5 volts. Put a trickle charger on it for two hours and it showed 12.8 volts. Tried to start it. Click...click...click. Voltmeter showed 8 volts. Pulled the battery out, had it tested, bought a new one. Car is happy again. This is a 2002 coupe that I bought new 28 months ago. Why did Chevy put such crappy batteries in a $50K car?
Put a voltmeter on the battery and it showed 9.5 volts. Put a trickle charger on it for two hours and it showed 12.8 volts. Tried to start it. Click...click...click. Voltmeter showed 8 volts. Pulled the battery out, had it tested, bought a new one. Car is happy again. This is a 2002 coupe that I bought new 28 months ago. Why did Chevy put such crappy batteries in a $50K car?
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 25,058
Likes: 1,265
From: Virginia
St. Jude Donor '11
Originally Posted by C5 JET
Got in the car Saturday and turned the key... click...click...click Put a voltmeter on the battery and it showed 9.5 volts. Put a trickle charger on it for two hours and it showed 12.8 volts. Tried to start it. Click...click...click. Voltmeter showed 8 volts. Pulled the battery out, had it tested, bought a new one. Car is happy again. This is a 2002 coupe that I bought new 28 months ago. Why did Chevy put such crappy batteries in a $50K car?
Put a voltmeter on the battery and it showed 9.5 volts. Put a trickle charger on it for two hours and it showed 12.8 volts. Tried to start it. Click...click...click. Voltmeter showed 8 volts. Pulled the battery out, had it tested, bought a new one. Car is happy again. This is a 2002 coupe that I bought new 28 months ago. Why did Chevy put such crappy batteries in a $50K car?
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 200
Likes: 0
If the battery goes below the recommended/operating voltage, you should use a 10 amp charger as quickly as possible. Trickle chargers usually don't have the ouput high enough to 'revive' a dead battery.
I you are looking for a new battery, well, I'd say look into a dry cell battery: It weights a lot less and it has none of the shortcomings of most 'off the shelf batteries'
http://www.odysseybatteries.com/
I you are looking for a new battery, well, I'd say look into a dry cell battery: It weights a lot less and it has none of the shortcomings of most 'off the shelf batteries'
http://www.odysseybatteries.com/
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 6,017
Likes: 0
From: Plainfield IL
Does anyone know if when the battery gets weak or gets replaced do they have to reprogram the computer for all those warning messages? I left my radar detector on for a few days and I had to use the portable charger/starter to start it. Now I'm getting those messages all the time and it's driving me 
Thanks. Carl
Thanks. Carl
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 131
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by Red Vamp
Does anyone know if when the battery gets weak or gets replaced do they have to reprogram the computer for all those warning messages? I left my radar detector on for a few days and I had to use the portable charger/starter to start it. Now I'm getting those messages all the time and it's driving me Thanks. Carl
Thanks. Carl
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 368,390
Likes: 24,795
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
I wish I knew why they can't put a decent battery in the car. I dumped mine less than a year after I bought it and put in an Optima. No problems since.
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
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 16,270
Likes: 30
From: "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-‘18-'19
NCM Sinkhole Donor
I don't think it's an issue about a "decent" battery - it's more that the battery is the standard off the shelf AC Delco battery that's used in millions of other cars. If they have to start designing special single purpose stuff for Vettes - the car will become an exotic like a Ferrarri.
A very popular choice on the forum as well as car enthusiasts overall is the Optima. It won't leak and it's a very high quality piece. If you have a pretty standard Vette (no complex electronics, stereos, etc.) the standard Optima Red Top model 75/35 will fit perfectly, it's 720 cold cranking amps and has both side and top terminals. Costco sells them everyday for $100.
A very popular choice on the forum as well as car enthusiasts overall is the Optima. It won't leak and it's a very high quality piece. If you have a pretty standard Vette (no complex electronics, stereos, etc.) the standard Optima Red Top model 75/35 will fit perfectly, it's 720 cold cranking amps and has both side and top terminals. Costco sells them everyday for $100.
Pro
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 673
Likes: 1
From: Pembroke Pines Florida
Originally Posted by blacksedan87
I don't think it's an issue about a "decent" battery - it's more that the battery is the standard off the shelf AC Delco battery that's used in millions of other cars. If they have to start designing special single purpose stuff for Vettes - the car will become an exotic like a Ferrarri.
People are always complaining about certain problems with these cars. If they were all changed the corvette would cost much more than it does now.
Scott
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 19,304
Likes: 85
From: San Diego CA
My OEM battery is now 3 and a half years old and still starts like the day it was new. I guess daily driving is good for ANY type of battery, but is especially good to AC Delco AGM batteries.
As far as replacement batteries go, I've bought Walmart batteries for $30 and Motorcraft batteries for $100. Both lasted 5 years, so I now buy batteries for my other cars at Walmart. The C5 probably should have a leakproof-type battery, considering the location of its brains (beneath the battery), however.
As far as replacement batteries go, I've bought Walmart batteries for $30 and Motorcraft batteries for $100. Both lasted 5 years, so I now buy batteries for my other cars at Walmart. The C5 probably should have a leakproof-type battery, considering the location of its brains (beneath the battery), however.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,273
Likes: 1
From: Pittsford NY
Originally Posted by Dave68
My OEM battery is now 3 and a half years old and still starts like the day it was new. I guess daily driving is good for ANY type of battery, but is especially good to AC Delco AGM batteries.
As far as replacement batteries go, I've bought Walmart batteries for $30 and Motorcraft batteries for $100. Both lasted 5 years, so I now buy batteries for my other cars at Walmart. The C5 probably should have a leakproof-type battery, considering the location of its brains (beneath the battery), however.
As far as replacement batteries go, I've bought Walmart batteries for $30 and Motorcraft batteries for $100. Both lasted 5 years, so I now buy batteries for my other cars at Walmart. The C5 probably should have a leakproof-type battery, considering the location of its brains (beneath the battery), however.
neccessarily think it is a problem with the battery. Modern
cars have a larger draw on the battery when the car is not
running. Ad to that fact that many if not most of us use the
vette as a toy not a daily driver. Thus it sits and the battery
discharges probably causing the early battery failures. I suspect
daily driving or a battery tender results in loinger battery life on these cars.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 2,148
Likes: 1
From: GA
Changed the leaking piece of crap AC DElco in my wife's Yukon last night (barely two yrs. old). After I bought my 'Vette, changed dead battery after three months of ownership. Had a 1998 Pontiac GTP with a leaking battery a couple of years ago. I'm not sure, but I think I might have stumbled upon a pattern here!!!
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 101
Likes: 0
From: Cincinnati OH
Originally Posted by TOOGECKO
I'm not sure, but I think I might have stumbled upon a pattern here!!!
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 101
Likes: 0
From: Cincinnati OH
Originally Posted by blacksedan87
I don't think it's an issue about a "decent" battery - it's more that the battery is the standard off the shelf AC Delco battery that's used in millions of other cars.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 101
Likes: 0
From: Cincinnati OH
Originally Posted by Yello95
Don't you have 3yr/36,000 mile bumper to bumper standard warranty? Shouldn't it cover the battery?
I decided, however, that even if it was covered, it wasn't worth it to take it to the dealership to get a new battery. They'd have just given me a replacement battery of the same kind as the original, which had just let me down. If I hadn't been lucky, and had the battery die on me at home, in my garage, it could have been a much bigger hassle. I wasn't ready to risk that kind of hassle by receiving the same crappy kind of battery. Also, I would have had to leave my car with the dealership... something I try to avoid. And even if I wanted to take that option, I would have had to wait until Monday, when the dealership service department was once again open.
So, I chose to swap the battery on my own, avoiding getting another crappy GM endorsed battery, putting my car back into service at least two day faster than would have happened by going to the dealership. All, in all, definitely worth the cost of the new battery.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 2,148
Likes: 1
From: GA
Originally Posted by C5 JET
Only two of those twelve were GM products, and guess which one had the only battery that ever died on me... yep, one of the two GM products, but at least it lasted six years before dying.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 274
Likes: 0
From: Bergerac Dordogne
Originally Posted by TOOGECKO
I would be happy to get six years out of any battery. That really isn't so bad, especially from a Delco!
I have only ever had one other battery fail on me in my entire car and motorcycle owning 33 years, and that was the manufacturer's original battery on an 18 year old Citroen BX GTI I was using as a junker. Even that didn't die as horrible and as complete a death as the Corvette AC Delcos; at least I could still start and run the car after a hit with a starter/charger.
I've got an Exide Maxxima Orbital in my Corvette now, 900 CCA. I don't expect to have to buy another battery for it - period.
Upshot - as soon as you vette is out of warranty go get a decent battery!
