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I'm posting for a buddy who decided to tackle the headlight gear replacement himself. What he did was correct - disconnect negative battery cable, remove motor asm., repair, reinstall motor asm., reconnect neg battery cable. Only now there's absolutely no electrical power. He even tried to jump start, nothing - no dome light, no dash lights, no *click click* coming from the starter - completely dead. I've told him to check the basics (try R/R battery cables again, disconnect headlight motor asm., check fuses, etc) but was wondering if there's something more specific to check on a 2002 Z06.
C5 battery cables MUST be clean, and properly torqued on to the battery. Use a torque wrench and torque the bolt to 11 FT/LBs
Theres also a black plastic cover on the battery cable that may have stretched and is now between the battery terminal an the battery cable preventing contact
I also agree that the battery could be completely DEAD. Remove the battery cable/s,, make sure that the battery terminals and cable are clean and there NOTHING preventing the cable connecting surface from allowing it to seat on the battery terminal. While it disconnected, READ THE BATTERY with a volt meter. You should see a minimum of 12 VDC. Even if you see 12 VDC, it doesn't mean that the battery is good. If you load the battery it may fall flat on its face.
Have the battery tested at AutoZone or Advance to be sure its good and eliminate that from the equation
He made the mistake of taking on this mini-project without the correct tools handy. No voltmeter, and can't seem to find the correct angle to get the positive cable off so he can pull the battery. Probably his first time ever disconnecting a battery. He's in DC and I'm in Florida, nothing I can physically do from here. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some sort of super secret power-restore-after-battery-disconnect procedure on the C5. Doesn't sound like it. I'll continue trying to coach him with conventional methods, then.