Wow ... that's some major acid leakage and damage. I'd be contacting whoever is listed on the battery for a claim on the damage it caused. Acid level being way over full from the factory is a defect which caused all this to happen. I had an Optima Red Top leak on me, and Johnson Controls paid for the acid damage and a new battery. Luckily, I caught my leak early and the damage wasn't too bad.

 

That's awesome! I'd been debating what to do about it. I thought about pursuing it, but didn't want to get into a long protracted ordeal. Was the process pretty easy with Johnson? Mine was a JCI as well. I actually returned it to Walmart yesterday. It was outside of the 3 month return period, but as soon as I showed them the pics it was not a problem . Now that I no longer have the battery, do you think JCI will do anything about the damage? I have photos of the serial number and everything.

 

Johnson Controls was pretty good about my situation - but it did take some time and effort to settle it all. They did want the battery back for analysis though, and they sent a container to the store I bought it from and had the store ship it back to them. Can't hurt to at least contact JC Claim Dept to see what they say. If you go to their website you can probably find the Claims Dept phone number.

 

Started unwrapping last night. I think I found how the acid was getting into dash area. I found some damaged wires in the harness that runs from the engine compartment fuse block to the firewall. One of the wires appears to be the same purple wire that runs to the TDR (not 100% sure though). It has obvious damage to the insulation, exposing some of the copper wire inside. 4 other wires were fused to it, and also showing exposed wiring. My guess is that acid was entering at the break in the insulation and creeping through it? It's a long way though... should I replace the entire wire?!

I'm guessing this would explain some of the codes I was getting for little things like the horn relay and daytime running lights. I"m going to repair the wires tonight. Any suggestions on what the best type of splice would be for these?

I'm also curious where exactly these wires go. Is there a wiring diagram for this harness?

 

I salute you sir for taking the time to do things right I've seen all too many people in here, fix a problem with the bare minimum to get it going again and off they go till the next time. Preventative maintenance is key to making a car go the distance but when crap happens as it did here to you, making sure that "all" of the problems caused are "all" resolved, you are a smart man. Many others should pay attention.

 

maybe someone should make like a batterbox with a drain like boats have for our vettes, this seems to be a big problem, my vette had acid leakage too, but nothing like this.

 

YES! Replace ANY wire that has exposed copper. The acid will eventually eat the copper and you will develop an OPEN. See it before. You will have a green powder where there was once a wire!!!

Your best bet is to use an OHM Meter and if the wire is measured end to end, you should see zero ohms. That way you know you have both ends of the correct wire.

Bill

 

Thanks for the support guys! It makes this entire process much easier! Bill, I was afraid you would say that about replacing the wires. The exposed sections are green with corrosion, but the insulated areas are still bright copper. Still, I know the acid has creep through the entire length of wire, since I saw it literally dripping on the other end. I guess with time, it all goes.

All of these wires run to the engine compartment fuse block. I'm not really sure how I would go about disconnecting them to replace. When I separate the upper fuse block from the lower housing, it looks like there are 3 large rectangular modules that plug into the bottom, but I can't tell if they come out or not. What's the anatomy of the fuse block? I'm guessing I'll need special terminal ends too depending on what each of the wires plug into (fuse/relay).

As far as putting the harnesses back to rights, does anyone know what's my best option for "convoluted tubing" aka corrugated split loom? I found all types online but no clue what's OEM. (nylon, polyethylene, flame retardant, neon green with LEDs?). I also need to replace the "mesh" type loom that gets wrapped in tape. I have no clue where to get this and honestly have no clue why GM didn't use the corrugated stuff everywhere? Does the mesh serve a different purpose, or could I just put it all back using corrugated?

Thanks again guys!!

 

It's alive! After a few sweat filled afternoons, I was finally able to start it up! I really took my time with the repairs - I even ran a new wire through the firewall to replace the one that was severely acid ridden. Replaced two melted vacuum hoses and spliced 4 smaller wires. Un-taped and re-taped all of the major wire harnesses. Cleaned, primed and painted the rusted frame areas. It was a lot, but I'm glad I did it!

My only problem is - I think I must have forgotten to connect something. As soon as I turned the key, I received a "low fuel" warning. After starting the car, I received a bunch of fuel related codes:

P0449 EVAP Canister Vent Solenoid Valve Control Circuit
P0452 Fuel Tank Pressure Sensor Circuit Low Voltage
P0463 Fuel Level Sensor 1 Circuit High Voltage
P0803 1-4 Upshift Solenoid Control Circuit (M/T)
P1433 Fuel Level Sensor 2 High Voltage

I also have some H codes that showed up after clearing all my old codes. They're all "loss of communication" codes:

U1096 Loss of Communications with IPC
U1064 Loss of Communications with BCM
U1016 Loss of Communication with PCM

I was wondering if I forget to reconnect something. I had a lot of stuff disconnected . Maybe a ground? I was wondering if anyone knew off hand what would cause all of these codes to show up?

The good news - none of my old codes have returned. Which confirms these must have been related to the damaged wires. Horn relay code, left and right DRL codes, HVAC related codes - all gone .

 

Sounds to me like you forgot to connect C142. It's one of two round connectors under the battery...that plug into the harness going back.

 

You're right! Amazing, after taking all of this stuff apart and putting it all back together - NO CODES! Unfortunately, I can't really drive it yet... I'm waiting on a PCM bracket from corvetterecyling.com (broke it while trying to pry free the corroded PCM). But I did let it idle for a good 10 minutes with no problems . The idle was noticeably smoother. I guess fixing 2 broken vacuum lines will do that!

A huge thank you to everyone who helped me along the way!! Lesson learned, battery acid is no joke!

I obviously DO NOT want to go through this ever again. While I'm sure the new battery I bought will probably be fine - the whole experience has sort of soured me on conventional batteries. A few folks have recommended AGM batteries as a leak-free alternative. I may look into them and see what's out there that can't possibly leak.

Thanks again for everything!

 

AGM is the way to fly, have the same AGM battery in my bike for 6+ years now. Cost more but worth it.

 

When I installed an Optima Red top, I thought it was a good move to use a battery that could never leak. Well, guess what ... it leaked! Of course the chances of a sealed battery like the Optima is far less likely to leak ... it just shows there are always flukes that are going to happen.

Optima battery leak thread:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...a-red-top.html

This is the battery I'm currently using. The info on these batteries on ACDelco's website says that each case is tested for leaks before it leaves the factory.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...l-battery.html

 

Wow great repairs and troubleshooting. I use the optima yellow tops on all my cars.

 

Which AGM battery is considered the best for our application?

 

I'm researching this now. I've seen some have had good results withy Sears Platinum P4. I think those are made by Odessey. Seems like everyone recommends a GOOD charger. My car is a daily driver so I hope to not have to worry about that. Right now I'm looking at the Sears but if anyone has other recommendations id love to hear them. I'd like to stay away from "gel types" in favor of true AGMs. I believe the optimas are gels. (could be wrong though)

 

PCM bracket came it! I installed the PCM last night and am ready to put the access panel back on. Almost done. But I noticed that I'm still having trouble with my headlights. I've noticed that about 50% of the time, if I turn on my headlights, the lights come on but don't pop up. Flick the switch a few times and they eventually open. I suppose it could be the switch or any number of things. Wondering if there is anything I should check now before bolting the panel back on.

 

Most likely not PCM related. Try the switch first.