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Hey everyone, got a slight issue, and hoping i know what the problem is, but want some opinions.
Over the last two day, changed my plugs and wires on my 99 C5. Went pretty straight forward expect #7 was a huge pain but was able to get it. Went to start it after I finished, and it clicks hard and the car shakes like its about to start but doesn't. I checked the battery voltage in the car, and it is 10.3
I do not have an easy option to jump it currently, so I'm going to get my father in laws Jump Box tomorrow, but does every one just think the battery is low since i had the hood open for around 24 hours and it drained the battery?
I went ahead, pulled the wires off and checked the plugs, everything looks ok. I'm not a super mechanic, but can do basic things like this. Never had any type of problem like this before, just trying to make sure I didnt do something incorrectly. I did not unplug anything else, didnt knock off any hoses or wires.
I'm assuming it is the battery, but instead of staring at the ceiling worrying hoping someone confirms that voltage is too low to start it.
Thanks!!
I'm not 100% sure on the exact age of the battery, it is an Optima Red Top. I have only owned the car for about 6 weeks. The previous owner made it seem like it was recently changed, but cannot guarantee that at all. Going to try jumping in the morning and see what happens.
Hopefully i I didn't screw up anything, have changed plugs 25-30 times in my life, so it's nothing new. Just seemed to coincide with changing them.
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The car should have a battery rundown protection circuit to where if you leave things like a dome light or the hood light on it will shut down after about 15 minutes. So leaving the hood open shouldn't have drained the battery. My guess is that you do have a bad battery. Take that one out and have it load tested - that will tell you if it is bad or not.
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Originally Posted by Vetteman Jack
The car should have a battery rundown protection circuit to where if you leave things like a dome light or the hood light on it will shut down after about 15 minutes. So leaving the hood open shouldn't have drained the battery. My guess is that you do have a bad battery. Take that one out and have it load tested - that will tell you if it is bad or not.
Interesting my 02 won't let the car go into full sleep mode if anything is left open.. That is why I unplugged the hood light
Hey everyone, got a slight issue, and hoping i know what the problem is, but want some opinions.
Over the last two day, changed my plugs and wires on my 99 C5. Went pretty straight forward expect #7 was a huge pain but was able to get it. Went to start it after I finished, and it clicks hard and the car shakes like its about to start but doesn't. I checked the battery voltage in the car, and it is 10.3
I do not have an easy option to jump it currently, so I'm going to get my father in laws Jump Box tomorrow, but does every one just think the battery is low since i had the hood open for around 24 hours and it drained the battery?
I went ahead, pulled the wires off and checked the plugs, everything looks ok. I'm not a super mechanic, but can do basic things like this. Never had any type of problem like this before, just trying to make sure I didnt do something incorrectly. I did not unplug anything else, didnt knock off any hoses or wires.
I'm assuming it is the battery, but instead of staring at the ceiling worrying hoping someone confirms that voltage is too low to start it.
Thanks!!
How long have you had this car, if you just got it recently you will find out on here that you almost deffinately need to keep these cars on a float charger unless you drive them 1 or 2 times a week. Some say they never needed one but I think most of us use one even with a new battery and no other problems. Most people from what I've read on here that have lots of experience just use the best 3 year free replacement batteries from Wal-mart, Autozone ect. So many of them agree those Red-Tops and others are worse than some of the cheaper batteries as far as holding a charge in these cars. Mine went dead after being in the lower garage for 2 1/2 weeks with a new Interstate in it. I bought the best one Autozone had but the Interstate checks out fine though and I keep it on a float charger too in the basement garage as a spare for something. Even if you have no excess parasitic drain still keep it on a float charger.
Mine's floating happily out there right now
Was just the battery! When I went out in the morning, I got a "low voltage" warning. Put it on a charger for about 45 minutes. Checked the battery, and it was at 11.3, fired right up. Let it run for about 10 minutes and it is good to go. We took the battery out, and ran it to the parts store to have it tested. It was fine, so just killed it somehow. Thanks for the info guys
Interesting my 02 won't let the car go into full sleep mode if anything is left open.. That is why I unplugged the hood light
I unplugged my hood light and left it unplugged so things like this won't happen. If something comes up at night were i need to open the hood I got a small LED flashlight in the glovebox.
Get a tender if you replace your Redtop with another one. I have killed 3 red tops already. one cell goes bad and its junk. I have had a tender for over a year. Still going strong with my latest Redtop replacement.
2 notes - my hood light automatically goes out in 10-15 min, if I leave the hood open working on the car.
You must charge up the battery first before doing a load test. At least as much as you can. You can't do a load test on a dead battery.