Battery/charging issue
Thread Starter
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Joined: May 2019
Posts: 72
Likes: 26
From: Michigan
Battery/charging issue
My Corvette has been sitting for a couple of months and when I tried to start it last week the battery was dead - it was reading something like 1.75 volts. I took it up to Autozone and they tried to charge it, but it failed, so I bought and installed a new one. It was reading 12.75 volts on my DVM and it started right up. I put in on my trickle charger (which I use all winter long) to be sure it was fully charged. I tried to start it this morning and it seems to be dead again - no response at all. Any ideas what to check next? Something seems to be sucking the battery dry.
Thanks -
Dan
Thanks -
Dan
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 12,864
Likes: 4,667
Don't base the cables being tight just because the cable bolt is tight! In a few cases thru the years, the battery post was either not threaded deep enough, or the terminal bolt was just a bit too long. Either way, the bolt bottoms out in the thread, feels goooodentight, but the terminal can be rotated with a small effort. You can see if that's your issue by tightening the bolt, then firmly grasping the cable end and trying to rotate it around the bolt centerline. If it won't budge, that's obviously not it. If it does, try grinding the bolt threads a bit shorter, or put a washer under the bolt head. If you shorten the bolt threads, thread a nut onto the bolt FIRST, grind shorter by, say 1/16"-1/8", then thread the nut off the bolt. This will, hopefully, chase the thread. BEFORE trying to thread the bolt into the soft lead of the battery, get a different nut than the one you threaded onto the bolt the first time, and see if it will thread onto the now shortened bolt. Remember, the bolt is going to thread into a very soft lead. If it won't start onto a different nut, and you try forcing it into the battery, you risk ruining the lead threads. Best of luck to you.......
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 996
Likes: 306
From: Southern Norway , Europe
With a open hood you can measure each fuses straight away .
In the passenger footwell you first open passenger door , activate doorlock , wait approx 15 min until Body Control goes into sleepmode before you measure voltage drops ( in mV) oevr every fuse
This show it all
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 72
Likes: 26
From: Michigan
This is a great video, thanks for posting it! I have a new battery installed, fully charged, and I'll see what I can find. It occurred to me that I am using a different thumb drive in my radio this summer - I wonder if that could be the issue? I have removed it for now.
Dan
Dan