2vette2

I left a GPS plugged into the accessory plug and it killed the battery in about five days. I thought the vette had a failsafe that shut everything off after ten minutes. Guess I was wrong. Put the battery charger on it and it has been fine since. Mine was two months old and had 2800 miles.

DesertDog

Interesting. But was your GPS left on? Or was it off? My V-1 was off...but plugged into the lighter. How can it drain the battery if the device is turned off?

As has been pointed out in a post above the car seems to intermittenly go into "accessory mode".

Weird.....

6 speed Sid

With a $50 K vehicle you should not have to add anything like a battery tender or charger for it to sit for a few days. I have had many GM vehicles over the last 40 years and have 3 now including a Vette and all of them could sit for 3 or 4 weeks with no problem. If I knew that a new Corvette could not sit for a few days without having a dead battery and me having to add something to keep it charged, GM would lose a long time purchaser.

User 2623

"...sit for 3 or 4 weeks with no problem"??? The car should be able to sit for Months on end and start. What other cars are able to do - what's the issue with the vette? I had the same issue - battery replacement 1700 miles.

brimee

Now days there aren't many cars that can set for three or four weeks with out the battery going dead. There are lots of electronics in them that are on to some extent during this time. Temperature extremes will also take its toll. Even our company vans that set for three or four weeks will have dead batteries.

EuroRod

You might make sure that when you press the button to shut down the engine that you are not putting the car into the accessory mode. I had battery issues until I threw the POS GM battery away and replaced it with an Optima. Eighteen months now and never a problem. Car sat for 2 weeks and still 13.8 volts. Good luck.

talldude67

Open hood / on the pass side open the fuse box / there is a diagram on the lid on how to hook up a jumper batt, get out your volt mtr [set to + DC 20v range] and hook up the same way but to take a reading of your batt just to see if that's the real problem. mine went dead in four days, e.g. was not in rev position, lt. side lite stalk [steering whl] was in a diff possion than normal. Have chk'd and changed all that and now batt is O.K. Good luck with your DBS......

dpigguy

This may seem very silly to most, but the C6 takes time to fully reach the "sleep" mode and many things can interfere with it getting there. Something as simple as a garage door opener or as new as wireless internet service have been known to keep the electronics awake thus draining the battery.

Hopefully you just got a bad battery but with the accessory mode comment, you may want to ensure you have no other electronic signals near the car keeping her from taking a nap!

DesertDog

Wow! Ineresting.....thank you. I suppose I could be putting the car into accessory mode accidently when I turn it off.....but I thought the manual said that it stays in accessory mode for only 10 minutes then shuts down. (I could be wrong here...but the manual is with the car down at the dealer's service department right now).

Here's a stupid question. WHen I push the bottom of the start/off button to turn the car off, how do I know if I am putting the car into accessory mode...without looking to see if the light is on? I am assuming that when I push the button "off" that I am turning the car off. And then why would it stay in accessory mode for four days?

I get this "dinging bell sound" every so often when I open the car door. I assume this is the "accessory mode" sound?

THanks, (You guys are great!)

Desert Dog

dpigguy

accessory mode shows up with yellow light (right side) on switch. off shows up as a red light on switch (left side). can't answer the auto shut off comment but will tell you I get the three chime alarm some times as I exit car even though FOB is in my pocket.

Wayne O

My only suggestion would be not to run out and buy a battery tender or a priority start as your car should work without these crutches. It would be a total last resort before I'd give-in to using add-on's just to start my car in normal operation.

I have a 2005 MN6 (supposedly notorious for DBS) and even with several extended absences over the years it still cranks fine on the original factory battery.

Press the dealership to find out what's really happening. Find the cause of the problem and correct it.

dpigguy

need-for-speed

Same here and there seems to be no rhyme or reason ! In addition, I also get the chiming sometimes when I open the door, like the OP mentioned ????

C6~Missle

My 08 mysteriously went dead on me 7 days after I got mine.. It was totally dead when I went out in the morning. Been four months now and it has not happened again. Had it sit for over a week with no issues..
I must have left something on that wasn't part of the automatic shut-off circuit . It was probably my fault.. but I never found out what it was..

c6chaz

my 07 did the same thing at 1200 miles jump start took 15 minutes to get a enough juice to start? dealer replaced battery no more problems

DesertDog

that is the scary thing! We don't know what caused it. I will probably get a call from the dealer in the AM saying that they replaced the battery, and/or that everything checks out OK.

I hope that they discover that I left something on, and are able to tell me what I did.

This "accessory mode" deal scares me a bit. Bottom line is that I think I prefer the "old days" with a key.

OH....and here is an added bonus! Did you know that if the battery goes totally belly up on you (as mined did), and if you have the passenger door open that you CANNOT CLOSE THE DOOR as the window has to retract before the doors can close, and since the battery is dead, the window doesn't retract?

Yep....true story.

Desert DOg

dpigguy

just noticed you are in Conroe - have the same CRM as you but went to the other university in TX - must be why I live west of you!

Corvette Junkie

Here's what the owners manual says about accessory mode.

Acc. (OFF/ACCESSORY): When the engine is on
or the vehicle is in accessory power mode, it is
recommended that a manual transmission be placed in
REVERSE (R). An automatic transmission must be
placed in PARK (P). Then press the Acc. button to turn
the engine off and place the vehicle in RAP. See
“Retained Accessory Power (RAP)” later for more
information. If an automatic vehicle is not correctly
placed in PARK (P) a SHIFT TO PARK message will
display on the Driver Information Center (DIC).
For more information, see DIC Warnings and Messages
on page 3-55.
When the engine is off, press this button to place the
vehicle in accessory mode. ACCESSORY MODE
ON will display on the Driver Information Center (DIC).
This mode allows you to use things like the radio
and the windshield wipers while the engine is off. Use
accessory mode if you must have your vehicle in motion
while the engine is off, for example, if your vehicle is
being pushed or towed.
After being in accessory mode for about 10 minutes, the
vehicle will automatically enter RAP or OFF, depending
on if the doors are opened or closed.

Retained Accessory Power (RAP)
These vehicle accessories can be used for up to
10 minutes after the engine is turned off:
• Audio System
• Power Windows
These features continue to work up to 10 minutes after
the engine is turned off or until either door is opened.
If a door is opened, the power windows and audio
system will shut off.

Thrill6

Make sure you didn't accidentally push on the interior lights dimmer. When you push it in it turns on the interior lights on. I did this once getting out of the car, but luckily I wasn't gone long and it was dark. When I got back it took me 15 minutes to figure out how to turn the damn things off. Also make sure you pull up the emergency brake, this could also be the reason you hear the chimes when you get out.

Red Cell

My wife left her vanity light on in her new Yaris (that she rarely drove and was traded in for the C6). Anyway, the car was dead in 24 hrs after driving. Nothing. Not even a sound.

Jumped it and never had an issue...after we learned the lamp was left on.

Toyota...go figure.

Red Cell.