I have a C6 2005 Manual 6 transmission so I believe that my vehicle suffers from the famous DBS. But, that is not the issue.

I don't want to have my car towed to the dealer (last time I had it towed some skuffs showed up on the vehicle) to get the flash updates to prevent this from happening again, so I am trying to jump start the vehicle so that I can simply drive it a few blocks to the dealer. However, even when connected to another vehicle's battery and that vehicle is running for several minutes, the vette just wont fire up.

I spoke to what seeemed to be a helpful service advisor at the dealer today and he mentioned that after connecting the batteries together, get in the vette turn the iginition button OFF (i.e., hit it twice), exit the vehicle and take the keyfob away (out of sight) for at least 15 seconds. Then go back to the vette, get in with the keyfob and press the ignition button. He said it should start then, but nothing.

Batteries are connnected correctly, as all the lights are working, etc. When I hit the ignition button it just clicks but does nothing else.

Any ideas? Please help!

 

Couple things come to mind. If your battery is really very dead, it may need replacing before you can actually run the car. Next, is the starter working? When was the last time the starter worked? Any difficulties when you did have the car working/starting with starting the car?

 

Thanks for chiming in!

No problems with the stater....ever!

I discovered the dead battery in early April, I tried jumping it then with the same result that I had today. But, today I did the procedure that the service advisor mentioned and still nothing.

At one time, when I had the first DBS incident (didn't know at the time that this vehicle was prone to this problem) the dealer told me that I had to have the car towed in because the security system will lock up when the battery dies. After reading several threads yesterday after discovering this site I see no mention about this at all. That's what prompted my call to the dealer today to confirm what I had originally been told. He indicated that it may or may not be the case, but in my situation he did not think that the system went into a lock down.

 

If this is the original battery, you might consider replacing it ASAP!

 

You either have a battery problem or starter problem (I am assuming that the car is not cranking over). I also assume that you have the clutch pressed in all the way when trying to crank it over.

You might want to test the battery out first if possible and see if it is around 12 volts. If it is, I would be leaning more to the starter or something preventing power from getting to the starter (like a bad clutch pedal switch). Although in most cases like this it turns out to be the battery.

 

It is not the original battery. It was replaced in November 2006 just before the first DBS incident. I am convinced that this is a result of DBS as it's not the first incident and I just learned about this widespread problem last night on this site. So, do you think that I could convince the dealer to give me a battery without first having the car towed in? Or, do you think that it would be worth a try to remove the battery and see if it can be charged and then check to see if the car will start?

 

Right, it's not cranking. Yes, the clutch is fully engaged.

Can you advise as to how to test the battery while it's still in the vehicle stranded in my garage?

 

Because of repeated discharges, it sounds to me like the battery has a bad cell(s) - if it does, it will not hold a charge.
If your car is still under warranty, you might ask the dealer if you can remove the battery, take it to him and get it tested and replaced if necessary.

 

A few tips:

Make CERTAIN that all jumper cable connections are on GOOD. Wiggle the clamps around so they bite well.

Once the cables are on well, have the person in the running car rev their engine to about 2,000 rpm and hold it there... then try to crank you car WHILE their engine is revving at around 2,000 rpm. In my experience, doing this is pretty much necessary when jumping... not sure if you had been doing this or not... make sure you do.

If you still cannot start the car, see if you can get a battery from the dealer and drop it in the car, this way you can drive it over to the dealer, no flatbed needed.

Best of luck

 

I would bet that you have a weak connection with the jumper cables...they can provide the power to run things but when you hit them with starting current, which can be hundreds of amps, they can't supply it. Are they beefy copper cables or cheap, lightweight ones? Try to get a better bite with the clamps also. Good jumper cables are HEAVY, because the only thing that matters for carrying lots of current is lots of COPPER. 6 gauge minimum, preferably 4.

 

I experienced a similar problem with a Ford Windstar that was donated to the auto-shop at my school. If the vehicle sat for more than a month, it wouldn't crank. And connecting a battery charger didn't make any difference. I knew the starter motor was good because I by-passed the starter relay and starter circuit by connecting a remote starter, and it would crank over and start.
The solution was (and still is) to remove the battery from the vehicle, put the battery on trickle charge for 24-48 hours until it was absolutely, completely, fully charged; then re-install it into the vehicle. It seems the computer goes "brain dead" when the vehicle sits unstarted for a prolonged period. Removing the battery then re-connecting it seems to kick-start the whole process.
The permanent cure is to start the vehicle once a week and just let it idle for twenty minutes.

 

I just had the same thing happen on mine. It's a 2005 MN6. I couldn't get it to jump start either. Tried charging the battery with no luck. I was getting about 10.5 volts. The dealership said they could come and pick it up. I said no. So I just took the battery out and took it to them. They tested it and there was a dead cell. They replaced it under warranty. I have a battery Tender on it now. I still need to go back and get the flash done as well.

 

Great idea. I will try that.

 

More good points. Everyone here is so very helpful!!!

I have thought about this. Connecting to either of the remote terminals, in my opinion, doesn't make for a good connection. It seems very flimsy. Should I try to go direct to the battery on the vette despite what the manual says?

Today I asked the service advisor at the dealership about reving up the vehicle that I am getting a jumb from. He stated that it was not necessary, that the vehicle need only be at idle speed. However, on my previous attempt to jump start the vette, I did rev the other vehicle quite considerably.

I will try to contact the dealer tomorrow to see if they will let me get a "good battery" to bring home. Good solution.

 

As I said in a response to another member, "...connecting to either of the remote terminals, in my opinion, doesn't make for a good connection. It seems very flimsy. Should I try to go direct to the battery on the vette despite what the manual says?"

The cables are borrowed, and the jacket is not labeled with the wire guage. When I pull the handles down it looks as though there are only about 16 strands. Nice, thanks for getting me to look at them more closesly; on one of the ends it looks like there are several strands that are cut/broken. Maybe I will try again, with a different set of cables. I know someone at work who is sure to have the best of the best.

Thanks for your comments.

 

Okay, now you are sort of addressing one of my original questions, and that is when the battery goes dead the computer gets mixed up. I do not vividly remember what I was told nearly two years ago about this but they said something to that effect (or was it that the security system went into some sort of shut down mode?). The service advisor today said that in some cases the "system" thinks it is being broken into (as in a theft) and therefore it prevents the ignition from firing. It was for this reason that the first time the battery died, 3 days after a new one was installed, that I had the vette put on a flatbed and taken to the dealer.

So, again I will see if either the dealer will give me a battery to drop into the vehicle so that I can drive it over to them, or I will tell them that I want to remove the battery and bring it to them for charging/testing.

Thanks!

 

Interesting! Did the dealer mention anything to you about the flash update? According to what I have read in this forum, the update was published in September 2006. My first DBS incident, three days after the battery was replaced, was in late November 2006 and not one thing was said to me about this issue. In fact, the dealer tried to blame me stating that I had probably not set the transmission to reverse before exiting the vehicle; which was absolutely NOT the case.

Even when I spoke to the service advisor today about the widespread dead battery problem in this year, model, transmission type, he did not seem to be very familiary with the issue.

 

All of the above is pretty good advice, esp. Vet, cclive and facade. But contrary to your service advisor, I do believe you have to rev the engine quite a bit beyond idle to about 2K rpm when trying to start the Corvette (that's what my "jumper" did) and yes, to the weight/strength/high quality of jumper cables.

El cheapo jumper cables literally "feel" light---and they are in every department. Professional jumper cables are heavy, like a heavyweight garden hose.

And with all due respect to X, starting the car every week and letting it idle used to work and may still on late model cars. But not the newest Corvettes. It acts as more of a drain than a charge.

Literally, doing the "grocery run" type of driving (short trips, many starts and stops, couple miles or less of 30 mph or so) will wear down the battery and never fully charge it up. Eventually, it'll be dead. This I've been told from both Bowling Green tech and another, very knowledgeable source. So, be advised.

I know you're very recent to CF, but it'd help if you filled in some basic info in your profile after this is all resolved. Some on here might've been able to recommend a particular dealership as an alternative to the one your dealing with. Unless, your dealership is the ONLY one!

Good luck and come back and tell us how it all turns out.

 

Someone please see if they can find the TSB if there was one on the reflashing and issues with '05 DBS. If we can give Vickie this number, she can at least present it to her advisor. I thought there was at least a BCM reflash and one other....no?

 

This happened to me last week. Never had a problem before and the battery was on a tender all winter. Since coming out of storage I have not used the tender. After not driving for 7 days the battery was completely dead. Doors wouldn't open, etc. I accessed throught the rear with key, opened door with pull and put attached a battery charger/starter (10amps/50amps). The starter did not make a sound with 50 amp at first. After 1 minute it started to click, not enough juice to engage starter, and after a couple minute the starter engaged but could not turn over. I let it stay on 50 amps for 5 minutes, and then 10 amps for another 20 minutes and the car started.

Based on what I saw there is no way a jump start was going to start this car!

Anyway, I've got it on a tender for now and will replace the battery or have the dealer replace, which ever comes first.