I have had my 07 Z51 for a little over a year. New to Corvettes but not totally car stupid. Driving home on the interstate the other day and the the Service Charging System light came on. Voltage was somewhere in the 11's. Continued to watch the voltage drop at a pretty fast rate. Was down to 9.7 within a few miles. Then the anti-lock and some other lights came on. At that point I was in a position to pull over. The car had a slight electrical burning smell upon exiting it. The car continued to run but being unaware of how far I would make it and not wanting to cause any other problems I called for a tow truck to take it to the dealer. They told me that the battery was totally dead and they had to apply power to get the window up. The windows were up when it left on the tow truck so not really sure why it went down. Never had any problems with the voltage before and yes it is the original battery, 29K miles. The dealer tells me the only problem they find is the battery. I will pick it up tomorrow and see. I am some what mechanical and thought the battery only started the car and the alternator should keep it running if it were producing enough power. I am afraid they have missed something and I will end up on the side of the road again, not something a women looks forward to these day. Kind of scarey. What are your thoughts??

 

Batteries can develop internal shorts and when that happens more current can be drawn through the short than the alternator can supply hence your falling voltages. I once had a battery short out and you could not even jump the car to start it. Replaced battery and everything else was fine. Good luck.--E-fish

 

It all sounds pretty typical. These cars are tough on batteries and once the battery gets just a little low on power really strange electrical gremlins appear, the kinds of things most of us aren't accustomed to seeing "just because of a low battery". Sounds like the dealer is doing it right with your battery being 4 years old and 29k miles of use. Try not to worry and enjoy the car.

 

I guess you'll find out. Good luck

 

You could very well need a new alternator, but if after changing the battery the voltage is back to normal then you could be okay.

 

Sure sounds like it's just the battery. As mentioned the C6 is very hard on batteries.

 

I would be sure to see if they checked/tested the alternator after the battery replacement.

 

Pretty long for a battery to last, out here they last no more then two years on average the heat kills them.

 

No one mentioned you should be using a battery tender when not in use, this is extremely important so you don't have more problems.

 

IMO battery tenders are needed more for long hibernation periods, not daily drivers. The OP lives in Florida, not a region that gets snow bound.

I'm in San Diego w/ similar weather to Florida and while my Vette does sit for a few days, even a week now and then, I have never needed to plug the battery into anything.