Is it only a few people having problems with keeping a charged battery or is it a Corvette issue? I had a modded supercharged 08 Mustang that I store every winter (about 6 months, drove it occasionally during the winter if it was clean and dry out) and never had a dead battery, always started up when I wanted to drive it.

 

That is just wonderful!

 

My comment wasn't meant to be sarcastic!! I'm waiting on my first Vette order and trying to educate myself on the intricacies of owning one and not making mistakes of first time owners. But if Bulls**t responses are what I'm gonna get I don't have to participate in this forum.

 

 

Your pony car and the Vette are NOT the same animal. Vettes have a lot of electronics. Those electronics use energy. Even when parked.

If/when you get a Vette and it sets longer than 21 days at a time you run the risk of running down the battery. get a good tender and you will NOT experience the issue. It's not issue really, since we know how Vettes are designed to function.

There are some new members which come onto this site to start BS. Not saying that you are, but that is likely reason for the first response. When do you plan to get a Vette?

 

Valid question as far as I am concerned. Like you I am waiting for my first C6. I have been on the forum for over a year. Based on what I have been reading it is VERY common. I ordered the ERI battery protection package.

I have to say that I find it odd that GM design a car that can not sit for more than a week without needing a charge to the battery before starting.

 

My car has a TWP of 4/16. I wish I had read the forum members posts before I ordered, I would have ordered the tender with it. So I guess that'll be my first purchase an after market tender.

 

You do NOT have to have that factory tender. That option did not appear until last couple years. Most of us who have these cars and not dd them, buy a good tender. I have on which plugs in my cig adapter. Works great and have NEVER had a issue. This is my second C6...vert/C6Z.

 

Thanks, I'm going to look into the cig tender. I don't think I've ever been this excited about getting a vehicle.

 

Battery Tender II is a good choice but there are vendors here that sell several good options.

I store my Z for the winter and have always used the tender save for my '08 coupe back in '07-'08 and I never had a problem starting it. Just an inexpensive option to avert problems.

 

I've had 2 C6's, an '05 and now an '08, have never had a battery problem that wasn't either my own fault from running accessories or from the age (5 years) of the battery. My cars get driven at least once every 3 days, usually every day.

 

The cig tender sounds like a quick and easy solution. I read someone post that the cord goes through a pocket between the door jamb, is this a good method or are there other ways?

 

Your question is a valid one and yes it is a corvette problem. But using a battery tender will give you years of good battery life. Hopefully GM will have some kind of an answer to this problem with the C7 but after this many years of having this problem I'd have thought they would have come up with a solution by now so i wont hold my breath.

Most makes of cars have some type of issues including the Fords. I had a couple of late model saleens and a shelby gt500. the mustang transmissions were on the weak side (5 speed manuals) and they went out at 2500 miles. The shelby was better and was problem free.

The dodge trucks had some weak transmission issues and so on and so on.

When your car comes in, be sure and post up some pics, find a corvette group near you and go on some fun runs and events. I'm not sure where you live but there are several big corvette events around the country. Next one i believe is at the corvette museum in bowling green, ky on April 26, 27 and 28!

 

One of our techs here belong to the local Corvette club, gonna join his. I cannot wait until the Woodward dream cruise this year!!!

 

My tender just connects to the battery in the trunk and then through a slightly open window to the power source. If I would do it again, I'd get the plug-in to the cig lighter. Unless you're going to store it for an extended time, I wouldn't use a tender.

 

I have a couple of the Battery Tenders & couple of the CTEK 3300 Multis that I use on my vehicles. Both work fine. The CTEK is the one I tend to use more, mainly because I like the longer cable & plug arrangement for the different ends (clamp or eyelet). The GM branded option appears to be a CTEK anyways, so I picked them up on Amazon.com for a pretty good price. There are also some forum vendors that sell them here.

For the ZR1, I use the cigarette plug option & run it under the door, for the CTS-V, I used the eyelets at the battery (in the trunk) & just plug it in when needed.

If I'm not using the car for more than a few days, they get plugged in. I've killed too many batteries over the years from sitting & finally figured that the battery tenders were cheaper than buying a new battery. With 4 cars, a truck & 2 motorcycles....that's a lot of batteries.

 

I just bought 2012 grand sport and it came with cigarette battery tender in the rear left compartment. you may want to check the rear compartment before you go and buy a battery tender.

 

My 2005 does not hibernate during the winter but it occasionally sits unused for weeks at a time. I've never used a battery tender and I've never experienced starting, battery or electrical issues. If I lived where I moth-balled the car for months on-end I would likely buy a battery tender and put it on life support.

As noted, some C6's do suffer from unusual battery drain (sometimes referred to as "DBS"....dead battery syndrome). It's no consolation if you have the problem but I tend to think the problem affects only a minority of cars. IMO unless you're storing the car for the winter (and not driving it at all) I wouldn't worry about it. See what happens. If your driving routine necessitates a battery tender you'll know at some point. Good luck!

 

It's not just Corvettes. I had a 92 Jeep Cherokee that would go dead after a week or so sitting. Dealer said was normal, and there is even a fuse to pull, I think was labelled IOD. My 99 Dodge Ram was the same, and I think had same fuse. I think the main culprit is the built in anti-theft keyless entry packages that they all have in common.

I have just got in the habit of either disconnecting battery, or connecting a charger, if not going to start any vehicle for more than 5 days or so.

If you want, you can buy the "Corvette" charger kit from one of the forum vendors, it is just a CTEC charger with a Covette logo on the carry case. You can get the CTEK 3300cheaper and is the same thing, except maybe better as it comes with a ring terminal and clamp connections. Get the extra $10 cig. lighter adapter too if you want that, and you have an overall better package.

I still think the cord under the door will fatigue the door seal over time. I have been leaving mine come out the hatch, and not closing completely, so no pressure.

I plan to do some type of external connection for convenience. My battery is in trunk, so I may just run a quick connect out the hole by the license plate lights, and use a wire retainer under one of the plate screws to keep it from flapping around. If battery in front, would maybe just zip tie in the grill.


Here are two nice external connection options for the charger. Shop around, most all the forum vendors carry the chargers, and Stealthlink connection kit.

Stealthlink
http://www.southerncarparts.com/corv...it-p-3815.html

Magcode Magnetic
http://tmaxxpowerpipes.tripod.com/id127.html

 

I bought my 05 Vette last October and the battery was bad when I bought it. I replaced it with a new AC Delco and this winter I put a Schumacher trickle charger on it every three weeks to keep it up. I haven't taken it out this year, but I probably will in the next few days. It was always fine for me. Good luck with your new car.