charging issue?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,013
Likes: 5
From: NJ: the garbage state
charging issue?
hey guys,
i try to put the 09 on the battery tender about once every two weeks or so just to keep the battery topped off for piece of mind. the car is basically a daily driver now that its warm out. i notice that the battery tender takes a couple hours sometimes to show that the battery is fully charged even though the car is driven more than not. my question is, is my charging system not efficient or is my battery on its way out? i dont think it should consistently take three hours to top off a battery...
i try to put the 09 on the battery tender about once every two weeks or so just to keep the battery topped off for piece of mind. the car is basically a daily driver now that its warm out. i notice that the battery tender takes a couple hours sometimes to show that the battery is fully charged even though the car is driven more than not. my question is, is my charging system not efficient or is my battery on its way out? i dont think it should consistently take three hours to top off a battery...
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 4,024
Likes: 13
From: Loveland CO to Central Coast CA
Not necessarily a problem.
Even after a long drive in my 09 C6, it takes awhile hooked-up to my CTEK 3300 to indicate a fully-charged battery.
Same for my near-new 2011 Honda.
How long? I've never sat & watched & timed it, but I'd guess an hour or two. With the CTEK, I think maybe some of that time involves a maintenance cycle or something.
Try this: When your battery tender indicates a full charge, open & close your car door. This should put it back into charge mode. Then, I bet it still takes awhile to indicate fully-charged.
All that said, I believe the C6 alternator is kinda small. And of course it's possible you may have a problem, like a slipping belt or corrosion on the battery cables or an alternator problem -- though I doubt it.
IF there's actually a problem, as you say, it might be a dying battery... seems like 4-5 years is a good life for these batteries.
For peace of mind, next year I plan to replace my battery, regardless of its condition.
Even after a long drive in my 09 C6, it takes awhile hooked-up to my CTEK 3300 to indicate a fully-charged battery.
Same for my near-new 2011 Honda.
How long? I've never sat & watched & timed it, but I'd guess an hour or two. With the CTEK, I think maybe some of that time involves a maintenance cycle or something.
Try this: When your battery tender indicates a full charge, open & close your car door. This should put it back into charge mode. Then, I bet it still takes awhile to indicate fully-charged.
All that said, I believe the C6 alternator is kinda small. And of course it's possible you may have a problem, like a slipping belt or corrosion on the battery cables or an alternator problem -- though I doubt it.
IF there's actually a problem, as you say, it might be a dying battery... seems like 4-5 years is a good life for these batteries.
For peace of mind, next year I plan to replace my battery, regardless of its condition.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 4,289
Likes: 129
From: Providence Forge, VA
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12
Mine stays on a tender whenever its not being driven. When I drive it, I have good charging readings 14.1-14.3. When I put it on the tender its red and takes a while before it goes green. Its done that since day one and I picked it up from the factory so I know the battery history. My C5 did the same thing. What you have described sounds pretty normal to me.
