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Old Jan 15, 2018 | 11:22 PM
  #1  
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Default Dead battery

Went to use the monster last week and she was deader than dead. I tried my 1000CCA jump box and nothing.

My fist thought was Houston we have a problem.

Took the battery out and charged it. Charger said replace battery as it was real dead at first then it leaped to life. After charging it and putting it back in the car all is good. Reindexed the Windows and set the mirrors.

I figured out that the iPhone charger may have done me in. The socket is live or unstitched.

I’m susprised the 1000CCA jump box failed to do the trick. Which gave me the WTF is wrong. Not even 1000 would turn it over!

Where I store it I don’t have access to electricity to keep a tender on her.

It’s got a Delco battery in her, don’t know the age. Anyway to tell the age as there doesn’t seem to any evidence of a mfg date.

I may be on borrowed time. Next time it may not be so convenient to get out of the battery jamb.
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Old Jan 15, 2018 | 11:58 PM
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Originally Posted by CBRDude
Went to use the monster last week and she was deader than dead. I tried my 1000CCA jump box and nothing.

My fist thought was Houston we have a problem.

Took the battery out and charged it. Charger said replace battery as it was real dead at first then it leaped to life. After charging it and putting it back in the car all is good. Reindexed the Windows and set the mirrors.

I figured out that the iPhone charger may have done me in. The socket is live or unstitched.

I’m susprised the 1000CCA jump box failed to do the trick. Which gave me the WTF is wrong. Not even 1000 would turn it over!

Where I store it I don’t have access to electricity to keep a tender on her.

It’s got a Delco battery in her, don’t know the age. Anyway to tell the age as there doesn’t seem to any evidence of a mfg date.

I may be on borrowed time. Next time it may not be so convenient to get out of the battery jamb.
There is a small sticker next to the positive post with four numbers on it....first 2-month..second two-year......I would say you need a new battery.
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Old Jan 16, 2018 | 08:06 AM
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If it wouldn't crank with a 1000 amp booster your battery was totally dead. You seriously compromised the integrity of the battery and are living on borrowed time. My opinion is go get a new battery before you get stranded somewhere.
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Old Jan 16, 2018 | 08:39 AM
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Originally Posted by BadAV
If it wouldn't crank with a 1000 amp booster your battery was totally dead. You seriously compromised the integrity of the battery and are living on borrowed time. My opinion is go get a new battery before you get stranded somewhere.
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Old Jan 16, 2018 | 08:49 AM
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I’ll check the date on the battery! I did go through the service records and found no evidence of a battery change. But that’s doesn’t always mean it wasn’t done.

It it could have been done but not at Chevy!

Guess im dropping some money here shortly. Costco here I come for an Interstate battery!

The 1000 amp jump box freaked me out! I’m like WTF is wrong! This thing starts my my 5.7 Liter truck like a hot knife through butter.

After it was charged and I put it back in she fired right up!

Id like to find a place to keep her with electricity but the cost factor sores through the roof. I’m sure some people totally abuse the electric and they end up with bill to choke an elephant? There is a light but it’s on a timer. There are cars on both sides of me too. I wonder what they do. I’m guessing they take the battery out and have it at home on a trickle charger too?
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Old Jan 16, 2018 | 10:46 PM
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Let's be honest....we don't know what year your car is, and you don't know how old the battery is. You didn't say how often you drive it, nor did you say where you live. For all we know, you could own an '05 on the original battery, and drive it once a month. Or, you might drive it every day.

You will get better replies if you give better info. As for the trickle charge, which should actually be a battery tender, if you drive it twice a week, more than 5 miles, it should not need a tender. And, yes, you absolutely need a new battery, regardless of how well it starts now. It is not a "deep cycle" battery. If it goes all the way flat dead once, it will never be dependable from that minute on. Good luck with it until you get a new one. Hope to see more posts, and more info.

Last edited by buckmeister2; Jan 16, 2018 at 10:47 PM. Reason: poor wording
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Old Jan 17, 2018 | 03:52 AM
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When in doubt, throw the battery out!! this ain't Rocket science. Once a battery has been drained and re-charged, it is NEVER the same.
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Old Jan 17, 2018 | 04:08 AM
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Throw the battery , and get a solar battery trickle charger.
Bfit

Last edited by bfit; Jan 17, 2018 at 01:15 PM.
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Old Jan 18, 2018 | 12:17 PM
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Never thought about the solar trickle charger. Good call.

Can't find any sticker that denotes a mfg date. I don't think the battery is original to the car. It had a handle on it at one time and was removed. Ascetic reasons?

It's a 2012 late build and has only 20K on her. I use it maybe once a month. It was originally an Ohio vehicle. Before I got it.

I'm pretty sure the charger did me in. The port is unswitched and always on and the dongle was plugged in.

She's been starting every day. It's still below freezing out too even though she's inside non heated storage! Feels like a meat locker.
Perfect storm.

The non-starting factor after the jump box use is what floored me. I've never had that problem before. Even with my big truck! Hook the box up and it would start right away.

Working now. I'll deal with it later. when the weather is warmer and the salt is gone.
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Old Jan 18, 2018 | 04:17 PM
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The jump box would have worked if you left it connected long enough to bring the battery up a bit. If a battery is completely drained it will suck anything connected to it down. They can draw hundreds of amps just like they can put out hundreds of amps. Best to put a completely dead battery on a charger like you did. Alternators are not designed to bring batteries back from complete discharge, you can easily fry the charging system which costs far more than a battery.

I agree with the others, you should replace the battery. Every time you completely drain a battery it loses about 10% of it's capacity. Only have to do it once or twice and you start having all kinds of random electrical problems with these things.
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Old Jan 19, 2018 | 09:27 AM
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Originally Posted by dr_gallup
The jump box would have worked if you left it connected long enough to bring the battery up a bit. If a battery is completely drained it will suck anything connected to it down. They can draw hundreds of amps just like they can put out hundreds of amps. Best to put a completely dead battery on a charger like you did. Alternators are not designed to bring batteries back from complete discharge, you can easily fry the charging system which costs far more than a battery.

I agree with the others, you should replace the battery. Every time you completely drain a battery it loses about 10% of it's capacity. Only have to do it once or twice and you start having all kinds of random electrical problems with these things.
I'm no electrical engineer. Just a random weekend grease monkey with an appetite for too many toys!

1) The battery was dead! I really suspect it was the phone charger that did the entire deal in. The socket is not switched so it was charging the Wi-Fi dongle I had left in the glove box. No rocket science need there! I admit defeat on it and I screwed up by leaving it plugged in.

2) I had both of my trucks on the battery cables and nothing. I also had the 1000 amp jump box too and still nothing. I had just enough juice to get the windows back up.

3) I did pull the battery out, can't find any evidence of the MFG date as others have said. Either there was none, it was taken off, never on it, or the previous owner removed it. For all purposes it's not the original battery. Original OEM batteries didn't come with handles. Handle removed as well.

4) Battery has been charged. Left the charger on for a few days. It says battery is 100% charged. Have no scientific reason to doubt what it says!

5) Battery has been put back in the car and it has started several times now since this happened. I don't have electricity in the storage unit. It cost's too much money to go that route. Is one available? Yes, double the cost of what I'm currently paying. Not even interested in going down that route. Someone suggested a solar trickle charger. That may be an option. I do have several Deltran battery maintainers. But I have access to electricity with those. I could remove the battery and keep the battery on the maintainer when the car is not in use. PITA comes to mind. It all comes down to economics. Nor am I related to Jay Leno and a warehouse and an army to keep all this going up to speed.

6) The 1000 amp jump box and the trucks didn't start the car. I suspect the connection was not that great? Yes, just enough juice to get the windows up, ect. The cables are clean and to evidence of lack of care. I did leave the cables and box on for some time. The surface area of the clamps and box are not that great which could have accounted for the box and the jumper cables not working 100%.

7) I've bought a battery tester and can confirm the battery is reporting good results. Dodged a bullet? Yes!! If this continues to happen, I suspect the battery life will suffer. For now it's starting. I'll deal with this later if it continues to rear it's head. I have no intention of driving it in the snow.

8) Thanks for the help.
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Old Jan 19, 2018 | 10:05 AM
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Originally Posted by CBRDude
.... Someone suggested a solar trickle charger. That may be an option. ...
I'm not trying to be a smart-*** here, but from your posts, don't you have your vette in a storage unit of some kind? Where is the sunlight going to come from to run the solar trickle charger? Or, am I missing something here?
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Old Jan 19, 2018 | 10:20 AM
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Originally Posted by CBRDude
...There is a light but it’s on a timer...
If the light "on a timer" is on for a few hours everyday I would put an adapter in the socket and plug in a tender.
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Old Jan 19, 2018 | 10:53 AM
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If you storing it without a tender you need to start and drive it every 3 weeks. 4-5 weeks is where you begin to have discharge issues to the point the car won't start.
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