My first Corvette, a 2013 C6. Had it for about 3 months now. Not a car I drive everyday, maybe a couple times a week. First 3 weeks I had the car it sat for a few days and I went to take it to work the battery was dead. So I replaced the battery thinking it might be old. Ran great for a while no issues. Raining in the northeast for what seems like the last month. I did drive it a couple weeks ago, so it's sat for about 2 weeks. Saturday this past weekend was ok, so I wanted to take it out for a ride. Yup, you guessed it the battery was dead. Tried charging it for about 4 hours. Was able to get the lights to come on and the door lock light will come on however when I try to get in the door won't open. Is there something I'm missing? Any suggestions on what may be causing the battery to drain? I just bought a tender, hoping that will solve the problem.

 

In general, our Corvettes seem to be hard on batteries.....perhaps due to all the on-board electronics. There were some issues with earlier manual C6's (primarily '05s) where they needed to be shifted to Reverse on shut down, but I wouldn't think that's your problem. I would check for any after market devices (iPods, iPhones, etc) that may have been added & don't shut down. A battery tender (not a charger) is also the right way to go. Also check your alternator output. You should be getting 14+ volts to keep the battery fully charged.

 

Get a hold of an clamp-on amp meter or if you know how to set up a multi-meter to read amps you can use that...set that up then start pulling fuses to see where your drawing power.
If you have LED interior lights I've seen where using the wrong\cheap LED will drain the battery too(you can actually see a light glow to the LED when all power is off)

 

Check your visors. The "vanity light" switch can crap out and the light can be on all the time. I've also seen where the map/reading light(s) on the bottom of the rear view mirror will stay on. Temporary (semi-permanent) solution is to pull the visor and unplug the connector.

Worst case, with the windows down so you can reach the door release pulls, disconnect the negative battery cable and put your multimeter on the highest amps setting in line between the negative battery cable and the negative post. Note the current draw. It should be under 100mA, usually under 50mA. If it's higher than that, start pulling fuses out one at a time until it drops close to zero. The fuse you pull that makes the current drop is the circuit that has the current drain.

 

If your car sits for approx. 2 weeks without running, the battery draw from a C6 is enough to lower the battery voltage so it will not have enough juice to start the car. If the battery will not start the car after only a few days of sitting, you have a large parasitic draw on your electrical system which is not normal.

Typically, a C6 draws approx. 0.01-0.02 Amps when the car off after about 10 minutes. If you have more draw than that, you have a circuit that is not shutting off or a short, etc.
I've attached a PDF that shows how to hook up a multimeter, and to set the multimeter to check your parasitic draw from your car. I also add some arras to check if the draw is higher than typical. There are a few suspects such as the Onstar module, courtesy lamps. etc.

 

Do the vanity lights and map lights not shut off after 20 minutes?

 

5 responses and no one has recommended that the poor guy buy a tender! Allow me:
BUY A TENDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You may need a new battery now, also.

 

He did buy a tender. He said so at the end. That should solve the problem.

 

Thanks, I'm not much of an electrical guy but I think I can follow this.

 

Haha, that was my last sentence on my origional post. I did get one already, actually should have it tomorrow.

 

ONE MORE THING:
I had the headlight light switch on Manual and not Auto...and my C6 headlights and inside lights stayed on...which means the automatic turn off in 10 minutes isn't working when the headlight stalk switch is not set to AUTO.

Went to a party, my friends came over, one at a time, advising me my lights are on. I answered that the car shuts itself off in 10 minutes...IT DIDN'T!
So check it out!

 

Same problem I had with my 2011 GS

Read about it here ... and the FIX:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ead-again.html

 

The OP should be aware that fully discharging a standard lead-acid battery can cause permanent damage... And a tender isn't likely to bring it back to life. If it was me, I'd remove the battery from the car and have it load tested at my friendly neighborhood auto parts store. If it load tests OK, put it back in the car, and put the tender on it anytime it's going to sit for more than 3-4 days. That's SOP on a C6.
If the battery tests even a little bit iffy, do yourself a favor and just replace it. It should still be under warranty so the cost will be minimal. These cars need the battery to be in excellent condition.

 

Couple things come to mind: first, the '05 was the only man trans car that had to be put in reverse or it would put a drain on the battery. Next, I'd look at possible corrosion at the cable connection to the starter. Is the original tapered nut at the battery terminal cable end being used----it is unique and isn't a flat hex---without it, the battery clamp doesn't clamp tightly which can cause a permanent drain that can't be corrected w/o the correct tapered nut.

Next, you say you had this car for 3 mos. Have you completed checking the car for any add-ons which can also be a drain, such as an aftermarket anything (stereo, nav, plug in for a phone, plug in thru the rearview mirror for a radar detector, aftermarket sub, LED lights exterior or interior, etc.)?

Altho it's possible you've permanently damaged a new batt. if you've drained it completely down, it's not an absolute positive. The way to charge a batt. with a "maintainer" which is neither the usual quick-charge method nor a trickle charger is to leave it on and connected for up to 36, or more hours (yes, that much, it charges very slowly which is best for charging any batt.) until the lights go to fully charged. The other way by driving it is not quite as easy---go for a 45 min. drive at min. of 1500 rpms and it might do a full charge. Emphasis on "might". Altho several/many owners drive their cars like any other vehicle they own, generally these cars with their smaller capacity charging system are not stop and start, grocery getters with multiple locations. Every start up is a big drain on a small system that eventually can't take it. Again, not for and about every C6.

I like all the suggestions above and none seem to be wrong. Mine are just accumulated recall of what I've seen on these pages, as well as my own experience (bringing back a fully discharged 3 mo. old batt. for the next 5 yrs.). Good luck. Tell us what you find out, or what solves your problem/

 

Arrrrrgh, my bad. How did I miss that last sentence. Sorry, guys!

Good luck to OP

 

You know what I think my On star might be on. I'm going to have to check that when I get home, thanks

 

I do have an aftermarket Radio/Nav system added. I found that there is no off button on it. You have to remove the side plate to shut it off while the car is running. It does shut when the car is off. Wonder if that is still drawing current from the battery.

 

Good tip here, going to pull my onstar fuse, don't use it, and don't want the potential there to give me problems in the future.

 

Just put a amp meter on the battery as per the PDF, and ater the car is off for 10-15 minutes, pull the radio fuse to see if the amp draw goes down.
That will tell you for sure.

 

Good afternoon. I've got a mess with my 2005 Vette of which I am the second owner . Battery is completely dead which is my first experience. Doesn't seem to be a unusual problems with this generation Vette. Used the key to manually open the hatch. Pulled the appropriate levers inside the hatch to open the doors but they just release and will not open all the way. I'm thinking it's because it has a targa top. So I decided to charge the battery. Crawled inside the car to release the hood but the battery is so dead it will not even pop the hood open. Any ideas on next steps?? Thanks so much!!