This may have been asked a thousand times, but when do you change the battery in your Vette. Mine will be three years old next month and on the multimeter it reading 12.6 volts. I'm planning on a trip this month & I'm a little concern about the battery, that's why I'm asking. Also what brand, what is in the car now is a brand that I have never heard of before. I'm thinking about a NAPA Legend battery. Thanks Glenn

 

As far as brand you're going to get as many different answers as there are people who respond. Regarding age, I would say it depends on the stated life of the battery. Many will wait past that, but I've made a point to change mine out at about 4 years just for piece of mind. I use the Optima Red Top in my car, and haven't been disappointed.

 

Way I look at it, AGM new will tender full charge to 13.7 volts, while lead cell batteries will tender charge to around 14.2 new instead.

I got over 8 years out of my last lead cell until the battery was tender charging to 13.7 volts when it was replaced last year. My year old AGM is down to 13.6 fully tender charged as of a few week ago, so see it only lasting another two years before it down to 13.3 range and ready to be replaced (was only $100 from Sam's, and only expect it to last 3 years since that's warranty on the battery).

So if your battery is only tender full charging to 12.6 (voltage check at the battery itself), battery is well on the way out.
Note, motorcycle AGM only full charge to 13 volts, with lead cells only slightly higher. And voltage range fully charged only gives you an idea of the condition of the battery, but since most auto parts stores can cold crank amp check the battery on the car, not a bad idea to have your battery tested as well.

Now on the other hand, if its the dash gauge or DIC that is telling you 12.6, battery may not be the problem, since the gauges are telling the voltage of the BCM instead. Hence battery may be fully charging to new conditions/still has all it cold amp cranking power, and the problem is from the engine fuse box, through the BCM that supplied power to most of the modules in the car, like the BCM. So on that note, leave the car on the tender over night, and check the voltage at the battery in the morning when you pull it off the tender/have the battery cold crank amp tested to see what condition the battery is in.

Also, make sure you have the correct tender for the battery type you have in play.

 

I had to replace my battery on my 2005 C6 this weekend, even after charging the old battery (Duracell brand) would not exceed 5 volts output. The old battery was 3 years and 3 months old which was 3 months past the warranty expiration. I got a replacement at Wal-Mart (house brand). Wal-Mart private label batteries are made by Johnson Controls (JCI) which is one of the largest battery manufacturers. I've always had great performance from JCI batteries and use them in all my vehicles.

 

I just replaced my battery yesterday. The old battery would have been 6 years old in August and has never been a problem and was always on a tender when the car wasn't used for weeks at a time. I purchased another OEM AC-90PS battery since I've had good luck with them and they have never let me down, The only reason I just changed mine was as a preventative measure.

 

My 60+ years experience w/ cars , trucks, and batteries is that once a battery enters its 48th - 50th month of service, it can fail w/o warning. I've had some go 60 months; they are unpredictable. Much depends on the condition of your car's charging/electrical system. And, how many times the battery has been drained and re-charged. All of this affects battery lifespan. I've used them all, but seem to have the best luck w/ Interstate. I've even seen an Optima RedTop go bad in as little as three months.

 

I just replaced my AC Delco battery. The date on it was May 2011. I only changed it for peace of mind. Optima Red Top now. Getting a portable jump starter soon. Check it out:

 

The original in my 2008 lasted 7 years until 2015 when i replaced it as a precaution before a long trip. it never failed. The GM replacement lasted until earlier this year...5 years. When they die, they just die, sometimes with no warning. Three years isn't that long a service.....would hope you had more time than that, but your call.

 

Hi, good question. I can just speak to my experience and what I do. I have had 6 Corvettes over 45 years. No battery issues with my 62 and 74 but with my 98 going forward I found the battery would drain even when the car just sat in the garage. Understand onboard computers constantly run. Some models worse than others. Chevy came out with a battery protection option which is a maintainer charger a few years ago so they know newer models can have battery issues especially when they are not driven every day. Starting with my 2011 I have used a battery maintainer when ever the car is parked in the garage and I have Chevy replace it every 3 years. A dead battery in these cars and having to re index windows and re-set electronics is a pain so I don't try to save a few $ keeping the battery longer than 3 years. Even so I use the GM Corvette battery maintainer. Easy to use and don't worry about dead battery. Good luck.

 

My car is a 2011 and still on original battery. Car has sat for nearly six weeks at the shop with no tender and battery still strong as new.

 

I think it's pretty safe to say that you're living on borrowed time on that battery....