robl45

as the subject says, is this normal? I had it bad I guess around 15000 miles and the dealer cleaned it and basically said its normal. now I"m at 32000 miles, the terminal was so corroded, I could barely see it. I cleaned it with baking soda and coca cola and its a bit better but the nut is permanently fused to the terminal at this point.

I also have a problem where if I leave the door open, lights on, trunk open or whatever for 5 minutes or less, my car won't start,

yet I can start the car at least 5 times in a row without any problems. Someone mentioned to me today that I might have a short somewhere that is draining the battery?

EuroRod

Trust me, I'm not an electrical guru. But, I think that occurs when there is a phantom current that constantly leaks small amounts of negative current (whatever the hell that is). Or, someone could be blowing smoke up my skirt. What I do know is that it is not normal. My 2005 has 46k miles on it, over 30k with a red top Optima, and my terminals are perfect. Perhaps a trip to a different dealer might be appropiate. Good luck.

timd38

We make about a 110M car batteries a year and if you are getting corrosion, acid is starting to leak through the positive battery bushing. Not a big deal, you just need to check it and keep it clean.

I replaced mine when that happened.

Mez

Baking soda and water are all you need to neutralize the white fluffy stuff and acid around the battery terminals. Rinse with plain water the wipe with a dry cloth. Spray some white lithium grease on the terminals to help protect them. Coke has corn syrup and other stuff which are not necessary and potentially harmful to other things in your engine compartment. You may have to replace the nuts/bolts on the terminal. Or trying chasing the threads with a tap/die. If you do, always remove the negative terminal before the positive. If touch a ground with a wrench while removing the negative, you won't get a spark but you will if you try taking off the positive first. I blew up a battery in my youth taking the positive off first and shorted a wrench against the chassis. The hydrogen ignited by the spark and it exploded like an M80 throwing acid everywhere.

If your battery is a AC/Delco and over 36 months old, its time to get a new one. Remember...if a battery has been completely drained a number of times, its total capacity is reduced. If its been sitting for a long period of time, there is another thing called self discharge.

One last thing you should check is the amount of dirt, salt, and other junk on the top surface of the battery. Combined with high humidity, it can become conductive between the two terminals and drain the battery. I have personally have seen this occur on a few of my cars. Its a good idea to periodically wipe the top of the battery.

robl45

I understand what you are saying, but this is a lot of corrosion, and in 15 cars, I've never seen anything like this, my grandmother had her car for 20 years and didn't have anywhere near the corrosion that this thing has and this is the second time its build up like this, the car is only 2 years old.

How can it be the battery if I can start the car so many times? surely that would put more drain on it than some lights being on? Literally 2 minutes with the headlights on and I can't start the car.

And if I need to replace the positive terminal ring, how do I do it? Do you just cut it off and add a replacement one from the autostore or is there a better way?

Dave S

Perfectly dry battery posts & cable connectors will not evidence any corrosion. However, when there is battery fluid leakage (i.e. acid) around the battery post, no matter how slight, corrosion will commence. Such leakage is clearly not desireable, regardless of the fact that baking soda solution or whatever can be used as a cleaning agent. IMHO it's time to replace the battery before it really goes dead on you.

Korvette225

Very dangerous problem in my Vette...Had just passed an 18 Wheeler at dusk and flicked on my lights...immediately lost all power..steering brakes,etc. Bottom line; the positive battery cable had become corroded causing an intermittent short...the 18 wheeler hit his brakes and almost jackknifed trying not to hit me. A M E N

vettematic

I have no corrossion issues but lately the battery runs dead when I left all the doors open after washing the car. I figure the battery was dying and sure enough had to replace it about a month ago. I believe your battery is dying and time for a new one. Mine lasted almost laster four years (3 yrs and 10 mo), which is not bad here in AZ desert.

robl45

true, but you also had no corrosion issues. The car starts like a champ, i'm doubting its the battery at this point, gonna try a few tests tonight afterwork.

davekp78

I'd be careful about washing down the battery in place. The ECU is below the battery. The C-5s had problems with leaking side terminal batteries which leaked onto the ECU. I'd remove the battery first before washing.

GOLD72

Bludog

I was having the same issues with my 1995 Deville about 10 years ago. As it turned out, the battery cable was actually corroded internally and no matter how many times I cleaned the battery terminals, the corrosion came back. After years of cleaning it, I actually ended up replacing the cable and did not have any problems after that.

AGFNTB

After not being able to drive my car for the past 4 months due to some medical problems I decided to go out and start it today. It has been driven a few miles over the past few months, but nothing significant or regular (my wife would drive it to go pick us up some Starbucks or something) and it has not been driven or started in weeks. It has been stored in the garage in Southern California.

When I pushed the starter button all I got was "click". Great! I went to hook up the battery charger and was shocked at what I found. I had to step back and make sure I was looking at my garaged 2008 Corvette with 19k miles and not my gardeners van with 300k miles on it.




I taped a trash bag around the battery and began trying to excavate the positive cable/terminal from their crusty imprisonment, but the nut wont budge. When my wife gets home I am going to go pick up a cheap hand held vac to suck up as much of the crud as possible before attempting to clean and rescue the cable ends using the advice listed in this thread.



And here is a picture of the engine bay so you can see it is not some uncared for car left out in a swamp It hasn't been detailed in 4 months, but I wouldn't have expected this.


I think a new battery is in order as well. Do you think Chevy will give me a replacement if I take the battery to them or do I need to bring the whole car?

robl45

they will change the terminals and battery under warranty so you would want to bring them the whole car.

GOLD72

That is the worst I have ever seen. But my son's 08 coupe was not far behind. Some batteries do this and others don't. I like the explanation that the positive terminal is leaking acid around its casing bushing penetration and causing the corrosion. My wife's 07 garage queen has had no corrosion whatsoever in three years.

Mez

This was definitely cause by a leak around the post.

Doppler1992

I could have missed it, but I saw no reply mentioning Service Bulletin No. 07-06-03-001B that addresses a 30 milliamp current drain associated with the keyless entry system on certain VIN numbers. There is a dealer reprogramming fix for this problem.

I would add that in 40 years of driving three Corvettes, I have never had a battery last more than 3 years.


Correction: Last battery was AC Delco Gold Professional Series that lasted 7 years - from 2008 to 2015. Occasional charge with Vector Smart Charger, rarely more than 20 minutes to keep battery at full charge if not driven every day. The Professional Gold Series typically is available only through wholesale AC Delco distributors. Everyone has their favorite brand of battery, but I was amazed to get 7 years out of my last battery listed herein.











Above battery lasted until May 2015. As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, use common sense in keeping dirt, grime, and grease wiped off of battery. If you wish to prevent losing radio presets, windows indexing feature, and other memory-dependent features, simply use a spare battery with light-weight jumpers to maintain 12 volts when replacing battery - assuming old battery was not 100 percent dead. It only takes a few milliamps to maintain memory in the computer, radio, window indexing, and other memory presets.

melbourned

Brought my 2008 C6 to the dealer for my free oil change and was told it needs a positive battery cable for $300. I know I can buy the cable for about 1/3 of that but wonder if it's a big deal to replace. Also, do I need to plug a backup battery into the cigarette lighter before removing any battery terminals. This is my first Corvette and I'm feeling a little intimidated under the hood.

schpenxel

You have to replace the + and - battery cable together if you're replacing one. They come as one piece and some areas are held together by heat shrink tubing, etc.

The cable is $46 on Amazon

If it's just the ends that are the problem you can cut the cheapo factory ends off and install new ends. That is what I did after seeing how flimsy the "new" cable ends were.. they were junk IMO. New ones can just screw on,

No need for any sort of backup battery thing

There are the ones I used:

Doppler1992

I'm in agreement with schpenxel regarding new cable ends, but before doing anything, I'd examine the cable to see why the dealer recommended replacing the positive cable. My original 2005 factory cables are in excellent condition, but I bought the car new and have kept the cables clean. Seems like my first 2005 battery created excessive corrosion on the positive terminal years ago, but it was a simple matter of cleaning with baking soda and water to dissolve the corrosion, and maybe 30 seconds with some abrasive cloth. Subsequent battery connections in my ‘05 have remained corrosion-free as long as I periodically made sure the connection was tight, and kept the battery charged.

Regarding the back-up battery in the cigarette lighter, as mentioned previously in this thread, if you have the gizmo it would save you from having to re-index both windows. Since you are a first-time Corvette owner, discovering that your windows will not close completely after a dead battery or a battery disconnect, can be an unpleasant surprise. However, re-setting the window indexing feature is very quick and simple, and should be in your owner's manual. If you do not have the original owner's manual, there are lots of posts at Corvette Forum on how to re-index the windows, or PM me and I’d be happy to send you the simple instructions.

The computer will reprogram itself very quickly after you drive a few miles, like most any modern car (I still consider my 2005 "modern") but you will probably have to reprogram your radio presets and probably outside mirrors and seat memory, if your car was sold with those options. With a back-up battery, you should retain all that information.

In the 11 years I have owned my 2005 Z-51, no one has raised the hood but me. However, in my view, replacing this entire cable assembly, particularly if both positive and negative are enclosed in heat shrink or flex conduit, would not be a simple task for a first-time Corvette owner. It probably bolts to the starter solenoid, and there are probably smaller positive cables that go elsewhere. For sure Jack stands would be required to remove the cable from the starter. It would be a lot more difficult than installing new ends and / or cleaning existing battery connections. If you have not yet done so, this would be a good time to replace your cabin filter, located directly behind and above the battery.

Always disconnect the negative terminal first, and hats off to you for admitting that it can look intimidating when raising the hood and pondering a task for the first-time with a C6. I joined this Forum in 2008 after discovering that my windows would not roll up all the way when my first battery went dead. I was too stupid to read the owner's manual and we were about to leave town on a 1,500 mile road trip. You came to the right place for Corvette advice and tips. Far better to admit the task might be beyond your skill level than dive in without being prepared. New cable ends should be easy regardless of your skill level.

By the way - IMHO, there is no such thing as a "Free" oil change. Always remember that dealer mechanics work on commission. They will always find something else your car needs - maybe rightfully so, maybe not. Always get a second opinion if you cannot see and understand why you need a new _____ or new battery cables. The mechanic makes very little if anything on a "Free" oil change.

Good luck.