Is this a dead battery? [video inside]
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 5,022
Likes: 18
From: Tampa FL (formerly Justinjor)
Tech Contributor
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14
Is this a dead battery? [video inside]
I just finished up the nitrous install, battery relocation, and a few other small projects and I knew my battery was dead so I pulled the wifes Honda Civic next to the car to jump it off, and this is the result. . .
Is this what happens when the battery is dead or did I wire up the battery relocation incorrectly? I had jumper cables attached to both cars for well over 30 minutes and the car still only clicks. In my 29 years, I've never had a dead battery so this is a new one to me. If in fact it is dead and I can't use the Honda to jump it off. . .what am I to do? I feel like it should have enough juice to at least attempt to start but it just clicks and that worries me.
Any help is appreciated.
Is this what happens when the battery is dead or did I wire up the battery relocation incorrectly? I had jumper cables attached to both cars for well over 30 minutes and the car still only clicks. In my 29 years, I've never had a dead battery so this is a new one to me. If in fact it is dead and I can't use the Honda to jump it off. . .what am I to do? I feel like it should have enough juice to at least attempt to start but it just clicks and that worries me.
Any help is appreciated.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 174,312
Likes: 1,217
From: Here
Pilot of Beer Force 1
Tampa Regional Coordinator
CI 4-5-6-7-8 Veteran
Organizer St. Jude Fundraiser
I believe in the Beer Fairy
when my Z06 battery died it was ****ing DEAD and yeah that sounds about right.....
2 questions....how old is the battery? my stock battery lasted 5 years
do you have a meter to check it (of course you have it semi charged since you tried to jump it for a bit)
2 questions....how old is the battery? my stock battery lasted 5 years
do you have a meter to check it (of course you have it semi charged since you tried to jump it for a bit)
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,493
Likes: 809
From: West coast CA
Yes.
That remains to be seen, but first you need a known-good battery. A 30-minute jump on a discharged battery isn't going to do the trick. Time for a new one.
That remains to be seen, but first you need a known-good battery. A 30-minute jump on a discharged battery isn't going to do the trick. Time for a new one.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 5,022
Likes: 18
From: Tampa FL (formerly Justinjor)
Tech Contributor
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14
It's a small battery that worked perfectly a few days ago before I started on the project. I actually forgot to unhook it the first night and I left both doors and the hatch open. The next morning i realized it and saw that it was dead. I got done with everything today and went jump it off and the clicking is all I got.
I highly doubt the battery died but I didnt know if it could take a long time to have enough juice to fire the starter.
I relocated the battery to the hatch and used 1 gauge wire to run the positive back to cubby. I also used 1 gauge battery to ground the battery on the frame and 1 more piece of 1 gauge to ground the negative terminal near the fuse box.
I highly doubt the battery died but I didnt know if it could take a long time to have enough juice to fire the starter.
I relocated the battery to the hatch and used 1 gauge wire to run the positive back to cubby. I also used 1 gauge battery to ground the battery on the frame and 1 more piece of 1 gauge to ground the negative terminal near the fuse box.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 14,950
Likes: 264
From: St. Louis, MO
St. Jude Donor '08
Can you throw a new good battery on it? It should start then.
You may have ruined that tiny battery I'm afraid.
Two things. You should get a battery charger and try to charge it...can you borrow one?
Also I highly recommend you invest in some really good jumper cables...1 or 0 gauge wire, the best you can afford. I can't tell you how many times I've been able to jump a car when others have failed, because I have good cables. Believe it or not, WalMart used to carry really good ones. I have a set that's 10 years old or more, they are great.
You may have ruined that tiny battery I'm afraid.
Two things. You should get a battery charger and try to charge it...can you borrow one?
Also I highly recommend you invest in some really good jumper cables...1 or 0 gauge wire, the best you can afford. I can't tell you how many times I've been able to jump a car when others have failed, because I have good cables. Believe it or not, WalMart used to carry really good ones. I have a set that's 10 years old or more, they are great.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 5,022
Likes: 18
From: Tampa FL (formerly Justinjor)
Tech Contributor
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14
Could a complete discharge ruin a battery like that? It's been perfect since I got it up until tonight. If I take it to autozone, can they test it? Or is it possible it still shows as good but in fact its toast.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 14,950
Likes: 264
From: St. Louis, MO
St. Jude Donor '08
You could have autozone test it but I've never had much luck with those tests. If you can get it on a charger that would be the best plan. Too bad you're so far you could borrow mine.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 14,950
Likes: 264
From: St. Louis, MO
St. Jude Donor '08
Oh and a safety issue I'll share...I learned this the hard way.
Always hook up a battery charger first, then plug it in. When you take it off unplug it first before removing the clips. If you unhook the clips first it'll spark...and charging batteries produce hydrogen. Not a good combination if you want to keep your eyebrows.
Always hook up a battery charger first, then plug it in. When you take it off unplug it first before removing the clips. If you unhook the clips first it'll spark...and charging batteries produce hydrogen. Not a good combination if you want to keep your eyebrows.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 5,022
Likes: 18
From: Tampa FL (formerly Justinjor)
Tech Contributor
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14
Would swapping in Melissa's battery prove anything? I feel like having the jumper cables hooked up from my battery to her car would accomplish the same thing. Is that not the case?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 14,950
Likes: 264
From: St. Louis, MO
St. Jude Donor '08
Thin cables cannot carry enough amperage to get a really dead battery going. Takes great cables to do that.
Racer
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 314
Likes: 3
From: Baltimore Md
Oh and a safety issue I'll share...I learned this the hard way.
Always hook up a battery charger first, then plug it in. When you take it off unplug it first before removing the clips. If you unhook the clips first it'll spark...and charging batteries produce hydrogen. Not a good combination if you want to keep your eyebrows.
Always hook up a battery charger first, then plug it in. When you take it off unplug it first before removing the clips. If you unhook the clips first it'll spark...and charging batteries produce hydrogen. Not a good combination if you want to keep your eyebrows.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 5,022
Likes: 18
From: Tampa FL (formerly Justinjor)
Tech Contributor
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14
Went to Walmart and bought a battery tender/charger and plugged it in tonight. It had 225 reviews and 4.5/5 stars so if the battery has hope, I should know in the morning. If it is in fact KIA then I'll take this as a lesson learned and go buy another one from autozone.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions/help.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions/help.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 5,022
Likes: 18
From: Tampa FL (formerly Justinjor)
Tech Contributor
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14
*Update*
After letting the battery charge overnight and through the work day, the car fired up with no problems. I did not have to buy a new battery, only a $20 trickle charger
After letting the battery charge overnight and through the work day, the car fired up with no problems. I did not have to buy a new battery, only a $20 trickle charger
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 14,950
Likes: 264
From: St. Louis, MO
St. Jude Donor '08
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 5,022
Likes: 18
From: Tampa FL (formerly Justinjor)
Tech Contributor
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 14,950
Likes: 264
From: St. Louis, MO
St. Jude Donor '08
Yep. My set came from there, they came in a circular bag that fits behind the seat and they work great. Better get a set for the wife too. I have a set in all cars and I've used them. Usually for other people but good to have.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,058
Likes: 9,821
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
I suspect you might have turned the ignition on and didn't get the car completely shut down although if the engine isn't running and the ignition is left on the system shuts down the ignition system but leaves such things as the back up lights on.
When you moved the battery the other thing you did was increase overall starting circuit resistance even though you used a heavy gauge wire. With the increased resistance the battery voltage can't drop as low as it could when mounted in the stock position.
Bill
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 5,022
Likes: 18
From: Tampa FL (formerly Justinjor)
Tech Contributor
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14
Good info Bill. Thanks for sharing. I had a lot going on and it's possible that it was a combination of things that ultimately drained the little baby battery completely down. Before I started working on it, I was on vacation and the car sat for almost 2 weeks.
I started/stopped the motor about 20 times last night when testing the engine codes I was getting and the battery never skipped a beat. I'll know after a few days of normal driving if it was affected negatively. I like having the small battery in the car but the verdict is still out on whether or not the drain of the bottle heater and other factors will make it more trouble than it's worth. I need the original battery spot for my fuel cell though
I started/stopped the motor about 20 times last night when testing the engine codes I was getting and the battery never skipped a beat. I'll know after a few days of normal driving if it was affected negatively. I like having the small battery in the car but the verdict is still out on whether or not the drain of the bottle heater and other factors will make it more trouble than it's worth. I need the original battery spot for my fuel cell though
