I will apologize in advance if this question has been answered elsewhere but i can't seem to find an answer that suits my set of circumstances.

So i recently bought a 2008 z51 coupe(1st corvette ) and in the past couple days the battery has failed to allow the vehicle to start. The first time i was at a car wash and vaccumming my car for bout 20 mins with the full accessory on and when i tried to start it, it wouldn't crank and read about 10v. I was able to get it jumped and it started no prob and ran fine the next day or so.

And yesterday i was cleaning the whole thing at my apartment with no accessory on just the doors and trunk open(which i believe turns on the interior lights+gauge) and i started it a couple times to make sure it wasnt dead. I took 3 hours cleaning it and started it 2x for only a min each to make sure it didnt die. However the next day it failed to start, jumped it again and no issue starting up. Drove it for a bit then took it to the local oreilys to get both the battery and alternator tested and both tested good. I've stopped multiple times since then and the battery hasnt failed me for the remainder of the day.

So my question would be does my car need a new battery or am i doing something that's causing a small drain enough to wife the battery in a 24 hour period. This worries me because when i go back to work in a few days i can't be troubled with a dead battery at 530 am with no one to help.

thank you all in advance and sorry for the really long post.

 

I would buy one just to be safe.

 

The repeated starts and lights-on drains aren't giving the alternator time to recharge the battery, particularly if it is getting weak. Did O'Reilly's do a load test on the battery? Do you use a battery tender?

 

That may be the answer to my question because this didnt happen under normal operation only when i had everything open for a few hours and tried to start the vehicle 2x before closing it up for the next 24 hours. And they did both a battery test which tested good even though the voltage was a bit low for normal operation(14-14.1) and they did a load test on the alternator which tested good as well.

I only turned the car on 2x to ensure it would start, didnt realize i was draining way more power in the process lol

As a new guy to the corvettes i want to make sure i'm not doing anything that is jeopardizing my batteries charge when not in operation.

 

ohh and no i dont use any kind of charge accessory.

 

I agree with the others about doing more harm than good by starting during your cleaning. I would still get a new battery. You had a problem before the cleaning so I'm sure it's time for a new one. Make sure to buy a good one as the C6 is very hard on batteries.

 

I looked around a bit is there any specific one i should go after or is anything really better than my acDelco(professional series)?

 

You will get lot's of suggestions. I've had good luck with the Optima RED top. I replaced it after 5 1/2 years because I didn't want to worry about having a dead battery. It was still going strong. I replaced it with another RED top. I have an Optima Yellow top in my family auto.

 

after a 48 hour period of not doing anything, i've checked the readout voltage on the DIC will the full accessory on and its still reading a solid 12.0v. And from what i've seen on these posts that does seem to be in the norm range.

 

At 12.0v the battery is less than 50% charged. an SLI battery is 100% charged at 13.8V. You will start to see the battery sulphate when it drops below 12.4V.

http://batterycouncil.org/?page=lead_acid_batteries

I just retired from the largest battery mfg in the world in November and the OCV to ship to a car company is 12.8 and the stand loss after 45 days can not drop below 12.4, if my memory is correct.

 

oh i thought it was good cause according to alot of different users here that was a good reading. And i had both the battery and alternator tested multiple times and they were both good.

 

Just because it is at 12.0V doesn't mean it is bad, just means that it is not fully charged.

The alternator is designed to maintain the battery, not bring it up from a low state of charge. Put a charger on it for a couple hours just to bring it up to 12.8 or so. Voltage also doesn't mean that it has CCA or RC. You can have a battery at 13.0V that won't start a lawn mower, but because the specific gravity of the battery is high, so it records proper voltage.

Any Autozone, Advance, Interstate or other can test the battery and tell you how many CCA it tests at.

 

i think i might do that then, i had multiple places test different aspects of the battery system and it was all good, except one mechanic did recommend getting a new battery even though this one was still useable. Reason being is when under test he said the battery was a bit weak when the car was started.

 

I agree with the others in recommending that you get a new battery.

Optima is good (I have a red top) so is Sears Gold/Platinum and so is an OEM Delco as well.

Unfortunately a battery tender is not an option if your car has to sit for long periods of time (over 2 weeks).

CTEK, Deltran and Schumacher are all good brands and are not too expensive. Get the adapter so you can just plug it into the lighter socket. Easiest connection method IMHO.

If you Search for batteries/tenders, there are many, many, many Threads on these topics.

Congrats on your 'new' car.

 

When i replace the battery i dont think i will use the battery tender method, i'm one of the smaller group of individuals who is using my car as a daily driver

and i will look into those battery brands, don't mind spending a little more if it gives me peace of mind in the long run.

 

Good! Just remember that battery warranty is a function of marketing, not product quality. Based on the fact that you live in a hot climate, if you don't buy an Optima (I have them in my cars), but a standard flooded battery, buy the lowest rated one that will start your car. High CCA batteries have less acid in them and evaporation is a big issue in hot climates.

Ironically, the lower priced and lower warranty will actually last longer in a hot climate. It is -11 at my house today.......

 

+76 at my house today.

 

Thanks for making me feel good!

 

well thank you all for the reply, more than likely i will just go with the optima better to be safe in my opinion.

 

If your battery is the original OEM unit it could be going bad since batteries (no matter the brand) usually take a dump somewhere between 4 and 7 years of operation. However, before running out and getting a battery I would take the car for a long drive 20 or 30 miles. Drive to Las Cruces or Alamogordo and back. Then return to your normal routine and see how the battery does. Just because a battery has been run down a few times doesn't necessarily mean it has been ruined. The original battery in my 08 lasted 4.5 years even though I severely discharged it 4 or 5 times doing things like you did.

As others have said starting the car a couple of times while you had the doors open for such a long time probably ran the battery down faster. Even though the interior lights turn off after 15 minutes it only takes a momentary closing of the door to turn them on for another 15 minutes. Another thing that can cause an issue when you are cleaning the car is bumping the map light switch and turning the mirror lights on. It is easy to do and in the daylight usually aren't noticed.

Bill