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I am wondering if anyone else has run into this issue. My 2019 Grand Sport is in storage for the winter and unfortunately I had to have someone else connect the charger into the socket in the trunk and they didn’t get it plugged in correctly and it couldn’t charge the car. When I was finally able to get to the car two months later it was of course dead as a door nail. I used the key to open the trunk and plug in the charger correctly and crossed my fingers that the battery would take a charge. When I tried to close the trunk, I had difficulty getting the latch to fully pull down the hatch and it sounded as though the electric latch was trying to pull it down all the way. I didn’t want to force it and didn’t have time to hang around and watch it, so I left the hatch latched but not fully pulled down and hoped the car would do it by itself. I went back and checked it after a couple weeks and found that the battery is still dead, so a new battery it is, but more of an issue is I can’t get the trunk open even when using the key. I can push the lid all the way down flush and the latch clicks, but when I try to open it with the key the trunk pops open a quarter of an inch but something is still preventing me from opening it fully. Has anyone else run into this issue or have any suggestions?
Aslo, does anyone have any recommendations for batteries that they think might be superior to the factory’s? What battery chargers are everyone using? I’ve never been real happy with connecting the corvette charger through the trunk, I would rather have something led outside the car completely.
so currently you cant open the trunk at all now? by remote or trunk button under steering wheel or manually by key?
but the car is cranking and starting?
maybe its possible to get underneath the rear bumper and try to get to something latch wise.
yeah i would agree the factory is a good battery at a decent price.
when the factory tender is used and hooked up it seems to do a great job keeping the battery going.
If you can get to the right front wheel area, connect a 12 volt source at the starter. It should power up the car enough to get the doors and trunk open. See this thread:
As I understand your post, car has no power so it must be manually opened, and that can only be done from the rear hatch with your key, but it only pops up 1/4 inch.
If you can jack it up, you can apply 12V to the starter's positive bolt and ground, allowing you to open the doors (and presumably trunk).
For batteries, I'm not picky. I prefer to get them from Costco (Interstate AGM) as the price is excellent, but they're not local me to. I've had good experiences with SuperStart's from O'reilly's.
I do connect through the trunk, and never latch the trunk down. I considered adding some sort of external socket but realized I still wouldn't want the trunk latched, in case the tender stopped working ... like in your case.
Here's another option to plugging it in to the trunk. I have this on my car and my wife's car. It's a magnetic connection and it is external, If you forget it's hooked up, it just drops off on the floor as you pull away. I have it on the front of my car so I won't run over the cord or plug backing out of the garage if I don't unhook the charger.
There should be nothing keeping you from opening he hatch with the key. I had this happen to me. I had to take battery out and put I on my work bench. Then charged with 10a charger. The maintainers won’t charge a dead battery. Then take it and have it checked. If you need a new one, get the Walmart AGM H6. It is the best buy for the money. 4 yr warranty, higher amp hr and cranking amps. Most of the batteries are made by the same companies. So it’s a matter of price and specs. Good luck.
I am wondering if anyone else has run into this issue. My 2019 Grand Sport is in storage for the winter and unfortunately I had to have someone else connect the charger into the socket in the trunk and they didn’t get it plugged in correctly and it couldn’t charge the car. When I was finally able to get to the car two months later it was of course dead as a door nail. I used the key to open the trunk and plug in the charger correctly and crossed my fingers that the battery would take a charge. When I tried to close the trunk, I had difficulty getting the latch to fully pull down the hatch and it sounded as though the electric latch was trying to pull it down all the way. I didn’t want to force it and didn’t have time to hang around and watch it, so I left the hatch latched but not fully pulled down and hoped the car would do it by itself. I went back and checked it after a couple weeks and found that the battery is still dead, so a new battery it is, but more of an issue is I can’t get the trunk open even when using the key. I can push the lid all the way down flush and the latch clicks, but when I try to open it with the key the trunk pops open a quarter of an inch but something is still preventing me from opening it fully. Has anyone else run into this issue or have any suggestions?
Also, does anyone have any recommendations for batteries that they think might be superior to the factory’s? What battery chargers are everyone using? I’ve never been real happy with connecting the corvette charger through the trunk, I would rather have something led outside the car completely.
If you are unable to store your vehicle in a enclosed garage during the winter months when you wont be driving it anyway, just remove the battery from the vehicle entirely. Store the battery after fully charging it, in a cool, dry place. Up off a garage or basement floor on a couple of pieces of wood at least. Top the battery's charge off prior to reinstalling in the vehicle for use. the charge should still be near 100% but it is good to know its charged starting point.
As an alternative, fully charge the battery and leave it in the vehicle, after removing the negative lead. This only works if the temperature where you are storing the vehicle will not drop to very low temperatures, but will remain no lower than freezing for water. It would be best to store the vehicle in a heated garage at or above 40 degrees F, if available. It is important that you are not tempted to start the vehicle during the storage period. Wait until you are ready to put it back on the road. In both of these cases, the battery should not discharge if it remains unconnected.
I used the above procedure to leave my vehicle stored in an under building garage for a period of time that ended up being 18 months during Covid. I was able to successfully start the vehicle after reconnecting the negative battery cable. The same battery remains in the vehicle today, suffering no deleterious effects of the long storage. It is the OEM battery that came new in the vehicle.
Storing a lead-acid battery on a piece of wood (versus directly on a concrete floor) is not neccessary, just an "urban myth" that doesn't seem to die....
Also, a fully charged lead-acid battery won't freeze until it gets down to -94F......., no need for a heated garage.
Last edited by ersatz928; Feb 21, 2023 at 02:22 PM.
Storing a lead-acid battery on a piece of wood (versus directly on a concrete floor) is not neccessary, just an "urban myth" that doesn't seem to die....
Also, a fully charged lead-acid battery won't freeze until it gets down to -94F......., no need for a heated garage.
You are right on both counts. I heard don’t set a battery on concrete my whole life. It is a wife’s tale.
Old style batteries cases were made out of a rubbery / tar substance. they would sometimes develop 'cracks' or voids that allowed the electrolyte to seep out thru the bottom. If you stored the battery on cement the cement would absorb the leaking electrolyte and would the make a electrical connection between cells draining the battery . Thats why people stored the battery off the cement ground.
Long long time ago.
I am wondering if anyone else has run into this issue. My 2019 Grand Sport is in storage for the winter and unfortunately I had to have someone else connect the charger into the socket in the trunk and they didn’t get it plugged in correctly and it couldn’t charge the car. When I was finally able to get to the car two months later it was of course dead as a door nail. I used the key to open the trunk and plug in the charger correctly and crossed my fingers that the battery would take a charge. When I tried to close the trunk, I had difficulty getting the latch to fully pull down the hatch and it sounded as though the electric latch was trying to pull it down all the way. I didn’t want to force it and didn’t have time to hang around and watch it, so I left the hatch latched but not fully pulled down and hoped the car would do it by itself. I went back and checked it after a couple weeks and found that the battery is still dead, so a new battery it is, but more of an issue is I can’t get the trunk open even when using the key. I can push the lid all the way down flush and the latch clicks, but when I try to open it with the key the trunk pops open a quarter of an inch but something is still preventing me from opening it fully. Has anyone else run into this issue or have any suggestions?
Aslo, does anyone have any recommendations for batteries that they think might be superior to the factory’s? What battery chargers are everyone using? I’ve never been real happy with connecting the corvette charger through the trunk, I would rather have something led outside the car completely.
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This is certainly not what we like to hear, Drunkensailor727. Please know, customer satisfaction is extremely important to us. Our team would be more than happy to take a closer look into the concerns with your vehicle. To do so, please send an email to socialmedia@gm.com with ATTN: Drunkensailor727/Corvette Forums in the subject line.
If you have a battery that becomes fully discharged for whatever reason, the little Corvette charger/maintainer they will not recharge the battery, at least not in any reasonable time. They simply do not have the capacity. They are maintainers, not chargers.
My charger below is for AGM service; however, it is fully capable for starter assist and battery boost. The downside is the price; it was about 150 bucks last year when I made the purchase. But when you need a powerful charger, this one is capable to provide the power needed for the electronics and for the starter to get the engine running.
My procedures are based on science, not myths.
I have 35 years of electrical engineering experience designing power electronics....
What has your experience got to do with anything? This is more right than you understand. If it was handed down from my father when I was a kid 50 years ago, it must be still current even though things have changed since then. It seems like a lot of older people say that. Like someone said, it might have been a true thing in the past but I would imagine that the manufacturing techniques have changed since who knows when and that wood thing is probably about as true as doing a dance around the battery before storage.
Dead Battery Trunk Access Issues
