BranC85

I'm trying to decide if i need to change the battery in my '11 base coupe. I only clipped on my trickle charger a couple times this winter, and the last time I charged it was about 1.5 - 2 months ago. I live in PA and the winter was awfully long here. When I finally attempted to drive the car this morning, the battery was so dead that I could not even open the door and did not hear any sounds from the door servos.

Should 6-8 weeks of sitting unused be enough to drain every last bit of charge like that? Should I just replace the battery to not have to worry about the thing dying again after a few days? The current battery is maybe 2-3 years old and I usually clip on the charger every month or two during the winter rather than leave it on 24/7.

Cruisinfanatic

I've had batteries last all winter in an unheated garage.
Charge the battery and leave the trickle on. I see no point in charging when you think if it during the winter

TorchRedFred

Best bet at this point is to change the battery. Once a battery has been fully discharged, it has more than likely been damaged, shortening its life expectancy and ability to function properly.

All newer cars have a drain on the battery when the car is parked and off. If you plan to go long periods without driving your car you need to attach a battery tender. A battery tender or maintainer can be left on indefinitely and is different than a charger. A charger constantly applies a charge and should not be left on indefinitely, while a tender turns on and off by monitoring the battery voltage.

I have the tender that plugs into the cigarette lighter and I typically attach the tender if I plan to be parked for over a week. Anything more than a couple weeks will definitely give you problems in most newer Corvettes.

I live in NJ, so i know what you mean about this years long winter. I just started my car 2 days ago for the first time since October. I had it attached to the tender all winter and I started it up with no problem.

Cruisinfanatic

Nonsense. No car with a good battery and no issue needs any tender to be able to start for weeks and even months. If a (any) vette won't start after 2 weeks, it has a problem

TorchRedFred

No offense, but it's obvious to me that you have no idea what you are talking about. Try parking any newer vette for months (as you say), and see what happens. Thanks for your reply, but this issue comes up quite often in the C6 general and C7 sections.

For the OP, my C6 actually came with a battery tender as a factory option from Chevy and that's what I use when the car is going to be sitting for an extended time. You can purchase one new from Amazon or Ebay but they are a little pricey compared to others. Or you can take Cruisin's advice and just let your car sit over the winter and see what happens. Either way, good luck.

Cruisinfanatic

You said "Anything more than a couple weeks will definitely give you problems in most newer Corvettes"
No way!

TorchRedFred

Do you read your own posts? You claim that you can park a newer Corvette for "months" and not expect any problems with your battery. You also recommended to the OP to attach and leave a trickle charger to the battery. Do you know there is a difference between a trickle charger and battery tender? Leaving a trickle charger on a battery indefinitely can also overcharge and cause damage to your battery. You have given nothing but bad advice but still try to find fault in my posts.

Maybe I should not of used the word "definitely" but anything more than a couple of weeks can give you problems. So yes I still stand by my statement that even a few weeks (something more than a couple) can drain your battery enough to effect start up and battery performance.

Cruisinfanatic

I never said that. I am refering to my car, not everyone elses.
Battery tenders and trickle chargers can work exactly the same way. Depends on the item. Many trickle chargers work the same as turning off when the battery is charged

TorchRedFred

Like I said earlier, do you read your own posts?

The technology and electronics in newer cars cause a constant drain on the battery. They are designed that way to decrease start up times for the electronics and also to retain certain functions and memories while the car is off. Many of the electronics don't power off completely but instead go into something similar to a sleep mode.

A battery tender/maintainer is different from a regular charger or trickle charger. A tender will monitor your batteries voltage and turn on and off when necessary. If your charger does not have a maintainer built in, it may turn off when charging is complete but it will not continuously monitor and maintain the battery.

Cruisinfanatic

You sure don't. You are still responding to a post made 2 days ago.

TorchRedFred

So you can't read, and now you are telling us you can't count either.

I thought this was over already but if you must know, I responded on the 21st to a post of yours on the 21st, using a quote of yours from the 20th. Check the dates. Not that unusual.

daverulz

Internet arguments are awesome and all, but just to give my personal experience

My 94 used to need a tender if I let it sit for more than a week on the battery that was in it when I bought it. Then I got a new battery. It no longer needs a tender. It starts perfectly every time regardless of how long it's been sitting. Even in the winter.

So in summation, a new battery solved this problem for me.

I will also add, my 95 Cherokee, 2005 Tahoe and 2011 328 will all start right up regardless of how long they've sat (including months at a time) soooo.....take that for what you will.

I will echo the sentiment that if your car needs a tender to hold a charge while sitting for a few weeks, there is something that is not working properly.

TorchRedFred

I will respectfully disagree with you when you say "months at a time" in regards to newer cars, especially sports cars and more specifically C6 and C7 Corvettes. I do believe the OP is long gone, but I would suggest to him to post this in the C6 section for more specific responses related to his car.

I don't have any issue with my C6 battery but I do use a tender if the car is going to be sitting for long periods. And I do think it's a good common practice to follow. All my other cars get driven almost daily so it is a non issue. But if you have OnStar, and a key fob, and a modern head unit, and so on, etc, all these systems put a small draw on the battery even when the car is off. And depending on certain circumstances, like temperatures and the size of your battery, I don't trust that a Corvette can go months sitting without a potential battery issue. Most guys I know with newer Corvettes, one of the first things they told me when I got my car was to make sure to use a tender on it when I park it for the winter because everyone seemed to have a dead battery story. Just my 2 cents, take it for what it's worth.

Cruisinfanatic

You responded to the same post I wrote on the 20th on two different days, post 4 on the 20th and post 9 on the 21st. Sorry but if all 6's and 7's are dead after 2 weeks (they aren't) I wouldn't have bought the car.

TorchRedFred

You still can't read. The reason I quoted your March 20th post was to show you that you were contradicting yourself with your March 21st post. Reading comprehension may be a problem for you.

Here is your quote from the 20th:
"Nonsense. No car with a good battery and no issue needs any tender to be able to start for weeks and even months."

And you post from the 21st:
"I never said that. I am refering to my car, not everyone else."

Can you just re-read your own posts or do I just have to keep spelling it all out for you and treating you like a 1st grader.

Also 2 weeks was never the real issue here. The OP's original post brought up concerns about the car sitting 6-8 weeks. I never said that the battery would be dead in 2 weeks. Once again reading comprehension and/or math may be a problem for you. I would advise you to get that checked out, but in your case I think it's safe to assume it's already too late.

Cruisinfanatic

Yup, that's all it is:wi lly: