2015 Corvette Stingray convertible, a8, 33000 miles. I changed the battery, the original finally died. Bought a new Interstate and installed it. Once done I jumped in to start it. The engine cranked about 3 times and the car died. Nothing is working. After searching here some said to ensure that all connections are tight. I’ve done that twice and it’s all good. Checked the battery and got 12.7 v . I made sure everything was correct and connected. Anybody have any suggestions besides towing it to the dealer? Thanks

 

Did you check the fuses on top of the bus bar on top of the battery?

 

maybe you should have someone check the battery voltage while your trying to start the car. If it goes way down sounds like a bad battery.

 

"Nothing is working?" Do you mean dash does not light up, no inside lights, door locks don't work, etc.

Check the fuses on top of the battery - should be same voltage from negative battery post to both sides of each fuse.
It is possible to get a bad battery off the shelf - I always have the parts store run a quick check before I will accept a "new" battery.

My quick troubleshooting guide:

Take a deep breath and go back over your connections again. Make sure that both battery cable clamps are pushed down, level, and tight. Make sure the positive buss bars at the positive terminal fuse block are in good mechanical contact and bolted tightly. If you disassembled the positive buss on top of the battery this is a known PITA to reassemble correctly. Verify the heavy red battery cable ring lug is flat to the buss bar and then tighten snugly. The red cable should be at a right angle to the 350 amp fuse and down in a notch on the fuse tray.
Verify that the black voltage sensing wire on the negative battery cable clamp is intact. This small wire has no effect on starting, but is important for proper battery charging.

If still no joy, verify that the fuses on top of the battery are good - 12 volts on each end of each fuse referenced to the negative battery post. It is also possible for a new battery to be bad on the shelf or to fail at any time. You can also check voltage in the rear 12 volt accessory jack.

Also - a reminder to everyone to test operation of the metal hatch key and manual door releases yearly.

Ron

 

One of 3 things in my mind

1. the new battery is bad
2. the post connections are not making a good connection
3. fuse is blown

 

I can't start the car since there is nothing working. Everything is dark, no power at all.

 

RonC7 Yes, no dash light no power anywhere.

When you say "the fuses" are you talking about the 3 wires connected to the bus bar (2, 3, 4) or the 350 amp fuse?

The battery shows 12.7 volts so I believe the battery is good.

I also tested the little black ground wire and it's good.

I'll check connections again even though I've done this twice already.
Thanks

 

I'd check ALL the fuses with a good DVM.

I'd bet you'll find your answer here.

 

Fuses on top of the battery are suspect. The 350 amp fuse feeds the front fuse block, starter, steering. The smaller fuses on top of the battery feed the rear fuse block as well as features such as the convertible top.

The question then becomes why did the fuse blow? Lots of troubleshooting is in your future if the fuse blows again.

Less expensive way to replace 350 amp fuse vs. buying the whole fuse buss assembly:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...se-dead-2.html

GL

Ron

 

I broke one of the fuses on top of the battery when I replaced battery. Check each fuse.

 

RON C7 Today I took all connections off the battery, cleaned each one and put them bac again making sure they're all good. Nothing changed. I took a multi meter to check the 350 amp fuse. with the battery connected there was no continuity, no resistance, and current passing thru the 350 amp fuse. I would guess if the battery's connected I should see current, correct? (See pic. This isn't my car, but a stock picture.) If I'm right, then I need to replace the Mega 350 fuse.

Not my car. It's a stock picture for example

 

All readings reference the ground / negative battery terminal. You should have 12.x volts on the battery terminal. You should measure the same 12.x volts on each side of each fuse. If there is no voltage on the downstream side, the fuse is blown. How do you expect to see current? Current is measured in line, voltage drop in parallel. Apparently the 350 amp fuse is a semiconductor type which behaves differently from a "piece of wire" fuse.

Continuity with the buss disconnected may not work for the 350 amp - I found this old note, but didn't keep the url: Although the 350 Amp fuse is blown, it will still read zero Ohms on a DMM (because it is a semiconductor type fuse). Instead, measure the voltage after the 350 Amp fuse in reference to ground. If the fuse is blown it will read ~2 Volts. Of course if it is good it will read the battery voltage, ~12.3 Volts for a good battery.

If you disconnected the red battery cable from the fuse buss downstream of the 350 - this connection is a known trouble spot. As noted in the previous thread you need good mechanical (flat to flat) connection before tightening. Getting the nut started is a PITA.

If the car still acts dead the usual causes are the 350 amp fuse or the red battery cable connection. Did you get any kind of a spark when you reattached the battery cable clamps to the battery? Clamps should be pressed DOWN, LEVEL before tightening.

 

Ron C7 Sorry for the misprint. What I meant to say was there is NO current in the 350 amp fuse, I ordered one yesterday. Electrical repairs in a car are definitely not in my wheel house and I don't have the necessary tools. Thanks to everyone for their advice, it's very much appreciated.

 

I like the KISS Principal. Since, problems started after the battery change, I would take some jumper cables, attach them to another good battery and the new battery. If it lights up, that would be a good indication of what the problem is.

When K-Mart was around, I once went through nine batteries before the 10th one worked.

 

#2 is especially tricky. The big cable attaching after the 350A fuse is real finicky for its correct alignment. There is a small slotted gate the lug fits into. Get it even slightly off alignment results in a poor to no electrical connection and no amount of torque will fix it. Been there and done that on my DIY battery install despite Forum warnings about getting the alignment right. You have to make the mistake to realize this GM design is a POS!!

 

This is why you don't disconnect anything on the fuse panel on top of the battery. Only remove the main connection on the positive terminal and the single nut at the end of the red cable. Pull the whole board out of the way.

 

^^^ Agree. People take apart that positive bus/fuse plate and they should just leave it together.

 

It is very easy to use the wrong terms when dealing with the electrical side of the car. (voltage & current).

In your case you would be measuring voltage not current at the fuses.

To be really technical, yes you can measure the voltage directly across the fuse (using a very accurate DVM) and by using this value and a very large chart that has fuse types and their resistances you can determine the amount of current that is flowing thru the fuse. ie; the load or resistance that is on that circuit. It is very valuable in electronics but not so much in electrical circuits. So yes, you can measure / determine current on a fuse. You really don't want to go there.

Note:
On a cars electrical lines which almost always draw more current than electronic circuits and a good clamp on Ammeter would be easier and work better for the same results.

Better yet, think of the water hose analogy, voltage is the pressure and current is the flow.

I understand what you're trying to say but a lot of non technical people do not.

 

Mikey, let us know if this fixes your problem. Inquiring minds are curious! 😎

 

PhxMark Fuse is coming today. I'm pretty sure that will fix it. I'm also concerned as to whether the high cranking amps of a new battery was the original cause.