1. Home
  2. Chevy Corvette Forum
  3. battery drain on my 98 c5

battery drain on my 98 c5

Hello everyone,I'm new to the group but my problem isn't. I have had 2 dealerships and numerous 'mechanics' look at it with no luck. My 98 will completely drain the battery if let sit for just 3 days and after charging it back up every week it will kill the battery in about

4 to 6 months.I have been through at least 6 batteries in the last 4 years.The last battery I purchased was a red-top Optima,it took 13 months to kill it after about 5 months of re-charging. I do not plug any cell phones or radar detectors in,hood lamp is not connected(after-market hood) and I have checked all other areas for possible drains. It's bad enough having to go through the re-charging every week,let alone the re-learning of the idle,the tire pressure sensors and the key fobs! Any info would be greatly appreciated........sideburn101
Reply to
sideburn101
Loading thread data ...

Pull your battery and check under it to see if it pee'ed in the wiring harness. If you are still using you passive access fob make sure they are at least 50 feet away from the car when not in use. GM dropped that lovely feature I think in 2002 because it was such a problem. They also went to a glass mat battery to cut down on the leakers. If not then start by unhooking one post only and put a meter across that broken connection to see what your draw is, it should be very small.

Good luck,

Dad

Reply to
Dad

Mechanics and dealer will not help..go to an electrical auto facility...have them check it out..or do what Dad said check the draw with a meter..then if it is significant..start pulling fuses one by one and check the draw each time....I had the same problem with my old 1984 C4....it went away when I changed the ECM to a 1990 model and converted it to a TPI operation..so my problem was some where in the ECM...no problems since....also check mirror lights..and the alternator can also short out and tends to run as an elect motor..the only thing that prevents it from turning over is the load on the belt system...so have the alt checked for feedback even if you have to remove it to do so.( not a rare problem with alternators)

Also this seems not to be an uncommon problem with Vettes of all years....and I don't know how they have been solved previously.

Reply to
Sailbad the Sinner

facility...have

An alternator can NEVER run as an electric motor. Don't know what you were trying to say, but that is not it.

I had the battery drain problem with an OT car. It was the dealer installed alarm. Took me a half a day to repair what the installers did to the wiring harness. Half a day standing on my head under the dash...

Al

Reply to
Big Al

On Wed, 3 May 2006 23:55:18 -0700, "Big Al" puked:

If I'm not mistaken, a generator can...

-- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere?

Reply to
lab~rat >:-)

meter..then

Correct. Can't make much power, but they will run. In the back of old Popular Science mags in the 50's and 60's there were guys selling instructions to turn them into decent motors.

Al

Reply to
Big Al

On Thu, 4 May 2006 18:22:09 -0700, "Big Al" puked:

Kind of like the way you can turn speakers into microphones...

-- lab~rat >:-) Do you want polite or do you want sincere?

Reply to
lab~rat >:-)

If you don't find the cause of the drain then I would suggest putting a battery tender on the car when not in use. If I think I won't be using my vette during the week I connect a battery tender to the car via the cigarette lighter. Keeps the battery topped up. Batteries last a lot longer when you don't let them drain.

Reply to
RB

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.