Trickle Charging a C7 battery

Turn off the car, open door, remove ignition key. Plug something into the accessory socket. If it works, you can trickle charge via that outlet. If it's dead, so are you hopes of trickle charging in that manner.

Most of the trickle chargers available these days (battery maintainers) have both battery clips as well as a plug and socket. Why not just connect a lightweight cable and plug to the battery? Summer months, leave the plug capped and cable stowed next to battery. Connect it to the maintainer cable in the winter. That's how I do it with my C5 and formerly did it with my C4.

Thank you for the helpful advice. I was concerned that the 12 volt sockets had diodes or some other method to prevent a current source to drive them rather than use them as a source of current. I also worried that the modern technique of disabling a power port when the key is off may, as you have indicated, disable the port after the engine is shut down.

I like the idea of a direct connection to the battery, and indeed did that very same thing on both my C5 and C6. In both cases, however, I did not make such an attachment when the car was in the warranty period. I merely opened the hood and used the alligator clips / connectors directly to the battery.

With the C7 battery concealed under trunk carpeting, this does not appear to be an option, although I may actually find it to be easier than I think. I have not pulled up the trunk carpet to really research this carefully, and felt my "best" option for the warranty period would be to use one of the 12 volt sockets.

The C7 actually has a 12V port in the trunk, and perhaps this one will stay alive after the engine is off. I intend to test this as soon as the trickle charger and accessory cigarette plug cord arrive.

Thank you very much again.

...your C7 has a key?

Similar to the C6 and C5, in having a fob used as a remote control as well as a key. The only difference in the C7 is that the key is hidden inside the fob, and can be extracted by a simple motion. In the older C6 and C5, the key was a separate item and was not designed to be stowed inside the fob..

My '08 Z06 key stores inside the fob...hopefully I'll never have to use it. Though I have had the fob battery die on me once - now I keep a spare in the box.

I haven't seen a C7 up close, but it sounds like they put the battery in the C7 in the same location as on my Z06 - right rear? Difference being that mine is in what was/is a storage compartment with a lid in an standards C6, and the hinged lid is still there and provides easy access to the battery. So how are you supposed to change the thing?

But I should think that the ability to charge it would be similar to being able to do the same on my Z06 - check with a tech.

I confirmed that the trunk-mounted accessory outlet does indeed support trickle charging, and the dealership's owner has a C7 apparently which is being charged in this manner. Thus I do not have a need to remove any carpeting or trim nor do I need to physically see the battery.

Should I have a dead battery and need a quick jump start, then the issue of battery access will become a bit more difficult.

The C7 battery supposedly is in the rear passenger side area of the trunk. My C6 convertible had a compartment there as well as one on the left side. In the C7 convertible there is only one compartment, located on the left. The area of trunk on the rear right where I was told the battery is located has a flap of upholstered hardboard / cardboard which supposedly can be lifted and temporarily moved to expose the battery.

I did not realize that the Z06 fob was different. Neither my C5 or C6 fobs can store the key, although I have seen / owned other fobs (Porsche, Acura, Lexus) which use this internal design which now shows up on the C7.

I still have a compartment on the left side, and that's where I store my tire inflator, fault code reader, etc. Don't have a trunk mounted accessory outlet though...just the one in the center console. I think my battery terminal connections have quick releases that you can undo by hand...I haven't looked under there in a while. You may want to ask if that trunk connector might also support jump starting somehow.

I think I've heard of people buying later fobs with key storage as an "upgrade" for older C6's without that, but I'm not sure you can do that for all of them - my key is integrated into the end cap of the fob.

On or about Fri, 03 Jan 2014 17:30:28 -0500, Smarty wrote or did cause to be written:

...

All 2005-2007 C6's had an external key. All 2008-2013 C6's had an internal key. The 2007 user's manual showed the new FOB design with the internal key but GM had issues with it so they stayed with the external key through the entire '07 model year.

I prefer the external key detached and kept safely at home. You almost never need it and the last thing you want when you do manage to lock the FOB inside the car is for the key to be there also.

...I REALLY needed it when my fob battery died on me during a trip to Las Vegas. I would never even think of leaving my key at home after that, and my fob is always in a pocket when I drive the car; I treat it like any other key. One of the gals in my office that has an '06 C6 didn't even realize she had a key...now she carries it.

There's also a way to program a warning if you close both doors and a fob (or multiples) are still in the car; the horn will sound and the driver's door will remain unlocked until you come back and remove at least one of them. That's how I set up my Z06, so it's not even possible to lock a fob inside it. As long as the fob battery is alive, I guess...

The C7 key is also integrated into the end cap, which makes a very nice solution. I bought my C6 convertible just as I bought my C7 convertible, as soon as they were released, so I am guessing my C6 fob being the original design may have prevented me from seeing and knowing that a later revision was optional offered or substituted.

The trunk mounted cigarette lighter-style socket is described as a charging port and accessory port in the C7 owners manual. I highly doubt that it is designed to handle anywhere near the amperage for a quick start but certainly can easily handle the 1.5 amp current provided by my CTEK charger.

Steve, you make an excellent point which I had never considered. I am now thinking of separating the internal key from the fob and leaving it in a safe place outside the vehicle. I am just the very type of forgetful geezer to lock my fob in the car, despite beeping and tooting and flashing lights.

Sounds like I am best carrying the key around in a pants pocket separated from the fob!

On or about Mon, 06 Jan 2014 11:09:22 -0500, Smarty wrote or did cause to be written:

The best solution I have found is to have a spare made that does not include the plastic cap. A lot of people cut it off or use the blank that doesn't have the plastic part. Carry that in your wallet where it isn't in the way all the time. OR find a hiding place but don't tell us where it is. :) But even if someone finds the hiding place and gets in, the alarm goes off and they still can't drive away. And, with the alarm going off they could just as easily have broken the window.

On or about Sat, 04 Jan 2014 12:15:01 -0800, Rufus wrote or did cause to be written:

By FAR the most reported "I locked my FOB in the car" occurs when someone changes clothes and tosses the FOB in the back. Think golf or gym. Yes, there is an alarm. The problem is that none of the three receivers will identify that the FOB is in the trunk. They unlock the hatch with the button at the license, toss the bag in, and close the hatch. When they pushed the button on the car the FOB in the bag was seen by they outside antenna at the back. When the FOB went inside neither of the antennas in the B pillars could see it and the hatch antenna lost it also. Popping the hatch does not unlock the doors so when the hatch closes the car is completely locked again except the key is now inside with the FOB instead of outside where the FOB should be.

BTW, two FOBs inside with one removed works the same as one removed. The car locks. meaning there's another way to lock a FOB inside the car with no alarm although no real harm done in that case.

A dead battery is easily fixed to get you back in. Worse is a damaged FOB where you really must have a physical key. So, you don't leave your key at home, but you don't want it locked inside the car either. Keep it in your pants. Where have I heard that before? :)

I'm now wondering if a locksmith could make a duplicate of the fob key or if it has some type of fancy design or technology which makes the duplication very difficult / expensive?

On or about Mon, 06 Jan 2014 18:45:28 -0500, Smarty wrote or did cause to be written:

The 05-07 is a Hilman B-106 blank. I don't know what the number is for

Any good locksmith should be able to make a duplicate. With the C6 the keys went back to just a hunk of metal. No more electronics.

...I can only wonder if that one is really any different from this one -

Which was actually going to be my first suggestion.

Wow! What a deal! With that sale price, I wonder how much better it would be than a Schauer or Black & Decker for about $80 to $90 less?

Suppose it would be just the thing if you were going to show your car and wanted to put the battery maintainer on the roof so everyone knows you're "keeping it real."

Would you buy windshield washer fluid in a jug with a C-7 logo on it for $12.00?