Dead Battery

I recently purchased a 06 vette. I only drive it on the weekends and have noticed if it sits for 6 or 7 days the car battery is dead. This is very dissapointing. Did i mention the car only has 600 mi on it. Is anyone else having this problem. The dealership told me it was normal if the car sat that long because of the electronics . I don't know what to think. I am really angry about it and don't like the idea of buying a trickler for a car that is above 50k us dollars. Please help me !!!!!!!!

C6 vettes have a feature that shuts all power off after 30 minutes in case you leave something on. If battery is going bad after a few days, there is something wrong with the electrical system. Have not driven mine for three weeks or more and battery is just fine. Get tough with dealer and have fixed.

If I recall correctly, manual transmission cars have to be put in reverse when parking, look at your owners manual. Also, it is possible that the battery has never really had a full charge so when you park a partially charged battery it will run down quicker. The electronics still have a parasitic drain on the battery so if you don't drive it much, many people will use battery chargers as a routine maintenance task.

You can check for a drain by disconnecting battery terminal and put a volt meter between the battery and the cable. Make sure you have no lights on or anything electrical. If you have battery voltage (12 v), then you have a drain somewhere. Also, have your battery load checked after a full charge. It's not the first time someone has had a defective battery that was new.

Well, believe what you will.

My 'vette, my friend's vette, my Porsche -- if they sit for more than about 10 days the battery is noticeably drained - electronics, whatever, it happens.

Regardless, I bought a battery trickle charger and installed a plug in the bottom of the trunk and keep in plugged in when its sitting. You can check everything but you might just have a slightly weak battery (nromally it takes more than 6-7 days) and an otherwise normal car.

You might also consider buying a priority start. This will disconnect the system if a drain is occuring. All you have to do if it happens is push in the cigarette lighter and fire it up. You may or may not have to re-index the windows. No big thing and explained in the manual.

>Well, believe what you will.

>My 'vette, my friend's vette, my Porsche -- if they sit for more than about 10 days the battery is noticeably drained - electronics, whatever, it happens.


My C6 (June 05, manual) drains the battery within 4 days, yes, it is always parked and left in reverse!

My Porsche has been left undriven for 3 weeks and never drains the battery. Its electronics shutdown after 3 days and you need the key to get it open afterwards (no big deal).

It seems to me that the C6 has a problem in this area. The total keyless entry system doesn't allow the car to fully shutdown. The keyless entry system requires too much juice.

I think GM should have realized that many C6 owners would purchase them for occasional use, and should have provided a keyed entry backup thereby allowing the keyless solution to totally shutdown.

I see I am not the only person having this problem. I just joined this board but obviously should have looked here a long time ago. I have taken my 2005 Corvette to two different dealers in my area on four separate occasions and am now on my 3rd battery!!!!!! Their lame excuses were initially that it was a bad battery (that's 3 bad batteries, mind you) and they are now saying there is nothing wrong with my car at all. They even suggested I have it taken to another dealer for a "second opinion". (Well, actually third, but who's counting). Well when my car's battery went dead again after only 3 days (as I suspected it would) and I called the Roadside Assistance morons to come get this $45K piece of crap, they said they could only take it a max of 20 miles which would take it to the same dealer and refused to take it Jackson without me paying the difference for towing. I'm at the point now where I am ready to get rid of the car and finally agree with my dad that ALL American cars suck and it's no wonder the Japanese manufacturers are whipping our asses. If the quality were not bad enough just try the "service". So if anyone has any suggestions on what I should do next, PLEASE tell me.

Are you removing the transmitter (KEY) from the vehicle when it is parked in your garage? If not, the system stays powered up and will drain the battery in a short time. The transmitter must not be in close proximity to the car. Also, as previously mentioned, manual transmission cars must be parked in reverse.

>Are you removing the transmitter (KEY) from the vehicle when it is parked in your garage? If not, the system stays powered up and will drain the battery in a short time. The transmitter must not be in close proximity to the car. Also, as previously mentioned, manual transmission cars must be parked in reverse.

Always parked in reverse. The transmitter (KEY) is kept about 150 ft away from the car.

Is 150ft far enough away?? I always assumed so as we live in a large house, and the key is stored a decent distance (150ft) from the car in the garage. I must admit I never tested it, I will do that first thing when the C6 gets back from the shop.

What is "close proximity", should 150ft be enough?

The vette is currently "driving" us mad. Constant dead batteries and roof problems are leading me towards trading it in for a second Porsche. I'll never buy a "under development" car again!!!

I believe the usual range of the transmitter is 100 ft so I would think 150 ft would be good. Has your vehicle had anything added to it such as a LoJack system or anything else. Sometimes accessories are installed in the "hot at all times" dome lamp circuit and may prevent the Body Control Module from entering the sleep mode. I noticed that GM just issued a PI, (preliminary information) bulletin updating dead battery diagnosis. Be sure your dealer is using PIC3589A dated 6/14/06 when diagnosing your condition. I hope this helps!

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ORIGINAL: percentages

>Are you removing the transmitter (KEY) from the vehicle when it is parked in your garage? If not, the system stays powered up and will drain the battery in a short time. The transmitter must not be in close proximity to the car. Also, as previously mentioned, manual transmission cars must be parked in reverse.

Always parked in reverse. The transmitter (KEY) is kept about 150 ft away from the car.

Is 150ft far enough away?? I always assumed so as we live in a large house, and the key is stored a decent distance (150ft) from the car in the garage. I must admit I never tested it, I will do that first thing when the C6 gets back from the shop.

What is "close proximity", should 150ft be enough?

The vette is currently "driving" us mad. Constant dead batteries and roof problems are leading me towards trading it in for a second Porsche. I'll never buy a "under development" car again!!!

My battery is going dead when I use the onstar phone. I purchased the car in February, 06 vette, and have had this trouble off and on. Used all my minutes and it did not happen. Purchased more minutes and it has started again. Has this happend to anyone else. The articles that I have read talk about the transmitter can cause problems, are you referring to the fob? Help! The dealer has had every excuse from the electric garage door opener to the satelite dish on my house draining the battery. Any help would be appreciated.

>Has your vehicle had anything added to it such as a LoJack system or anything else. Sometimes accessories are installed in the "hot at all times" dome lamp circuit and may prevent the Body Control Module from entering the sleep mode.

That makes perfect sense......but, no "add-ons" here.

>I noticed that GM just issued a PI, (preliminary information) bulletin updating dead battery diagnosis. Be sure your dealer is using PIC3589A dated 6/14/06 when diagnosing your condition. I hope this helps!

Wow, I really don't know what that means, and I doubt my dealer will claim to either!.....More info would certainly help, I will do my best to investigate also. Are you saying that GM know they have a problem in this area? Any clues as to how I get to see PIC3589A dated 6/14/06? I'm a rookie at dealing with GM problems, Porsche just fix the problem and don't make their customers "get involved"!

TIA for any pointers on this subject :)

>PIC3589A dated 6/14/06

Okay, I found the above at a Caddie site and now understand better :)

But, I'm now even more confused:

1. Why was this document only published last month?

2. The document is a set of common sense procedures.......should these have not been in place for decades?

3. My logic dictates that there must be a "parasitic draw", and it must be a manufactured part of the C6 in many instances.........why is it taking so long to find?

Smells of a cover-up, to avoid another recall to me!

Someone else with the same dead battery problem! My car has been in the shop more than on the road. I have begun application for the NJ lemon law. I love my car, so if anyone can help me make the mechanics understand it is not me please tell me.

Penny.

I wish I could give you an informative answer, but, I can't.

All I can tell you is that our C6 had the same "dead battery" problem from the day we purchased it. During the "roof recall" process we kicked up a heck of a fuss due to GM's incompetence, and magically, at the same time, they managed to fix the "dead battery" issues??? Go Figure??

I asked repeatedly what they did to fix the "dead battery" problem, all I got was, "replace it". Yet they had done that numerous times before......I figure the odds of 4+ bad batteries are astronomical.......there is something they aren't telling us!

My only advice is to do what you are doing......."kick up a fuss"..........I'm sure eventually the problem will be revealed.

Percentages...please explain your "roof recall" issue? Is this a convertible top issue you are referring to? I know there was a recall on the tops when the C6 came out which delayed further production, that was part of why it took 14 months to get mine. Anyway, I stated in another post that I'm now starting to have common occurances with my top not going up/down...getting the message "attach trunk partician" when there's nothing wrong with the trunk partician in the first place.

Penny,

The "roof recall" issue I'm referring to was for the solid roof model. The plastics were badly glued down and had to be replaced. I saw the roof in its worst state, totally unattached, and at best held in place with 4 very small blobs of weak glue!!

I personally couldn't believe this had ever occurred at GM....but, the compensation suggested otherwise......they didn't put up a fight!

The "dead battery" is far more complex to solve in a car incorporating this amount of technology. We told the dealer there was "something" faulty 20+ times, they told us no, eventually they fixed it, but wouldn't tell us how!!!

I'm convinced there is a parasitic draw on many C6's.............proving it, is difficult to almost impossible!

Good Luck!

Have my ZO6 for 3 days and already have dead battery. Easy fix. Will leave it on trickle charge like the rest of my sports cars. Have had numerous dead batteries on my Porsches an Lamborghinis and now I just leave them on trickle and I have no problems. Too much technology and too much parasitic drains.Most people who own multiple sports cars have accepted trickle charging as normal routine! I don't think it's right but I don't want to give up my cars!