Good day, gentlemen! I bought my first 1985 corvette yesterday, and I am *very* excited. My whole goal is to learn more about my own cars, to be able to do it myself, and not be reliant on someone else. (Full disclosure: I have decades of experience handing wrenches to my mechanic/farmer father, but he was always too busy to teach me. So I'm a damned great assistant, but that's it. I'm at sea when I try to troubleshoot it all by myself. I'm determined to change that with this car.)

I've bought a legit service manual (not yet arrived), but I've got an issue I have to deal with before it arrives: the battery.

I called O'Reilly's to check on inventory, and they said the computer came up with a response that said the battery was difficult to replace on an '85 Corvette and should be done professionally. Is that true?? I'm looking at it, and I don't see what's so difficult? But please, save me from myself. I've replaced the battery in other cars I've owned ('02 cavalier, '89 camry, '06 corolla) and it wasn't rocket science. Am I missing something here?

Second question: I've got a right turn signal issue. It lights up on the dash, but stays steady; no blinking. It's also a steady light on the front right, and nothing on the back. Does that sound like the flasher unit?

I'm as green as a spring meadow here, to use an old expression. Just trying to learn. I greatly appreciate any thoughts or advice. Thank you for your time!

Additional context: I've got no known wiring issues. Everything on the dash lights up, all lights work, all electrical works. Not to say that couldn't be the issue, but that's not been a problem heretofore. It's a 2 owner, 51k car.

 

SuperJenny,

Access is not difficult but it's a bit more than a simple removal of the cables and the battery hold down. You Will have to remove the side panel to the immediate left of the battery. This requires you to remove the Fender Skirt bolts fastened into that side skirt panel, then the upper and lower bolts that hold the skirt panel in place. (Upper is simple to get to, the lower requires an open-end wrench (10mm I think). The lower skirt bolt only needs to be loosened and not removed as the skirt panel hold-down is grooved (open ended hole) and should just slide out. This will then give you access to the battery hold-down and the battery terminals themselves. Not difficult, but take your time as the side panel is a painted surface and you do not want to scratch/ damage that. Post battery install it's just the reverse order of the removal (I know, duh!)

For the Turn-Signal, if the front illuminates and the rear does not and it does not flash (toggle on/off as expected) , try replacing that rear bulb first. A good way to test the flasher, for me, is the test the hazard lights, If they flash, it's not the flasher.

 

superjenny: Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you're in good hands.