I went to start my 01' black six speed convertible on Sunday and all I got was clicks. The starter would not turn over. Am I correct in assuming this is due to a discharged battery. The car stays in my unheated garage and I last started it on 12/18/06. I have a small one amp battery charger that I have hooked up to the battery now for about 28 hours. As of 7:00pm Monday evening, I am still getting the clicks and the engine will not turn over. Using my digital testing meter, the battery is reading about 11.7 volts. Does the battery have to be closer to 14 volts before it has enough power to turn the starter? Thanks for your help.[]

 

At 11.7 volt your battery is dead and that mickey mouse charger wont charge it either. You are right, a full battery should have between 13.7/14.3 volts.

 

It sounds like the battery is discharged, and if you check back six months or so there were various threads about starting problems when you leave a 'vette parked for more than about seven days in a row. I posted a picture of a trickle charger I leave my car on when parked (it often goes a week without being driven, and others in the forum have similar chargers. The 'vette has a small appetite for power while sitting, keeping all the computers alive (and an alarm if you have that activated) and if the battery is the least bit old and weak the thingmay go only a week and then not start.

1 amp for 28 hours you have added 28 amp hours to your battery which should fill it enough to get some response. It may be that it is either old, or that nearly two full weeks was long enough to drain it to where it is not going to respond well. You could try putting it on a real heavy duty charger, but it may be time for a new battery (and a trickle charger if you plan to leave it sitting long periods during the winter.

 

Yep
you have a dead battery. Just testing the voltage like that isn't sufficient enought to tell you whether that battery is good or not. Get yourself a voltage tester that will test the battery under load. They are cheap, and is a much more accurate test for weak or dead batteries.

 

A fully charged battery should hold around 12.5v. You can put your volt meter across battery terminals and see what voltage the battery drops to, which will probably fall like a stone. A good load check (200 amps) will reveal that too, as a good battery should not drop below 9 v @ 200 amps. Sounds like your battery has shorted out.

 

Is it the original battery? If so, it might be at the end of its life. By the way, the OEM AC Delco AGM batteries (installed in 2001-2003 C5s) like to be charged with 10-15 amps. I asked AC Delco a while back and they told me that trickle charging is not recommended for their AGM (glass mat) batteries.

If your battery is dead, you might want to look ito a new AC Delco battery. The Professional series carry a 50-month free-replacement warranty (7 year total warranty) and according to AC Delco, all batteries made during the last several years have much stronger cases for added durability.

Dave

 

Thanks guys for all your comments. Since this is the original battery that came with the car, I am going to just buy a new battery and stop messing around with trying to keep this one charged. In the auto parts stores in my area, I can get a new ACDelco 60 month battery for about $82.00. Also available is the Optima Red Top battery which costs about $150.00, or almostdouble the price of the ACDelcobattery. Is it worth it to spend the extra money for the Optima battery; or is it just a waste of money. Would the ACDelco battery be almost as good? How would the ACDelcobattery tolerate only being started approximately every two weeks during the winter. How well doyou think the Optima battery would handle this lack of regular use?

 

Make sure you get the professional series. I believe the 72 or 84 month battery is $90. The Optima is a leakproof battery, but as I mentioned, AC DElco has strengthened their battery cases considerably to prevent leaks from cracks.

Neither battery likes to be left unused for long periods of time. I suggest that you buy a Battery Tender Plus for long stretches of inactivity. It is the brand that is recommended by AC Delco. That being said, I should also mention that a healthy battery wil be able to sit for two weeks, as long as it is fully charged again after startup. Still, the Battry Tender is the way to go, just to be safe.

Dave