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Chevrolet Corvette Electrical Problems

89 messages,  Last post on Dec 03, 2009 at 7:24 PM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Corvette, Exterior, Security System, Electrical, Coupe, Convertible

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#59 of 89 Re: Battery dead and hood locked after winter storage [archiefriend] by nauti Apr 05, 2009 (3:10 pm)
Replying to: archiefriend (Apr 05, 2009 8:17 am) Not familiar with the newer vettes..but I do know that all newer chevys are notorious for their batteries dying if vehicle is not at least started and ran for a few minutes every 2 weeks or so... Perhaps file a complaint at url : http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov In the meantime.. Good Luck!!
#60 of 89 Re: Battery dead and hood locked after winter storage [archiefriend] by bolivar Apr 06, 2009 (2:53 am)
Replying to: archiefriend (Apr 05, 2009 8:17 am) First, you need to read your manual. Whoever delivered the car to you should have also explained all the following to you.   There are ways to enter and exit your Corvette when the battery is dead.   Along the left side of drivers seat, and the right side of passenger seat are small levers which will manually open the doors from the inside.   You have a regular 'key' which will open the rear hatch via a lock above the license plate. Then, there is a pull tab inside the hatch on the left wall which will open the driver door.   Yes, Corvettes have a somewhat significant battery drain at all times. You did not drive the car for about 5-6 months. Especially if the battery was not fully charged when you shut it down, this might be 'normal' results - a dead battery. The battery could have been significantly discharged while new with doors being left open, many short drives around the lot, etc, etc, etc. And 100 miles might have never brought the battery up to full charge, especially if you only made short trips, left the doors open, etc, etc. And then you let it sit for 5-6 months. You did not leave the 'FOB' inside the car all this time, did you? This will really discharge the car, since the system thinks you are about to start the car and remains 'awake' all the time, with a significant power drain. When you park the car, move the FOB outside the car. I would recommend at least 10 feet or more. This should let the car go into sleep mode with minimum discharge. But the car is drawing some power all the time. The car has to be able to recognize when the FOB approaches the car within 3 feed in order to automatically unlock the doors, if locked. It then senses the FOB when inside. Also, by 2009, all Corvettes had Onstar as a standard feature, if you/dealer activated it (first year free, so it was probably activated), Onstar will query the car once a month to check the sensors, so the Onstar system remains 'awake' all the time. I receive an email each month which reports various status items on my car. This monthly query will pull some power.   Overall, don't leave a modern car will a large set of electrical features for this long without running it. Or, remove the negative battery cable, or better still, put a trickle charger on the battery all the time when stored.   Now, about the hood that won't open. This is a very unusal case. Are you SURE you are pulling on the latch inside the drivers footwell correctly?   If it will not open, I would not want the car dragged out of my garage and loaded on a wrecker to be taken to the garage. But, with a manual tranny, you can at least get the tranny into neutal so the car will roll and can be pulled onto a truck.   What I would do, is have the dealer send someone out that knows how to 'jump' the car from the bottom. The car can be jacked up on the right side and a charger or 'jump box' can be attached from the right under side to the positive terminal on the starter, and a ground somewhere under there. The car should then start. And then drive it to the dealer and let them try to get the hood open. I only hope they don't break something getting into it.   Oh, and jacking up a Corvette is not an ordinary operation either. The jack has to be positioned in the correct place on the side of the car. If it is placed under the plastic painted side panels, which wrap around and under the car, the panel will definitely crack, and these are not easily repaired. Jack only on the open place on the bottom where the plastic, painted panel is not at.    I don't see this as a 'failure' on the car. A lot of this you seem to be unaware of, but this is an electrically complicated auto, and should not be expected to be left for 5 months without being started or having a charger attached.   Good luck. When you get into the car, I recommend a new battery, because this one being left deeply discharged for quite some time, will probably again quickly fail, even after being charged, causing future problems.   Also, after a dead battery, the windows need to be 'indexed'. I'm leaving this item as something you can find in the owners manual and do. In general, read the manual, there is a world of info in there you need to know.
#61 of 89 Key Fob failure by frambo Apr 09, 2009 (7:45 pm)
Regarding the experience in the keyless vets where the doors let you in,but once inside the car wont start and the doors wont open. This also seems to happen with a dead fob-battery. That happened to me, but I did know about the emergency release knob. This initially triggered the alarm, but then the door opened. Moreover if it is just a dead battery in the fob, there is a slot in the glove compartment for the fob, which signals the transmitter even if the battery in the fob is dead. This worked fine for me and the car started.      By the way, if the vet is running already and you let someone else drive it alone and you forget to give them the key and dont tell them about the emergency release they can get trapped as well. That is a lawsuit waiting to happen IMO, especially on an electric top convertible
#62 of 89 Re: guage cluster wont light up [mopartr] by grandstaff Apr 16, 2009 (1:47 am)
Replying to: mopartr (Nov 23, 2007 10:45 am) Hi, I was wondering if you fixed your instrument lighting problem? I have exactly the same issue with my 87 convertible. I used to be able to lightly tap the dash and they would come back on. Now they are out all the time. Also when the background lights are not working the emergency flasher and bright light indicator stay on all the time. Like you in the right light I can see all the gauges functioning. My last attempt at repairing this problem I pulled the instrument cluster and replaced the 4 lights. Still have the same problem. Any advise from your experience? I would welcome thoughts from anyone else as well. PMG
#63 of 89 ekctrical by streetrodder2 Apr 17, 2009 (5:10 pm)
I am working with my friend on his 2001 Corvette and there is a constant drain on the battery where after a couple of days the battery is dead. We have disconnected everything on the car but hear a click like a relay in the nose of the car every time we connect the battery up. We have pulled fuses on everything, one at a time but still get the clicking sound no matter what we do. It' not that easy to get at anything in front of the radiator to see what might be causing the problem. I know there are some knowedgeable guys out there that may be able to help. We would sure appreciate any help. Thank You Replies to this message: bolivar (Apr 19, 2009 11:07 pm)
#64 of 89 Re: ekctrical [streetrodder2] by bolivar Apr 19, 2009 (11:07 pm)
Replying to: streetrodder2 (Apr 17, 2009 5:10 pm) Well, since you seen to be open to wild guesses, I'll throw out the click being relay/s for the electric fans on the radiator. I'm not sure if this is the power drain or not.   When pulling the fuses, have you gotten access to an ampmeter with a significant power capability (saying this because the ampmeter on most multimeters usually cannot handle much power), somthing that can manage 2 or 3 amps.   When you have this, put the ampmeter in series with the positive battery cable. In other words, wire it up so all the power to the car runs thru the ampmeter. Then, you should see how much power is being pulled. And start pulling fuses. When the power drops, you have at least finally found the circuit that is draining the battery. And, then the real fun starts when you try to find what component in the circuit has the problem.   You are going to almost surely need the factory service manual to find this, unless you just stumble on the problem.   There might be a problem in the alternator and it pulls power all the time, and this might not be fused thru the regular fuses. I'm not sure how to check for this.   On, and here is my stand standard comment about electrical problem. If the car has an after market security system, remote starting system, or heavy duty stereo added on - these are the first things I would suspect. These systems all are cut into various parts of the electronics, and when their electronic components and/or connections start to go had - you are going to get electrical problems.
#65 of 89 ECM by dtrost92 Apr 24, 2009 (7:33 am)
the dealership in Ohio has not been able to locate a new ECM to replace defective part. anyone have one for sale? 1992 bucks/stalls panel lights up like a christmas tree and then shuts down...never know when it will do it...leave it set for 1-2 days and resets itself..help? spring is here and I want to put the top down and cruise..it is in the shop more than on the road
#66 of 89 1978 corvette by zr1z71lt1 May 10, 2009 (7:38 pm)
Dome lite does not come on when the door is opened? Replies to this message: bolivar (May 12, 2009 12:50 am) zr1z71lt1 (May 21, 2009 5:17 pm)
#67 of 89 Re: 1978 corvette [zr1z71lt1] by bolivar May 12, 2009 (12:50 am)
Replying to: zr1z71lt1 (May 10, 2009 7:38 pm) The little button in the door frame is dirty or broken? Replies to this message: zr1z71lt1 (May 21, 2009 5:17 pm)
#68 of 89 Re: Corvette C6: Electrical/Accessory problems [bhill2] by slimmerson May 21, 2009 (1:33 am)
Replying to: bhill2 (Mar 19, 2009 5:27 pm) I finally took it to the dealer and they replaced the motor and regulator, it was a little pricy but it has worked so what can I say? Replies to this message: zr1z71lt1 (May 21, 2009 5:19 pm)

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