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Undrivable 2007 vert w/electric problem(s)

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primeratec5

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Need some help folks-----I have a 2007 vert that has had battery related problems from day 1-mid October delivery. Not wanting to bother dealer, I simply put battery tender on (A habit I formed as a C5 owner) and drove when I wanted. During the last few months problem got worse as I had to be "jumped" several times after driving for an half hour or so. Three weeks ago, I parked car in garage and forgot to hook up the tender. The next day a guy came to spray my house and in a hurry, I hooked cables to wrong poles for just a second or two....reversed them to proper poles but battery was dead. Called dealer, they replaced battery and that worked for a day. They came and got car a second time and now have had it over 2 weeks and problem still exists.
They have replaced battery,alternater,ECM,BCM, and ignition switch to no avail.

Car starts, runs ok for 15-20 minutes, quits charging and car then runs on battery til it dies. Dealer has been super but is getting heat from GM because of a few mods that I had done. Hooked V1 to wires behind mirror with Invisicord---they made me disconnect.

Cars had had headers,cats,exhaust system,air intake and filters changed from original but Tuner says nothing done anywhere near electronics. GM is questioning this but I need input so dealer can solve problem soon. Anybody out there with suggestions that I can take back to dealer.............................thanks
 
Hi there,
They are probably getting heat because of all the parts they have charged GM for, but havent fixed the problem.
First, the alternator is PCM controlled, but its only as good as the wiring running to and from the alternator.
There is a 12 volt supply running INTO the alternator, from the fuse block, pin D. Alternator field duty cycle signal to the PCM, pin F, and the actual turn on circuit, pin B.
So, if the PCM did NOT set any codes, then the alternator is working correctly as far as being turned on and the field being generated.
So then, there are 3 possibilities. 1, the connection at the starter, under the headers is not tight. or 2, the fusible link in that circuit from the alternator to the starter is burned, occasionally touching together creating the intermittant charging, or 3, the wire to the starter is simply bad.
So, there is a very simple way to determine if the alternator is charging.
Measure the voltage at the back of the alternator BATT cable and then measure it down at the starter.
Allthebest, c4c5
 
c4c5specialist,

Thank you for the reply.........I'll take this to the dealership Monday.....They have a mechanic that works on Corvettes but he has been away during the last 3 weeks. Hopefully he will be able to figure this thing out so I can cruise again..........This car has been super other than this (now rather serious) problem.

primeratec5
 
Possibly the headers,cats,exhaust system are too close to the wires? Or during installation something was bumped.
You may want to "color code" your battery tender leads to avoid cross polarity in the future. I have mine color coded just for this purpose. The chances are probably 1000:1 and I'm probably about 5 times overdue!
 
Thanks for your reply, Norty. That was the first thing checked and has since been double-checked and everything appears ok there.

I met with the service manager today to get a complete briefing of where we are and where we are going. It seems that since I crossed the polarity that a zillion things that could go wrong. Isolating the problem(s) that are causing drain is now a priority. GM/Corvette Tech is committed to fixing my problem since it appears there was an electrical problem that pretty much ties into the delivery of the car and for that I am truly grateful. They plan to have a guru that specializes in electronics read the codes and what ever else the computers spit out. Hope to have my car back in my garage by the fourth of July. Your idea of painting the poles is great---think I'll get red rustoleum for the positive pole and go from there. One lesson this kid has learned is not to do anything re electrical in a hurry again.
 
Update--after 3 + weeks, the problem has been discovered. There are plug in connectors in the alternator and on one of the plugs, one of the contacts was not making contact. How they found it I do not know but car seems to be running ok now.
 

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