Battery dying or something else

[72C3]

Hi,
Yet another entry from me.  Another week another issue.  Jumped in the car to go to the club  breakfast this morning, went to start it and nothing.  Not even a click and no lights in the car or on the instrument cluster.  Managed to get it jump started and made breakfast OK.  Don't know why it went flat but it has been pretty reliable over the last couple of months.  Took it for a drive the previous Monday and everything was fine.  On the start leaving the coffee club, it turned over but it was struggling (the drive from home to the coffee club was about thirty minutes) and noticed on the way home that the voltage gauge on the console was constantly in the Plus (+) area.  The alternator light was not on at any stage of my drive.  Is it my battery or something more sinister?????

[gtc]

Your battery might be on the way out -- some batteries last a long time but others only give you 4 or 5 years at the most. Depends on usage. Infrequent usage can cause a battery to die young. You can get your battery tested at one of the suppliers.

Also get your wiring and connections checked. You may have a bad earth connection -- a not uncommon problem with early Vettes. This can cause sluggish starting even with a good battery.

Another possibility is that the battery is being drained while the car is not being used. C3 clocks can pull quite a bit of current, as can alarm systems. Even some radios with electronic tuning can pull a bit of current keeping the station memory alive.

Many of us use a battery disconnect switch (such as used on boats) when the car is not being used frequently. As well as that, you can use a "smart" battery charger that can be connected to the battery for long periods which will keep the battery in excellent condition without overcharging it. I have  a couple of Battery Fighters for that and they are great:

http://www.batteryfighter.com/product.html

[craigh]

 Also check for any battery drains.

I was caught out with the light that is in the rear middle storage compartment.

If its door was not 100%  shut the light would just keep draining the battery.

You don't see it as the door hides it.

I searched for using a multimeter for drains from all sorts of things but turned out to be that little light.

Normally the Vette can sit. For a long time and still crank over fine as early models have very little in the way of drains on the battery.

[72C3]

Finally took the car to get the battery checked.  We were a bit unsure as to the state of the battery but on further investigation we found that the fitted battery was a lead acid battery but it was not connected to the vent lines.  The vent lines were there but there was nothing on the end of the vent lines that attached to the battery. This can be pretty dangerous.
As the battery looked fairly old we decided to replace it and elected to use an AGM battery.  This guy in windsor got a duracell AGM battery that fitted perfectly.  Expensive as but it has a five year warranty and will do the job well for the next couple of years.  I guess only time will tell if it has fixed the original issue.  Might have to invest in a disconnect switch.
If you are in the market for a battery give "Batteries Cheap" in Windsor a call. I saved 90 dollars on the normal retail of the duracell battery.  This duracell was the only battery that had more cranking power than was advertised on the actual battery.  He tested a couple of other brands and they couldn't even reach there advertised rating. Graham is his name.