Battery losing charge

Drysideshooter · 01-23-2017, 03:35 PM

My 2016 2SS Convertible is having a battery/discharge issue. I've only driven it 12 miles from the dealership to the house as our roads have been horrible. Last week I was setting some of the infotainment stuff and got a low battery message on the instrument cluster display. I hooked up a 2A slow charge on the car until it was fully charged.

Today I wanted to install the Blendmount that just arrived. I got in the car and put the top down and installed the mount. When I went to put the top back up I got the low battery message again. I hooked the charger up and sure enough it was only showing 11.1 volts. I don't think it should get that low after just putting the top down without the motor running should it?

I am guessing that it's either the battery, or there is some kind of draw on the battery when everything is shut down that there shouldn't be.

Any ideas? Once the roads improve significantly I will make an appointment to take it in.

Stex · 01-23-2017, 04:33 PM

UR post is not clear. How long are you letting the car (and battery ) sit between drives. Ur post make it look like you only have 12 miles on the car and it has sat since? If sitting long periods you will need a trickle charger.

Also I would think the top up and down is a significant draw and would be wise to start car for such.

And last just take the car to a parts place and let them run a handheld load/battery check.

Edit: ur past posts look like you have added a few things that maybe drawing (depending on installation) on the bat. disconnect anything added and see if draw continues. Ignore if you are letting the car sit for weeks.

Drysideshooter · 01-23-2017, 05:17 PM

The car is in a climate controlled shop. It sat for a week since last being charged and the battery was low again this morning after only putting the top down, not even a full cycle. No other loads on in the car. The key fob was about ten feet away. Doesn't seem like the battery should get low after a week of setting.

Thankfully, I am a CEO of a decent sized company and a fleet customer. I called the dealership's fleet department this morning and they said to bring it in when the roads are better. I'm guessing it's either a bad battery, or there is something draining it that shouldn't be.

Drysideshooter · 01-26-2017, 03:13 PM

Fully charged the battery. Waited 12 hours and it was reading 12.7 volts, which is fully charged. Two days later of just setting and it's reading 12.3 volts, which is approximately 70% charged. Has to be a bad battery or there is something drawing it down that shouldn't be. That's too much charge to lose in two days.

Once the roads improve I'll make an appointment at the dealer. Somewhat disappointing considering it's a new car that has only been driven home from the dealership and then parked due to weather conditions. Been setting in a climate controlled shop the whole time.

cellsafemode · 01-26-2017, 04:08 PM

cold temperatures alter the charge of the battery. So your full charge reading while charging ...a process that heats the battery up is accurate and all but your checking of the voltage while it's probably at freezing temperature is not accurate. I mean, it's accurate in that yes, it's 12.3 volts but your assumption that this is a 30% drop due to current draw is not.

If you're lucky and have a charger that tracks the current sent to the battery, like a general RC hobby battery charger would have, you can tell for sure by charging it and seeing just how many amps it takes to reach fully charged again.

Drysideshooter · 01-26-2017, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cellsafemode

cold temperatures alter the charge of the battery. So your full charge reading while charging ...a process that heats the battery up is accurate and all but your checking of the voltage while it's probably at freezing temperature is not accurate. I mean, it's accurate in that yes, it's 12.3 volts but your assumption that this is a 30% drop due to current draw is not.

If you're lucky and have a charger that tracks the current sent to the battery, like a general RC hobby battery charger would have, you can tell for sure by charging it and seeing just how many amps it takes to reach fully charged again.

Did you not read where I said it is in a climate controlled shop? It's 65 degrees and 35% humidity. It was charged in the shop, and I waited 12 hours to read the voltage so that any residual effect from the charging was diminished. It was 12.7 volts at that point, which is fully charged. A battery at 12.3 volts is roughly 30% discharged from a fully charged 12.7 volts, that's just a fact.

My point is that in 48 hours if a battery goes from fully charged to 70% charged there is a problem.

woodstock · 01-26-2017, 06:56 PM

Sounds like a bad cell in the battery or possibly a lose connection.

Stex · 01-26-2017, 07:20 PM

Lock??????????????????

Drysideshooter · 01-26-2017, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stex

Lock??????????????????

What do you mean Stex?

warriordave927 · 01-27-2017, 10:21 AM

Youve got to consider the cars production date and how long the car possibly sat at the dealership before you bought it,i believe our batteries are agm but i could be wrong so if its been discharged before and had to have been recharged it could have a bad cell like someone mentioned above

Drysideshooter · 01-27-2017, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warriordave927

Youve got to consider the cars production date and how long the car possibly sat at the dealership before you bought it,i believe our batteries are agm but i could be wrong so if its been discharged before and had to have been recharged it could have a bad cell like someone mentioned above

That's what I'm suspecting at this point too warriordave. I have a load tester that I loaned to a friend to take to Idaho. He'll be back this Sunday and I'm going to test the battery a bit more. Once the roads improve I'll take it to the dealer.

Rock-It Man · 01-28-2017, 07:35 AM

Are you saying that your car has a total of 12 miles on it since delivered?

If so, it hasn't been driven enough to charge the battery. Leave it connecter to a Battery Tender (not an emergency charger). You will need the Battery Tender anyway, since you live in an area where your car will be grounded for weeks on end during the winter.

Yellow6thGen · 01-28-2017, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rock-It Man

Are you saying that your car has a total of 12 miles on it since delivered?

If so, it hasn't been driven enough to charge the battery. Leave it connecter to a Battery Tender (not an emergency charger). You will need the Battery Tender anyway, since you live in an area where your car will be grounded for weeks on end during the winter.

Yep what he said....

Drysideshooter · 01-30-2017, 06:35 AM

I have several other vehicles that get parked in the winter, and several of them stay on a tender. I've only owned the Camaro for about a month. The battery, after being fully charged goes from 12.7 volts (which is what a fully charged 12v battery should read) down to 12.3 volts (which is only about a 70% charge) in two days. That isn't normal.

I got my tester back yesterday. The battery only tests at 422CCA, so there is deffenitely a problem with the battery itself.

01-23-2017, 03:35 PM	#1
Drysideshooter Drives: 2016 2SS Convertible Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Eastern Washington Posts: 110	Battery losing charge My 2016 2SS Convertible is having a battery/discharge issue. I've only driven it 12 miles from the dealership to the house as our roads have been horrible. Last week I was setting some of the infotainment stuff and got a low battery message on the instrument cluster display. I hooked up a 2A slow charge on the car until it was fully charged. Today I wanted to install the Blendmount that just arrived. I got in the car and put the top down and installed the mount. When I went to put the top back up I got the low battery message again. I hooked the charger up and sure enough it was only showing 11.1 volts. I don't think it should get that low after just putting the top down without the motor running should it? I am guessing that it's either the battery, or there is some kind of draw on the battery when everything is shut down that there shouldn't be. Any ideas? Once the roads improve significantly I will make an appointment to take it in.

01-26-2017, 06:56 PM	#7
woodstock Drives: 2012 Corvette Grand Sport Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: martinez Ga. Posts: 503	Sounds like a bad cell in the battery or possibly a lose connection. __________________ Casper is a 2012 Corvette Grand Sport w/ Heritage package.

01-23-2017, 04:33 PM	#2
Stex Drives: 67 goat, 69 goat ram air III Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: South texas Posts: 1,443	UR post is not clear. How long are you letting the car (and battery ) sit between drives. Ur post make it look like you only have 12 miles on the car and it has sat since? If sitting long periods you will need a trickle charger. Also I would think the top up and down is a significant draw and would be wise to start car for such. And last just take the car to a parts place and let them run a handheld load/battery check. Edit: ur past posts look like you have added a few things that maybe drawing (depending on installation) on the bat. disconnect anything added and see if draw continues. Ignore if you are letting the car sit for weeks.

01-23-2017, 05:17 PM	#3
Drysideshooter Drives: 2016 2SS Convertible Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Eastern Washington Posts: 110	The car is in a climate controlled shop. It sat for a week since last being charged and the battery was low again this morning after only putting the top down, not even a full cycle. No other loads on in the car. The key fob was about ten feet away. Doesn't seem like the battery should get low after a week of setting. Thankfully, I am a CEO of a decent sized company and a fleet customer. I called the dealership's fleet department this morning and they said to bring it in when the roads are better. I'm guessing it's either a bad battery, or there is something draining it that shouldn't be.

01-26-2017, 03:13 PM	#4
Drysideshooter Drives: 2016 2SS Convertible Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Eastern Washington Posts: 110	Fully charged the battery. Waited 12 hours and it was reading 12.7 volts, which is fully charged. Two days later of just setting and it's reading 12.3 volts, which is approximately 70% charged. Has to be a bad battery or there is something drawing it down that shouldn't be. That's too much charge to lose in two days. Once the roads improve I'll make an appointment at the dealer. Somewhat disappointing considering it's a new car that has only been driven home from the dealership and then parked due to weather conditions. Been setting in a climate controlled shop the whole time.

01-26-2017, 04:08 PM	#5
cellsafemode Drives: 2016 Camaro 1LT Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: California Posts: 3,491	cold temperatures alter the charge of the battery. So your full charge reading while charging ...a process that heats the battery up is accurate and all but your checking of the voltage while it's probably at freezing temperature is not accurate. I mean, it's accurate in that yes, it's 12.3 volts but your assumption that this is a 30% drop due to current draw is not. If you're lucky and have a charger that tracks the current sent to the battery, like a general RC hobby battery charger would have, you can tell for sure by charging it and seeing just how many amps it takes to reach fully charged again.

01-26-2017, 07:20 PM	#8
Stex Drives: 67 goat, 69 goat ram air III Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: South texas Posts: 1,443	Lock??????????????????

01-27-2017, 10:21 AM	#10
warriordave927 Deadpool Drives: 2016 camaro lt rs m6 redhot Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: El Paso Tx Posts: 250	Youve got to consider the cars production date and how long the car possibly sat at the dealership before you bought it,i believe our batteries are agm but i could be wrong so if its been discharged before and had to have been recharged it could have a bad cell like someone mentioned above

01-28-2017, 07:35 AM	#12
Rock-It Man 376 cubic inches of fun Drives: 2023 Camaro ZL1 A10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: MA Posts: 4,033 View My Garage	Are you saying that your car has a total of 12 miles on it since delivered? If so, it hasn't been driven enough to charge the battery. Leave it connecter to a Battery Tender (not an emergency charger). You will need the Battery Tender anyway, since you live in an area where your car will be grounded for weeks on end during the winter.

01-30-2017, 06:35 AM	#14
Drysideshooter Drives: 2016 2SS Convertible Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Eastern Washington Posts: 110	I have several other vehicles that get parked in the winter, and several of them stay on a tender. I've only owned the Camaro for about a month. The battery, after being fully charged goes from 12.7 volts (which is what a fully charged 12v battery should read) down to 12.3 volts (which is only about a 70% charge) in two days. That isn't normal. I got my tester back yesterday. The battery only tests at 422CCA, so there is deffenitely a problem with the battery itself.

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