Bumleb's Camaro battery cable issue is almost Fixed, Issue Solved

[Bumleb]

Original thread stating problem with car -- http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20125

First and foremost I want to THANK EVERYONE who responded with great ideas and suggestions. I'm so thankful to all that lended their experiences and wise knowledge. I joined this forum because I googled my car and found it on this website. Wild it was my car that brought me here. Also, I want those that thought I was kidding or lying to know that I simply posted what I did for information purposes. I hope that my experience could only be heard by others and maybe prevent or help someone else. I understand that this car is new and the first one in a long time, I know there will be bumps, this is why I wish to share and be shared with. Knowledge is power afterall. I will not pretend to know a lot about my car, for I am a girl... Just kidding. I have already learned so much from this website.

To all that said the Decepticons had a hand in it. I concur. That was absolutely my first thought.

So without further ado. We heard from the dealership, not but 3 hours after they opened and get this.... the battery cable that is routed from the trunk was routed near the starter and rubbed against it. The insulation wore through and the cable shorted out the starter causing a chain reaction, shutting the car down. They have not replaced the battery, and don't plan to. They are going to test it though. I sure do hope it's ok. I don't want to think about my battery being compromised. It's covered though, right? A new battery cable is reordered and should be installed Wednesday morning. They have also rerouted the cable. I should have my baby back Wednesday. I'm so so thankful.

So to all new camaro owners , hopefully my incident is isolated and I am one of few, rather one of one! But, if for any reason your new camaro should just shut down, check the battery cable near the starter.

Again, thank you all for the wonderful responses. I'm so grateful to have joined such a wonderful forum. Glad I became a member, wish I would have joined years ago, or whenever it was started. I will be sure to hold a photo session when I get my car back and I will post for all to see.

Speechlessly Gracious,
S. OR BUMLEB

[bbody ss]

Easy fix and glad it wasnt nothing major, probaly a lazy factory worker.

[GothamCamaro]

Originally Posted by Bumleb

First and foremost I want to THANK EVERYONE who responded with great ideas and suggestions. I'm so thankful to all that lended their experiences and wise knowledge. I joined this forum because I googled my car and found it on this website. Wild it was my car that brought me here. Also, I want those that thought I was kidding or lying to know that I simply posted what I did for information purposes. I hope that my experience could only be heard by others and maybe prevent or help someone else. I understand that this car is new and the first one in a long time, I know there will be bumps, this is why I wish to share and be shared with. Knowledge is power afterall. I will not pretend to know a lot about my car, for I am a girl... Just kidding. I have already learned so much from this website.

To all that said the Decepticons had a hand in it. I concur. That was absolutely my first thought.

So without further ado. We heard from the dealership, not but 3 hours after they opened and get this.... the battery cable that is routed from the trunk was routed near the starter and rubbed against it. The insulation wore through and the cable shorted out the starter causing a chain reaction, shutting the car down. They have not replaced the battery, and don't plan to. They are going to test it though. I sure do hope it's ok. I don't want to think about my battery being compromised. It's covered though, right? A new battery cable is reordered and should be installed Wednesday morning. They have also rerouted the cable. I should have my baby back Wednesday. I'm so so thankful.

So to all new camaro owners , hopefully my incident is isolated and I am one of few, rather one of one! But, if for any reason your new camaro should just shut down, check the battery cable near the starter.

Again, thank you all for the wonderful responses. I'm so grateful to have joined such a wonderful forum. Glad I became a member, wish I would have joined years ago, or whenever it was started. I will be sure to hold a photo session when I get my car back and I will post for all to see.

Speechlessly Gracious,
S. OR BUMLEB

Good to hear! I was reading your post earlier today and was hoping for a fast fix. Awesome!

[Bumleb]

Originally Posted by bbody ss

Easy fix and glad it wasnt nothing major, probaly a lazy factory worker.

I'm sure they are all on their toes. Just a simple mistake, hopefully.

[69-er]

I will keep this fix for future reference. I gonna see if there is a routing problem on my car similar to yours. I wonder if they are all routed where there is a chance of chafing or if yours was just routed incorrectly?

Also, who can explain why/how the key can't be removed if there is no power? Doesn't make sense.

[fazm]

glad its an easy fix for you. whats scary about this though is its a problem that could effect more than 1

[CWIweldace]

Great to hear it was something simple. Sounds like the protection circuits did their job. Hopefully this did not create any other electronic issues with your car. I'll forward this thread to my dealer so they can check mine during PDI. Thanks for making us all aware of this issue right away and welcome to Camaro5.

[Panther67]

Very happy to hear that it was not something major to deal with, thank you for sharing your ordeal experience that didnt turn out to be a serious headache this is the reason for the forum so every one of us can lend a helping hand in case something comes up,KUDOS to you Bumleb from the people at Camaro5 happy trails..................... .........

[DkknightX]

Originally Posted by bbody ss

Easy fix and glad it wasnt nothing major, probaly a lazy factory worker.

I think The Mole thought it was my car.

[catmaster1]

I will be checking this issue along with any other that may pop up on my car when it arrives.

[TomServo]

I've lurked on this, did the car just DIE w/o warning?? If so I'd hate to have that happen at freeway speeds or in a turn. And I hope it was just "your" cable that was "mis-routed" and not a design flaw. That would most likely spell our first RECALL.

[PewterPhil]

Whatever normally holds that cable in place must have come loose giving the cable enough slack to rub on the starter or what ever it was rubbing on. Also must have been doing it for a while because it is not super easy to rub off the insulation that quickly unless there is some semi-violent bouncing around of the cable itself. How many miles on the car when you got it?

This (to me at least) is wierd. I have worked on cars all my life and all I can think is that someone on the line was having a bad day that day. Something was not secured correctly from the start. Hopefully it is isolated. You should ask them to show you the worn cable so you can get a pic of it and post it here. I would love to see it as I'm sure everyone else would as well.

Glad your car is fixed though. I hope that this is the last problem you ever have. Good luck.

[Bumleb]

Originally Posted by TomServo

I've lurked on this, did the car just DIE w/o warning?? If so I'd hate to have that happen at freeway speeds or in a turn. And I hope it was just "your" cable that was "mis-routed" and not a design flaw. That would most likely spell our first RECALL.

That was my husbands first thoughts. What if we were on a mountain road passing, with minimal shoulder space. Not even a thought I want to think about.

So thankful it happened going only a few miles per hour and thankfully the car didn't catch fire. Not even a thought I want in my head. "out, out, out"....

[Bumleb]

Originally Posted by PewterPhil

Whatever normally holds that cable in place must have come loose giving the cable enough slack to rub on the starter or what ever it was rubbing on. Also must have been doing it for a while because it is not super easy to rub off the insulation that quickly unless there is some semi-violent bouncing around of the cable itself. How many miles on the car when you got it?

This (to me at least) is wierd. I have worked on cars all my life and all I can think is that someone on the line was having a bad day that day. Something was not secured correctly from the start. Hopefully it is isolated. You should ask them to show you the worn cable so you can get a pic of it and post it here. I would love to see it as I'm sure everyone else would as well.

Glad your car is fixed though. I hope that this is the last problem you ever have. Good luck.

Less than 40 miles. There were 3 miles when it got off the delivery truck. And other 20 put on my the dealership. Before I drove it home there were either 22 or 24 miles on it.

[One Mean Chevy]

Originally Posted by TomServo

I've lurked on this, did the car just DIE w/o warning?? If so I'd hate to have that happen at freeway speeds or in a turn. And I hope it was just "your" cable that was "mis-routed" and not a design flaw. That would most likely spell our first RECALL.

I doubt it is a design flaw because they would have had CTF dropping like flies. More Likely human error.

[Bumleb]

I will ask for the old parts. Evidence right.... I asked the service advisor what the life of the battery should be. He said 4 years. So I said, if it goes bad in a year, it's covered, right. With this happening, speculations are that the life of the battery is compromised.

[superstockcam]

Ah, sounds like when my 69 Camaro rear starter bracket came loose shorted right on the terminal... the main issue then was being in the middle of the desert between Kingman and Phoenix at 3am! that problem took 20 minutes to repair and the battery was fine.

[CommandoSS]

Originally Posted by Bumleb

I will ask for the old parts. Evidence right.... I asked the service advisor what the life of the battery should be. He said 4 years. So I said, if it goes bad in a year, it's covered, right. With this happening, speculations are that the life of the battery is compromised.

Personally, I would just go buy an Optima Redtop (or Yellowtop), take it to the dealership, and tell them to put it in.

I've had HORRIBLE experiences with GM's stock ACDelco batteries. They SUCK. They barely last 2 years out where I live. Not sure where you live but if you have cold winters or hot summers and know that you will be putting the car through some cold starts, I would just swap out that battery now.

The first mod I do to all of my GM vehicles is swap the battery. It will be the same with the camaro.

[Eighty-Six Z]

Glad to hear that is was an easy fix. Thanks for sharing the info with everyone here. I know I will be checking out my car for this potential problem once it arrives.

Thanks and I hope you hang out here with the rest of us now that you found us.

[carfansince73]

Originally Posted by CommandoSS

Personally, I would just go buy an Optima Redtop (or Yellowtop), take it to the dealership, and tell them to put it in.

I've had HORRIBLE experiences with GM's stock ACDelco batteries. They SUCK. They barely last 2 years out where I live. Not sure where you live but if you have cold winters or hot summers and know that you will be putting the car through some cold starts, I would just swap out that battery now.

The first mod I do to all of my GM vehicles is swap the battery. It will be the same with the camaro.

I'm interested to see how long the battery will last now that it's not subject to the heat from the engine compartment.

Sounds like a new TSB maybe? Glad to hear it was a minor problem that can be fixed easily.

[BeermanSS]

Had my balt since may 2005, its been through two years of buffalo winters and two years of phoenix heat, so far no problems with the stocker, still going strong and putting out good volts.

[Teleplayer]

Originally Posted by CommandoSS

Personally, I would just go buy an Optima Redtop (or Yellowtop), take it to the dealership, and tell them to put it in.

I've had HORRIBLE experiences with GM's stock ACDelco batteries. They SUCK. They barely last 2 years out where I live. Not sure where you live but if you have cold winters or hot summers and know that you will be putting the car through some cold starts, I would just swap out that battery now.

The first mod I do to all of my GM vehicles is swap the battery. It will be the same with the camaro.

That's interesting - I've had great luck with Delco batteries and always use them as replacements. And I live in MA.

[z06invb]

You havent lived until you have had your Delco battery leak all over the electronics on your C 5 Vette. When you own one it is one of the first things you look for. I was lucky mine did not leak but the negative terminal fell out of the battery. My friend was not as lucky.

Hopefully your Camaros wont have something like our Column Lock screw up. The final fix from GM never worked except to remove the lock. So now all you have to do with most C 5's is tie a rope to it get in and tow her away.

[Super83Z]

Originally Posted by CommandoSS

Personally, I would just go buy an Optima Redtop (or Yellowtop), take it to the dealership, and tell them to put it in.

I've had HORRIBLE experiences with GM's stock ACDelco batteries. They SUCK. They barely last 2 years out where I live. Not sure where you live but if you have cold winters or hot summers and know that you will be putting the car through some cold starts, I would just swap out that battery now.

The first mod I do to all of my GM vehicles is swap the battery. It will be the same with the camaro.

I bought my 04 silverado new and the original battery went 118K before it didn't start one 2 degree morning.

MY 95 Camaro's delco battery went 98K and my 00 Blazer went 95K.

[CommandoSS]

Originally Posted by BeermanSS

Had my balt since may 2005, its been through two years of buffalo winters and two years of phoenix heat, so far no problems with the stocker, still going strong and putting out good volts.

There's a difference between starting a 2.0L v4 Cobalt and a 8.1L Big Block V8 that sits in my avalanche. GM only drops a 600 CCA battery which is the same battery they use with the 5.3L V8's that are in 1500 Suburbans, tahoes, avy's, etc. I'm sure the stock battery's are fine when they have to turn over smaller engines.

Originally Posted by Teleplayer

That's interesting - I've had great luck with Delco batteries and always use them as replacements. And I live in MA.

No such luck here. I had the same thing that happened to z06invb happen to me in my 02 suburban. Battery leaked acid, we saw new stains on the garage floor but didn't think anything of it. Dad goes to start the car one day to come home from work and nothing happens. Everything dies, power locks, etc. When we went to remove the battery, terminals fell out, acid went everywhere. F'd battery tray - had to get a new one. (luckily that's all it damaged) Dropped in an optima - car started better, maintained voltage better, lights were brighter, etc. Great purchase and the battery still runs strong to this day.