Dead GTS- any ideas?

[Tom Friend]

My baby wouldn't start yesterday morning. (See my lament in the Viper Haiku) Nothing but clicks and a dim dashboard. After a day on the charger, it still won't start. Same results. It is acting like the battery is cooked dry, or perhaps a battery cable connection is corroded somewhere between the battery and the starter.

Do these batteries go south very often?
Are there "normal" places where the battery cable might corrode?
What sort of battery should I replace this with?

Thank you all for your help.

 

[luc]

You need first to check the battery voltage with and without load.Without load you should have a minimun of 12.5 V.
A good charged battery will put out between 12.6 to 12.7 V.
If that check OK you have to check the battery under load.

Have someone crank the engine and and check the battery voltage.
Anything under 12V and you have battery problem or may be a bad starter.
To see if it is the starter,turn the ignition switch to start for 10 seconds and put your hand on the + cable from the battery.
If it feel warm/hot, there is a good chance that it is the starter.
The only place where the cable could corrode will be either at the battery posts or the - cable grounded to the frame above the battery or the + connection at the PCM.
Luc.

 

[Marv S]

Our battery only lasted 2 years. Drove 45 minutes to dinner, came out and it just "clicked". got it replaced under factory warranty.

 

[JimDavis MT 97GTS 650R]

Tom, although a pain in the butt, remove the rear left wheel and battery panel to check if the battery terminal connections are tight. My positive connector came loose and caused the same symptoms. At the very least, the battery should be checked anyway. Hope this helps. (JD)

 

[SRTim]

There is an article on this at the VCA website under "Illustrated Upgrades".

http://www.viperclub.org/instructions/battery.html

 

[Tom Friend]

It was the battery. I took it out and did a few tests- totally dead. Thanks for the help (and moral support) JonB.

DCX- please put a better quality battery in the Gen III.