dead battery 68 vette

[James A. Lloyd Jr.]

purchased 68 vette 3 months ago, battery keeps going dead , drive 1x a week , new battery, is there any thing that is common on these vettes that may cause this

[Rich G.]

Re: dead battery 68 vette

Is your wiper over-ride switch on?? Some cabin light or glove box (storage compartment, the one with the lock) light. In fact, the glove box light in mine is disconnected because the set up is prone to leaving the light on. The original owner of my car went thru a few batteries before he discovered that.

Rich Giannotti

[Dave F.]

Re: dead battery 68 vette

Check for corrosion at all gound straps on the frame, plus at the fuse panel. Also, the alternator or regulator may not be fully charging. What does your ammeter gauge show ?

[Jim T.]

Re: dead battery 68 vette

Two things have run the battery down in my original owner Corvette throughout the years. One was the lighted glove box light staying on. Simple fix is remove the bulb. I just disconnected the electical connector. Another is the wiper electrical turn on switch. Cleaning the dash one day I moved the wiper switch from off to on. Just moved it back. Two days later the car would not start. Lesson learned. If the switch is moved to on without the car running I have learned that I have to just start the car and cycle the wiper system and turn the system off with the car running. Observing this practice no other problems. It does mention in the 68 owners manual page 20 if you leave the wiper override switch on it will run down the battery. Let us know if any of this fixes your problem.

[Erik S.]

Re: dead battery 68 vette

Don't turn your ignition switch fully to the left - this is not 'off' ; I did it with the same result until I noticed that the switch should stay at 12 o'clock!

Erik

[Mike Baker]

Re: dead battery 68 vette

Yea, What Jim typed.

If I was a betting man I'd put my money on the wipers.

Start the car, turn the wipers on then off, disconnect the negetive battery cable and use a test lamp between the battery cable and the battery post. I bet it doesn't light.

[Joe R.]

Re: dead battery 68 vette

James,

Has you starter been changed lately. Look and see if it's new or reconditioned. Is there evidence of it being removed lately?

If this condition exists tune in later and I'll tell you what is wrong.

Regards,

JR

[James A. Lloyd Jr.]

Re: dead battery 68 vette

IT READS AROUND 20-25 WHEN RUNNING

[James A. Lloyd Jr.]

Re: dead battery 68 vette

RIGHT NOW THE WIPERS DO NOT WORK FOUND LOOSE WIRE IN MOTOR, ORERED NEW MOTOR, THE WIPERS DID WORK WHEN I PURCHASED, I HAVE BEEN FOOLING AROUND WITH WIPER SWTCHE AND OVERRIDE ,MAYBE I'M DOING IT THEN, I'LL CHECK THAT WHEN NEW MOTOR COMES IN I'LL KEEP EVERYONE INFORMED , THANKS A LOT AND GOD BLESS

[Dave F.]

Re: dead battery 68 vette

12 to 14 is around what you want, so you definitely have a draw on the system somewhere! When you sort out your wiper motor etc., let us know what you have then.

[Jim T.]

Re: dead battery 68 vette

Mike I have read throughout the years how 68's had electrical problems, but the electrical problems were not identified with the statement. Makes me wonder what the electrical problems are. I have only had the two which I previously mentioned. Until the event with the wiper switch which happened in 86-87, the glove box light about 1969-70, no other electrical problems. A marking of white out on the wiper override knob will let one know visually if the switch is off.

[James A. Lloyd Jr.]

Re: dead battery 68 vette

marking the switch is a good idea , thanks

[Mark #28455]

put a cutoff switch at the battery

Get a cutoff switch and install it at the battery (costs about $10), then you can leave your car for up to 3 to 6 months and it'll still start. You also get NCRS bonus judging points, make the car harder to steal, and have an easy way to cut off the power so you can safely work on the car.
Good luck,
Mark