2006 Corvette with dead battery?

[Bruce B.]

How do you unlock the doors of a 2006 that has a dead battery?

[Harry S.]

Re: 2006 Corvette with dead battery?

Bruce, take your key and turn the lock above the rear license plate. The rear hatch should open. I assumed you have a coupe.

On the left side, pull the cable and the door should open.

Hope my memory is correct.

You will have to re-program the windows. That's in the owners manual, it's easy

Get a battery tender and install it. use it anytime you expect the car to sit for more than 10 days.

As I recall most of these batteries will need to be replace if you let it go dead more than 3 times

[Bruce B.]

Re: 2006 Corvette with dead battery?

Harry,
Thanks for the info, I also found similar info on Google.
It is a friends car and he appreciates the help.
Now he needs to figure out why the battery went dead.
Bruce B

[Harry S.]

Re: 2006 Corvette with dead battery?

They all do after about 2 weeks of sitting, especially if it's cold. It's all the onboard computers.

[Kurt G.]

Re: 2006 Corvette with dead battery?

Bruce, there are a couple of reasons the battery went dead. First, and probably the primary cause is the computer systems on the car. They have a continuous power draw on the battery. Second, if the key fob is not kept at least 30 feet away from the vehicle, the system is sensing the fob, and is always on standby to open the doors. I've had the same experience with mine. After about 2 weeks the battery will be down enough to kill the car. Tell him to get a battery tender and leave it hooked up when he's not driving the car.

[Terry M.]

Re: 2006 Corvette with dead battery?

Bruce, there are a couple of reasons the battery went dead. First, and probably the primary cause is the computer systems on the car. They have a continuous power draw on the battery. Second, if the key fob is not kept at least 30 feet away from the vehicle, the system is sensing the fob, and is always on standby to open the doors. I've had the same experience with mine. After about 2 weeks the battery will be down enough to kill the car. Tell him to get a battery tender and leave it hooked up when he's not driving the car.

That may be true (about the proximity of the fob) for C5s, but it is definitely NOT true for C6s. The C6 system doesn't sense the fob until it (the fob) is within a couple of feet of the car, unless you push one of the buttons on the fob.

Edit add: The above assUmes the Corvette is working as designed. If parts or assemblies fail -- well, then anything is possible because with the large quantity of electrical components on board predicting a failure mode is futile.


The computers in the car provide the drain, as you stated. Which year was it 2005??? that you had to put the manual transmission in reverse on shut down or the computer stayed on. One of the early C6 years was that way, then the engineers changed it.

[Clem Z.]

Re: 2006 Corvette with dead battery?

walmart sells a schumacher model #1562A for less than $20 that works great to float charge the battery. i have used one on my corvettes. no need to spend $40 for a battery tender. as a safeguard i never close my hood to lock position when i store the C-6 and also if you have a C-6 check and make sure the deck lid does unlock with the key because there have been some problems with the cable nor being connected and you can not open the deck lid with the key.

[Bruce B.]

Re: 2006 Corvette with dead battery?

Guys,
Thanks for all the great info.
Bruce B

[Paul H.]

Re: 2006 Corvette with dead battery?

The C6, when not driven regularly, is a battery eater. It needs to be kept on a battery tender. My 05 6 speed would die after only 2 days of sitting EVEN IN REVERSE. Mine had no discernible parasitic draw that could be detected. Since it was under warranty, the dealers tried and failed to figure it out. GM bought it back. Back in a C5 for my trip car. No problems. The C6 is a great car to drive, when you can get in it, but give me a key and a door handle

[Nick L.]

Re: 2006 Corvette with dead battery?

The Battery Tender is a must. I keep my 2006 plugged in during winter storage. In fact, the selling dealer (Les Stanford) installed the tender on the car new. The pigtail supplied with the kit installs on the battery for a neat plug and play setup without the need for alligator clips and the like.

[Roy B.]

Re: 2006 Corvette with dead battery?

I must have dum luck , same battery 06 sits for months , starts right up every time , still going strong

[Clem Z.]

Re: 2006 Corvette with dead battery?

The C6, when not driven regularly, is a battery eater. It needs to be kept on a battery tender. My 05 6 speed would die after only 2 days of sitting EVEN IN REVERSE. Mine had no discernible parasitic draw that could be detected. Since it was under warranty, the dealers tried and failed to figure it out. GM bought it back. Back in a C5 for my trip car. No problems. The C6 is a great car to drive, when you can get in it, but give me a key and a door handle

the dealer must not have read all the TSB about that problem . mine was a very early 05 and it could set 3 week s before the battery would go down. that is when i bought the float charger because i could let my C-5s set for 4 weeks while we were on vacation and they would start up but the C-6 would not do that.

[Tom H.]

Re: 2006 Corvette with dead battery?

I must have dum luck , same battery 06 sits for months , starts right up every time , still going strong

That is rare ! I keep trickle chargers on all showroom units or they will be dead in roughly 3 weeks. Sometimes they will last a bit longer, but I don't think I could leave one for months.

[Paul H.]

Re: 2006 Corvette with dead battery?

the dealer must not have read all the TSB about that problem . mine was a very early 05 and it could set 3 week s before the battery would go down. that is when i bought the float charger because i could let my C-5s set for 4 weeks while we were on vacation and they would start up but the C-6 would not do that.

Clem, Mine was an early Precision Red car like yours. I read and printed the TSB's about the problem. I even talked to Wil Cooksey about my ongoing problems. I took the car to 5 different dealerships. They replaced all the computers after trying to reflash per the TSB. Then I had the fuel sender problems, which they tried to fix 4 times. Clutch issues, flying roofs and on and on. I won't own another C6.

[Tom H.]

Re: 2006 Corvette with dead battery?

Clem, Mine was an early Precision Red car like yours. I read and printed the TSB's about the problem. I even talked to Wil Cooksey about my ongoing problems. I took the car to 5 different dealerships. They replaced all the computers after trying to reflash per the TSB. Then I had the fuel sender problems, which they tried to fix 4 times. Clutch issues, flying roofs and on and on. I won't own another C6.

Paul:

I can assure you, after selling hundreds of C6's, your car was the extreme exception and not the rule. ( Not to say I haven't seen or heard of a bad apple occasionally )

I'm sure it is hard to have confidence in the product after an experience like that. Sorry it happened to you.