Put in R to prevent Battery Drain?

Bob25thTA · 12-31-04, 12:20 PM

While at a Chevy Dealership I noticed tag hanging on a 2005 6 speed. It said put in R to prevent battery drain. Does this apply to our C5's?

motorman · 12-31-04, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob25thTA

While at a Chevy Dealership I noticed tag hanging on a 2005 6 speed. It said put in R to prevent battery drain. Does this apply to our C5's?

nope

TAC · 12-31-04, 01:21 PM

What does "put in R" mean? I listened to one of the design engineers for the C6 that said one thing they were proud of was the life of the C6 battery over the C5.

DkBG · 12-31-04, 01:52 PM

I think they're talking about leaving the shifter in reverse . It's part of the security feature and maybe shuts other power off . Cliff

motorman · 12-31-04, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TAC

What does "put in R" mean? I listened to one of the design engineers for the C6 that said one thing they were proud of was the life of the C6 battery over the C5.

if you do not put the trans in reverse(R) the electrical system does not shut off and will run down the battery

hoosierdaddy · 01-14-05, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob25thTA

While at a Chevy Dealership I noticed tag hanging on a 2005 6 speed. It said put in R to prevent battery drain. Does this apply to our C5's?

Does this or does this not pertain to C-5's? I know I have always thought this was for not quite as proned to rolling or something but

is there anything to putting it in reverse to cut the power down?

Anyone that knows this for sure please respond back to me ASAP, and thank you in advance for the information.

Bill

DkBG · 01-14-05, 10:24 PM

As Motorman said above.... "Nope" .

This doesn't apply to the C5 . Cliff

hoosierdaddy · 01-15-05, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DkBG

As Motorman said above.... "Nope" .

This doesn't apply to the C5 . Cliff

Right on brother!!

I had been lead to believe that when parking you also put C-5's in reverse; not sure why, or if in fact that is the case. I am going to check the manual becasue I never do that. I haven't looked in the owners manual in a while, but I thought I remembered reading that in there too. Becasuse I can remember that does not make any sense at all.

Well just becasue it was driving me a little crazy I went and got my Owners Manual and this is what it says:PARKING YOUR VEHICLE
(Manual Transmission)
Before you get our of your vehicle, put your
manual transmission in REVERSE (R) and firmly
apply the parking break.

Like I said I never do this either, and when I read this I wonder what made the differance, still do, but I thought I had read this before.

Any other comments on this as to why this would matter what so every?

Later Gator,
Bill

Tuna · 01-15-05, 11:35 AM

With a manual transmission car, if you do not use the parking brake when you shut off the car, you are relying totally on the compression of the motor to keep the car from rolling - this isn't 100% fool proof. Reverse and first gear have the most multiplication (gear ratio) between the wheel speed and engine speed, so they provide the best motor braking to keep the car from rolling when shut off. It's still not 100% effective and can allow the car to move - so, the parking brake should be used to make sure the car doesn't move when parked.

As for the C6 needing to be in Reverse when parked - this is indeed an electrical issue. Putting it in "R" tells the computers that it is 'truly' parked and it shuts down most of the electrical draw. This is also in issue on the 2004 and newer CTS-V's.

For you auto owners - please disregard the above.

hoosierdaddy · 01-15-05, 12:13 PM

Tuna,

That was about the only thing that I could figure why they reccomended putting it in reverse also. I didn't think it had anything to do with shutting down electrical draw like the C-6. . . . . I almost always set the E-Brake and put it it 4th it is easier to move to neutral; just bump it forward and it goes to the center everytime. Anyway just thought if GM reccomended this there should have been some kind of an explanation why! Then again you can't put everything in the owners manual. I think the main thing is to put it in gear and use the E-Brake.

Take care,
Bill

Tom73 · 01-15-05, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2000C-5 Black Coupe Owner

. . I almost always set the E-Brake and put it it 4th it is easier to move to neutral; just bump it forward and it goes to the center everytime.

Hummm.....I thought that because of the ignition interlock you had to put it in reverse or you could not remove the key.

hoosierdaddy · 01-15-05, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom73

Hummm.....I thought that because of the ignition interlock you had to put it in reverse or you could not remove the key.

Pretty sure it has nothing to do with the ignition interlock becasue I have moved the transmission without the key in the ignition at least I think so! I think the only thing that locks on the manual transmission is the steering wheel; pretty sure the transmission shifter doesn't lock. 99.768789% sure anyway I am going to try it for sure. Automatics I think lock the shifter in PARK, but not real sure about that either

Bill

DkBG · 01-15-05, 05:17 PM

I nearly always shut my ol C5 off in first . It was just handier . Of course I always use the e brake , even though I live in the flatlands . The surest way to have trouble with an e brake is to never use it then put it on . Corroded cables don't always release . But while were on the subject , I wonder why the C6's don't have the power saver technology that other GM cars and trucks have . If you leave anything powered up , like the dome lights , it shuts everything down after 45 minutes or so . Cliff

hoosierdaddy · 01-15-05, 08:01 PM

Not sure why the C-6's don't have this; I know I have left my hood up on my
C-5 all day and the light on the hood goes out, don't know about the dome lights and etc. but I assume they go out too if left on too long.

Is this the case on all the lights on the C-5?
I always use my e-brake, like you said either use it all the time or not at all! I have always just left mine parked in 4th gear with the e-brake on. Maybe if I parked it on a hill I would put it in reverse; just makes sense then.

Bill

Tuna · 01-16-05, 01:02 PM

If you haven't noticed this before, here's some trivia for you: If you turn the ignition off first before you put the transmission into reverse, it will not go there!

The computer locks out reverse on the 6-speed unless you're below 3MPH or something like that. For the lockout to open, you have to have power on. With the ignition off, the only open gates are to 1st through 6th - at least, that is the way it works on my 03.

With the CTS-V, an "R" lights up on the dash to let you know you're in reverse. I wonder if the C6 has a 'reverse' indicator? I've never sat in one, much less drive one.