charging problem

[alan ream]

Occasionally when I start my car in the morning, a beep goes off and a charging system alert flashes on my dash. The engine starts normally and runs fine. This is very intermittant and random. Might go off like this once every several weeks. Anyone else have this problem???

[Patrick]

Alan,
I have to admit that I have not experienced this. You say the car runs fine after warm up, and that the problem is intermittent. I know from your profile information that your Vette is an '04, but have you tested to see if perhaps you may have a weak battery? This, at least, is what the symptoms are pointing at to me.

-Patrick

[c4c5specialist]

HI there,
I would also suggest checking the battery. It may be just slightly weak, where the battery voltage reserve goes below a specific threshhold.
Also, the DIC may need to be recalibrated also.
Allthebest, c4c5

[AZMike]

I've noticed this too. It seems to happen when you let off the key too early when starting it for the first time of the day. The engine kinda hesitates before spinning up to full idle. My take on it is that the engine RPM's are too low and the ALT is not putting out yet. It only seems to happen when it's cold and when I do this. It always goes away after the engine gets going. I get this error about once every 2 months or so myself. I used to get it all the time before I replaced the stock battery with an Optima.

I would not worry about it too much.

[alan ream]

Originally Posted by Patrick

Alan,
I have to admit that I have not experienced this. You say the car runs fine after warm up, and that the problem is intermittent. I know from your profile information that your Vette is an '04, but have you tested to see if perhaps you may have a weak battery? This, at least, is what the symptoms are pointing at to me.

-Patrick

No, I haven't tested the battery. It only has 11K miles on it. The gauge reads 14-14.5v all the time. Maybe I need to have a load tester put on it.

[S-TEE]

Originally Posted by alan ream

No, I haven't tested the battery. It only has 11K miles on it. The gauge reads 14-14.5v all the time. Maybe I need to have a load tester put on it.

Sounds like your battery is in a charging state, if it's at that voltage all the time. You should be dropping down to ~13.8 to 14.0 volts after the car has run for awhile. At least you know your alternator is working!

My car came off the dealer's lot with a bad battery, I had it replaced within a week. Then I replaced the 2nd battery myself, with an Optima Red Top, after noticing battery swelling. That one lasted 4 months. Wouldn't hold a charge more than 3-4 days. I returned that one to Costco and got another. This one works like a charm. Seems like there was a lot of people that had problems with their Optima's for awhile--likely from getting batteries that were improperly charged or stored.

With my experiences, I'd have to say suspect the battery first!