New Viper Owner 1997 Red GTS

[1997FANGZ]

Hello,

My name is Lance. I live in SW Washington state not far from Portland, OR. I just purchased a red 1997 GTS. I have been loving it so far but I possibly already screwed something up.

I replaced the battery the day I got it then I recently decided I should add a battery tender to the positive post under the hood. When I went to break the 15mm nut loose the whole post began to spin slightly. After many hours of scouring the internet I have determined that the bottom of the post or stud is loose or stripped which is preventing the somewhat corroded top bolt from coming loose. I have seen old threads where owners had to replace the entire PDC and wiring harness for thousands of dollars but I am getting ready to open it up and see if I can fix it as I have seen some posts or threads on as well. I have not opened up the fuse box yet but I am hoping I can either tighten the bottom bolt or replace the entire stud with a stainless steel bolt rather than replacing the expensive and hard to find PDC. If you have any insight on this undertaking I would appreciate any advice. Thank you.

[1997FANGZ]

Sorry to come with a problem on day 1....I fixed the issue relatively easy though. I am not sure why there is so many threads and blogs on numerous sites that say if you spin the PDC stud or the forward positive battery stud that you have to replace everything and spend thousands of dollars. In reality all you have to do is remove the shroud on the side of the PDC, remove the C-1000 connector where it connects to the side wall, remove the PDC and unsnap the top plastic which exposes the wires and the bottom of the PDC stud which has a 15mm bolt on the bottom. Tighten the bolts using a wrench on the top and bottom and its rock solid again. If this is old news then I apologize but if you ever try to take your positive lead of from under the hood and there is any corrosion or someone put it on too tight you are likely to spin the stud and its not obvious how to fix it without disassembling some parts that I really did not want to disassemble. Once it was fixed I opted to forgo the battery tender. I'll either charge through the cigar lighter or run one strait off the battery to avoid touching that forward post again.

[Steve-Indy]

This has long been a known issue...glad you were able to fix it.

Why not just connect the battery tender with the clamps...and remove when you are ready to roll? I prefer this method as it makes one slow down and do a little "preflight"...and avoids making the error of driving off while still connected. Just my own preference.

Welcome to the Viper world...great car, great folks!!

[Steve M]

Why not just connect the battery tender with the clamps...and remove when you are ready to roll? I prefer this method as it makes one slow down and do a little "preflight"...and avoids making the error of driving off while still connected. Just my own preference.

Heh...did that once with one of my other vehicles. Couldn't quite figure out what was laying in the driveway when I got home that day...I had a few choice words for myself when it finally dawned on me though.

[1997FANGZ]

My goal was to thread the battery tender quick connection between the hood and the door so that I could charge off the post without having to open the hood each time. However, as soon as I spun that dang post I was certainly wishing that I just used the clamps instead!

[1997FANGZ]

And thanks for the compliment! I love my car. I have wanted a Gen 2 GTS since I was in high school. Your car is amazing.....one of these days I would love to get a gen 5 although they certainly are not getting any less expensive!

[Viper98]

I’ve been using the clamp type for over 6 years. Clamped at that post and the small ground post below it. No worries. Car is in hiber-mode for, at least, 5 months.
‘98 GTS