Dead Battery Locked Out and Stumped

[kriskyk]

Viper has been on a battery tender sans a few power outages. Doors won't unlock, fobs not working etc....

I hooked up a battery charger to the positive post inside the fuse panel under the hood, negative to aluminum on the engine.

Put new batteries in both fobs.

Still not working.

Tried manual key in the fob to access the hatch...Hatch still will not open with either the charger on the front post or the battery tender that's hooked directly to the battery. I don't hear the hatch, latch solenoid firing at all...

I'm stumped.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

-K

[Steve-Indy]

Good to speak with you. I will haul out the wiring info on the factory WUSB to check some of the things we discussed.

Hopefully, someone else will jump in with a solution in the meantime...as it does make me think about possible hibernation mode.

Dan Cragin...you out there??

Tom Sessions ???

[13COBRA]

Will aluminum ground it if it's dead? I thought you'd have to find steel or similar.

[kriskyk]

Thanks Steve for chat that was very helpful.

Some good news as a result of some insight from Steve. I ended up very carefully disconnecting the positive terminal lead from the main fuse box under the hood.

Let it sit disconnected for 10 mins.

Reconnected the positive terminal lead back to the fuse. This set off the cars alarm e.g. started honking.

This appears to have wake the car up.

I was able to then open the driver door and then hatch with the FOB.

Hope this helps others in the future.

Major thanks Steve! You are a scholar and gentleman!


-K

[Steve-Indy]

Great job, Kris...wish I really understood how/why these things occur.

Enjoy your Viper !!

[Ramtuff]

Aluminum conducts electricity just fine.

[TIME]

Aluminum conducts electricity just fine.

Yes it does - as long as it is not anodized.

[TIME]

Thanks Steve for chat that was very helpful.
Some good news as a result of some insight from Steve. I ended up very carefully disconnecting the positive terminal lead from the main fuse box under the hood.
Let it sit disconnected for 10 mins.
Reconnected the positive terminal lead back to the fuse. This set off the cars alarm e.g. started honking.
This appears to have wake the car up.
I was able to then open the driver door and then hatch with the FOB.
Hope this helps others in the future.
Major thanks Steve! You are a scholar and gentleman!
-K

Kris - Thank you for posting.

Thanks to Steve as well.

[Ramtuff]

Yes it does - as long as it is not anodized.

Anodizing does not preclude aluminum from being a good conductor. I guess I should have been more specific in indicating that you need a connection with the metal and not just attach to an insulator. I really thought that was a given though.

[TIME]

Anodizing does not preclude aluminum from being a good conductor. I guess I should have been more specific in indicating that you need a connection with the metal and not just attach to an insulator. I really thought that was a given though.

Right you are - again.

[13COBRA]

Anodizing does not preclude aluminum from being a good conductor. I guess I should have been more specific in indicating that you need a connection with the metal and not just attach to an insulator. I really thought that was a given though.

Right you are - again.

Yes, duh aluminum conducts electricity. I guess I didn't make my question clear. Isn't the aluminum block anodized?

[Martin]

I've had a hell of a time finding a good ground in the engine compartment for the tender. There is a brass screw on the driver's side that always works - but I've tried a bunch of other spots (including the bolts that hold down the cross brace) that just didn't seem to want to work. All that carbon fiber and plastic really gets in the way of a good electrical connection.

One other thing - if you can't get into the rear hatch with the key, you should tighten up the mechanism. Mine wouldn't work, and I had to open it up and adjust it so the key would unlatch the hatch.

[Steve-Indy]

Martin, I have been using the boss on the side of the T-stat housing for a solid ground on Gen III, IV, and V Vipers starting with the Gen III in 2002. Quite easy and reliable.

[Brian E]

I've had a hell of a time finding a good ground in the engine compartment for the tender. There is a brass screw on the driver's side that always works - but I've tried a bunch of other spots (including the bolts that hold down the cross brace) that just didn't seem to want to work. All that carbon fiber and plastic really gets in the way of a good electrical connection.

One other thing - if you can't get into the rear hatch with the key, you should tighten up the mechanism. Mine wouldn't work, and I had to open it up and adjust it so the key would unlatch the hatch.

See below for the location I used.

Battery Tender Connections.jpg

[Martin]

That looks like the spot I have mine attached. There were a lot of spots that looked perfect, but I just couldn't get a good ground.

[EZ 2B Green]

Here's a tip. Don't unbolt the main power feed connection at your fuse box to connect a battery charging pigtail. Add the new ring terminal over the stud without disturbing the original nut and add another nut over the top.

P1010194.JPG

Be careful not to touch ground with your tool when doing this!

Here's a good ground location on the Gen V (same technique - add another nut):

P1010198.JPG

[Matt Dillon]

Steve-Indy is the man!