Loyal Honda

I've owned my 2000 Civic SE since it was brand new. I have a remote car starter on it, that was installed 5yrs ago and I have had no problems with the car after it was installed. Two days ago, I noticed - when remote starting it - it was a very sluggish start... just figured it was cold out. Yesterday, same thing, not as bad though. Today, found dead ! I heard it turn over a few times, and a clicking noise.

I had CAA come and do a battery test on it, and it charged to 9.75 and the battery tech said it wasn't the battery, it was something else that was draining the battery. Could a CD player with a CD in the deck, and left on, drain a battery over time ? (I have a bad habit of leaving CD's in the deck), could a remote starter eventually drain the battery ? Or am I looking at something bigger, like a starter, an alternator or a fuel pump ? or could it be that my battery terminals need cleaning ?

What type of diagnostics should the mechanics be doing in this situation ? I don't want to be scammed by a mechanical garage.

Thanks.

srmofo

if the battery is 5 yrs old then the battery needs replaced, its on its last leg......as far as telling the mechanic what to look for, its called a parasitic drain.....and there are tons of things that can cause them...honestly though it just sounds like a dead battery, 9.75 volts is way too low and that "tech" is a damn fool for telling you otherwise...did he mention what the cold cranking amps were?

esean93

yeah id say get a new battery too and dont take it to a garage for a little thing like that just do it yourself its easy.

Loyal Honda

Thank you ! The battery is about 7yrs old. The battery tech boosted my car, and charged it for about 1/2hr before placing the test on the battery. I did have a winter maintenance done on it back in early Dec. and was told that the battery was charging low, and that I needed the terminals cleaned. I did have to take it to a garage, because I don't know how to change a battery. I have had someone else tell me as well they believe my battery needs a replacement.

I did not have any experience of 'weirdness' when driving it recently. I also drove it about 150kms last weekend, and the next day was when I noticed the sluggish start.

Thanks for your responses : )

93preludeh22

If you won't do it yourself... at least take it somewhere that will replace it for free. A lot of parts shops will swap them for free (because it only takes 2 minutes )

Redbone

your battery is always supposed to read out 12 volts or very close on a tester if it is still good

turbohatch96y7

iTrader: (15)

if you have a little light that blinks for your alarm that could drain your battery slowly.
thats what killed my battery.

Ya Digg

^^^should be fine though if it is atleast started daily. I have one its fine.

Kista20

yes when the car is off you should be at around 12 volts give or take a few but with it running it should check 13 volts plus. I have had really good luck with honda batteries, I replaced my original one in my 97 civic back in 2002 so now this one has been in at least 6 yrs. I had planned on replacing it with a new one before this winter but it's still going strong.

batallic

change the battery

The_Honda_Guy

Battery should be at 12.5 volts at rest and 14 with the engine running. This isn't a good enough test though. The battery needs to be load tested using the CCA rating of the battery. This will tell you what shape the cells are in and the battery's ability to hold a proper charge. Most likely if the battery is 7 years old and is the stock one though it's shot. lol

If you've got the money, go for an Optima. I purchased one 3 years ago and absolutely love it. I also just put one in the girlfriend's Civic since her battery was dying (testing at 8.8 volts under load). Since they are gel filled instead of acid filled they do not corrode on the terminals. Also, it seems like they hold their charge much much better in the winter than acid batteries. If it's not discharged and jump started they will last a very long time, usually at least 8 years or more (seen them last 12 years). Also, if you get a Yellow Top (which I have), the battery is able to recover from a discharge much easier than an acid filled battery. As long as the Yellow Top is recharged slowly with a battery charger no harm will be done to the battery whereas an acid battery will lose part of its life.

REDesignIT

My stock honda battery lasted 6 years I cleaned the posts 4 times and had boost charged it one time thinking something, like my PPI amp was killing the battery with an open primary power circuit.

And then one day I went to the car wash and pulled it up to vacuum it out and when I went to start it, BANG!. WTF was that thinking the worst but not hearing any flying metal shards I popped the hood to find a huge crack in the wall of the battery. Yupe it finally bit the dust.

So I would go with just replace the battery bite the $40 to $80.00 cost and replace with a good battery.

And yeah while running it should read at least 14 amps between 13.8 and 14.2 and when off min it should read is 11.5 amp to crank. 12.2 12.5 13.00 should be the reading after turning off the car and should not drop to less then 11.8 after 1 hour.