AlohaJim

My 2003 Honda Element has always had a slow drain on the battery. I checked the overhead interior light and the relay to it. I made a fuss with the dealer to check it and they said they had a known problem with the speaker amplifier being hooked up to the main power system, not keyed on ignition, and it would drain the battery down. They wanted to replace the factory speaker amp for $500.

After much hassle they suggested rewiring the factory speaker amp to the ignition hot lead instead of the one that's always on. Now the car starts up right away and no more battery drain.

I wonder if the dealers are ripping a lot of people off on this problem which the factory could have easily solved by wiring things differently to begin with.

Hope this helps others that might be wondering why they're battery is draining a lot faster than normal.

AlohaJim

The Cecilnator

What's even more difficult for a loyal Honda owner to accept, is that this problem persisted when I upgraded my sound system at my Honda dealer to the 10" Stealth woofer hidden in the center console & a high powered amp!

I've been watching these forums for some time. I have an 03 element that I love, even though it has that mystery stall problem that everyone here thinks is fixed for 6 months or so. I love it so much that I often tell folks its the only car that I want to have another of.

I also know from this site that the element is notorius for having an undersized battery design. So when I needed to upgrade my AAA membership to receive extra tow/jumpstarts, & when I needed a new battery every 1-2 years, I thought these neccessary evils for the auto love of my life.

When a battery tech arrived to jump me(for the 3rd time this year)he tested the system, & found a constant draw on the battery. He asked if he could remove the Mas High Voltage Series Diode Honda had placed on the battery with the stereo install-when he did-Voila we had our answer. The amplifier was connected with a constant hot instead of being keyed on with the ignition as the stereo was. This is why when I went on vacation & it sat for a week, the battery died, & have burned through so many jumpstarts, & so many batteries. I was floored.
I invested the money with the dealer for that installation, knowing their cost was higher, to guarantee it was done right-it was not. It's disheartening that my loyalty & trust for Honda was compromised by a decision so flawed any layman could understand. That Honda may have been aware of this with their factory install is devastating. My safety, my job, my relationships, & my animals have been risked(Imagine being stuck in a shady part of town, on a freezing cold night, with several dogs you are sitting, or failing to get a friend to work on time)

I've written the Service Manager at the local dealership, as they did the install, saying I want it done right. He replied almost immediately(good job)stating he shows no record of the install,(bad job) that another company works inhouse to install( I was never told that, thought it was the dealership, & would have taken it to someone I trust rather than be handed off)(bad)He says that they are willing to do an inspection at no charge,(good) but that he doubts there's a problem with the install, that theres likely a problem with my battery.(bad) Of course there will be plenty of problem with the battery, its time for a new one again, being constantly drained by an amp since I got it March 2010, been jumped 4 times. Preceeded by 5 battery changes in 8 years. That can be tough on a system. I just wonder how they will explain the amps being drawn from the battery through their diode even as I sat there with a dead battery. I'm sharing with over 1000 friends on FB. Stay tuned for results!

rjr162

Cecilnator:

By diode I'm guessing you mean fuse...

Built B16A

phew... honda element factory amps..

for one, they're worthless.

second of all, the factory stereo is junk.

and then for kicks, once you upgrade the headunit.. you have to jump through hoops to bypass the amp because the speaker leads coming out of the OEM headunit is reference signal. basically RCA voltage.

if you want serious tunes.. bypass the amp, and get a real stereo. not even the OEM sub is worth anything. the amp is weak too.

if your a daily guy, not really into audio.. then there's just no excuse for battery drain on a stock car. thats poor engineering.

personally myself.. i have a double din, GPS touch screen, and a amp under my driver seat, and a 12" sub in the back, that i can just unplug if i need the space. also, ive installed a group 78 battery, that with little modifications fits very snug. its almost double the A/H, and CCA is out the roof!

Alex Taylor

Hey guys - This thread is eye-opening for me.
After owning a '90 and then a '96 accord, 2 weeks ago I traded in for a '08 Element (EX-P). Awesome for camping, etc. and we love it so far.

However, in those 2 weeks, I've been caught with a dead battery twice, while just sitting on my phone, with the radio on but not having turned the ignition. The first time was maybe 15-20 mins. 2nd time today was just 5 mins. I thought "This is ^$%^%$ crazy!!"

Thanks for sharing the stories, as now I've got the solution and am gonna disconnect the Amp from the battery - hopefully that solves the problem. I also thought about getting a bigger/better battery, but it sounds like it would equally be a drain and maybe not nesessary after this quick fix.

Thanks again guys.