So I picked up my 3rd brand new battery this year today (thank you Honda for giving me them free with the battery warranty)... they did a drain test on my car and said everything was all set, but they're dead wrong I'm pretty sure

any ideas or should I just start searching everything electronic for some sort of short circuit?

 

Maybe a weak alternator is the problem.

 

Theres a free battery warranty!?

 

Weak alt would be my guess too, good way to check is with a multi meter.
Connect one probe to ground and the other to the back of the alt at the charge post(the biggest wire on the alt). At idle you should be around 13 volt and it should go up a little when you rev it. No higher than 15.5 though, you could be boiling batteries from too much voltage or... not getting enough.
Good luck with it, it's a realitivy easy fix I'm surprised your dealer hasn't figured it out after three batteries.

 

I wish I could get free batteries.. lol just put the leads onto the battery and rev the engine, like transpoquick said, you should get a raise in voltage no higher than 15 but no less than 13.. maybe your car is possessed??

 

NOM NOM NOM!


did you leave on your dome light overnight? or do you have an aftermarket stereo that is maybe draining power..

 

I'm not going near that car wash, I usually check at the alt for voltage to eliminate problems in the wiring between the bat. and alt..

 

haha my car is a bit possessed... I didn't leave anything on, the battery would've been fine after a boost if that was the case... thanks for all the advice, I'm going to "borrow" a volt meter from school this week and check out my alternator

the batteries are free because I bought them from honda and they have a 3 year full warranty... it's not a warranty that goes with the car or anything

and the people at the dealer are idiots, of course they haven't found anything.. if it is a weak alternator do I just replace it? that will be easy enough

 

this may be a dumb question, but is your battery light on?
Also, is your belt tight enough on your alternator? Do you run a high-powered stereo?

 

the battery light is not on, alternator belt is good, and my stereo is just a head unit and 4 speakers

the only thing electrical I've ever really added was a pair of fog lights, which I had for quite some time before these battery issues began

 

Are all your connections clean and tight? Corrosion can cause issues. Poor grounds and loose wires can too. Is your battery strapped down tight? Vibration can kill them.

 

although it is a pain to get it out, the most accurate test is a bench test with the alt out of the car. autozone or other parts dealers will bench test it for free.

 

I agree w/Thumper, Check all grounds. i've dealt with the same problem before fully stripping my interior and unnecessary wiring.

but not a recommended solution for a daily!

 

Parasitic drain... are your battery terminals corroded? sometimes the interior light can be off but still drain power...

 

sure enough it was my alternator, I replaced it yesterday... I got an alternator at autozone, had to file the damn bracket down for an hour and a half because the fit wasn't perfect, but it has a warranty and was cheap