Wanted some opinions on what this odd problem could be. First let me start by saying that the car is a 93 civic coupe, original owner. The car has an alternator that is either one or two years old (reman.) and is hardly driven (sits maybe one or two weeks at a time before it's driven).

Battery died when I did try to start. Took it to AutoZone to get charged. After two hours I come back and told me the battery is finished (dead). Still under warranty so they give me a new battery. Employee suggests I get the alternator tested otherwise I'd be back for another battery.

Car now has new battery. Next day I make an errand and drive the car for the night. When I get home, car would not start. Nothing turns on (dome light, headlight, nothing). Used a battery from another car, starts with no problem.

Take what is now battery number two to get charged (which I thought is also dead) back at Autozone and told the battery was still good. Had it charged, come back and the car starts.

The night the car died, the battery light did not come on or show signs of a weakening battery (if that is even possible). Had the battery and alternator tested and both work fine. Numbers showed 12-13v (I didn't do the test, those were the numbers I was told the car is putting out).

The only obvious problem I could think of is I may not have fully secured the battery terminals to the battery when I got the new battery (number two). But other than that, could there be another problem I'm not seeing?

 

Make sure all grounds on car are good.

Kev

 

I know on some cars, the alternator has a fuse. Sounds to me like the battery is not charging, which means the alternator is not doing its job. Voltage should be over 13v across the terminals when the car is running.

 

bump . im having the same problem.

 

The "battery" light doesn't warn of a bad battery. It warns of a bad charging system/alternator.

Sounds like the battery is draining when it is connected to the car. Test for parasitic drain.

http://batterychargerstore.com/what-...tic-drain.html

 

BINGO!

 

The last time the battery indicator light went on was when the original alternator went bad. I wanted to mention it to rule out that it might not be a bad (2nd) alternator.

But about the parasitic drain, I have a set of "OEM style" foglights installed and the way they were wired is directly from the battery. Could this be my culprit as to what is draining my battery when the car isn't being used on a daily basis?

Also, to the guys that mention about checking the ground wires. Would it be foolish to just invest in a new set and replace them all just to rule it out and not worry about it in the future? It is an 18 year old car and figured if it needs replacing, might as well take care of it properly.

Again thanks for the help and input guys, appreciate it.

 

Thats up to you if you wanna just replace them. You can easily fix em up by cleaning them off real good. Make sure the contact is clean. Take some scotch bright and clean the two contacts off. (terminal and the actual ground)

As for the fogs. I dont think that would be an issue. If its ran by a switch, should be OK. The fogs would only kill the battery if they are constantly on when the key is off.

Kev

 

I wasn't sure if ground wires were something that could easily be repaired or replaced that's why I wanted to ask. But if all it needs is a good cleaning, then that's good for me.

The fogs are not on if ever (novelty of having fogs wore off).

I also forgot to mention that the car has an aftermarket alarm, but is not on. But since somebody mentioned parasitic drain, just thought I'd throw that in there if it's a factor.

 

if your grounds are all good, its time to start looking for anything "hot" that could be going to ground. I spent about 2 months chasing a parasitic drain. I finally found a shorted out XM receiver i didn't know the vehicle had.