First some HISTORY:

1990 Civic hatch DX bought with bad battery and alternator

replaced battery and alternator

battery dies after 3 weeks of owning it (was used battery) so bought brand new DieHard battery at sears

battery drains over first weekend (2 days of non use)

OK so i have searched around for some tests to see what is causing the parasitic drain of my battery. At first i ddint have a multimeter so i did the ole take off the negative battery terminal and put a light in between the negitive post and negitive terminal. it was bright as hell so i started pulling fuses to see if it got any dimmer...nada. so i bought a multimeter to see what the voltage is etc...So to start off with it was 11.23 volts, so i jump started and let it run for a WHILE and it was charged at 12.22 volts (alternator works ). I walked away for 2 hours and it dropped to 12.05 already. considering this is the 2nd battery i think it is more than likely a parasitic drain.

I have read of some instances of the seatbelts malfunctioning to cause a parasitic drain, but i believe those were 4 doors. not too sure. This hatch has the seatbelts in the door.

BTW also the passenger door says it is always open. replaced sensor already and still says open...maybe unrelated but maybe source of problem (i did remove the dome light so it doesnt stay on). also if noone is sitting in passenger seat is still shows seatblet off. if they sit down and put it on then the light goes off.

Sorry for the bunch of info but considering the fact that everyone always wants to know more about the problem i am being as detailed as possible. I am not really a newb....just desperate. Thanks

D

 

I have the same problem. Its my passenger seatbelt on my hatch back.
The seatbelt is inside the door. I guess its broken due to the car has been in a accident. I took off the door cover and unplugged the belt, the 2 wires connector ontop.
It was draining my battery in 2 days.
You can tell if its it, by disconnecting it, then when you plug it back on if the actuator arm moves, or clicks "TO LOCK THE SEATBELT" thats your problem.

If that is it, take ur car to honda they have a lifetime warranty on seat belts and will fix it for free. I just haven't gotten around to it.

 

cool...i will take it off tomorrow morning to see if it still kills it. Thanks

D

 

uhm....is there a fuse for the door's seatbelt 'switch'. if ti can drain my battery over a few days i would have figured it would be on a fuse. maybe not?? anyways i unhooked the wire to see if the battery drains a little over night tonight.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by justseeingifitistaken &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">uhm....is there a fuse for the door's seatbelt 'switch'.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yes the horn fuse under the hood.

one easy way to check for a draw here is to pull that fuse with the doors shut, if you hear a click when you do this, some thing is wrong. it should only click (when removing this fuse) with the doors open.

 

My parasitic draw came from the DOOR LATCH. The faulty door latch was "sending signal" to activate door belts. Even the dealer's NEW door belt mechanisms would not solve it, because it was the electronics in the DOOR LATCH itself. Not only would it ring the seatbelt / door alarm, it also drained the battery. I don't think that there is a fuse for this circuit, but check your voltage draw / drop with door(s) open and properly closed, and you should see what side is the culprit. Unplug it and you'll be fine. Good Luck.....

 

check the circut to the door triggers. green/red wires.

when the door opens the spring loaded switch touches the wire to the chassis of the car. (ground) The green/red wire will test ground with the door open. If the wire test ground when the door is closed, that is the problem. figure out which door it is-- if not both. maybe the wire is grounding out or pinched etc.

 

yeah when i got the car it didnt even have the door sensors on it so the green red wire was just pushed inside. I had a set laying around and it still shows the same. The thing is when i put the Drivers side seat belt on the seatbelt warning light turns off(the bigger one) but the top smaller door/seatbelt light stays on. Also the indicator and buzzer on the mirror are on too. It was already disconnected when i bought it, guess that is because it is annoying as hell to hear that thing blaring in your ear.

so it seems to me that my car doesnt know whether it's doors are closed..so it thinks it should "Unlock" the seatbelts which keeps a continuos drain of the battery??? sounds about right?? thanks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by justseeingifitistaken &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah when i got the car it didnt even have the door sensors on it so the green red wire was just pushed inside. I had a set laying around and it still shows the same. The thing is when i put the Drivers side seat belt on the seatbelt warning light turns off(the bigger one) but the top smaller door/seatbelt light stays on. Also the indicator and buzzer on the mirror are on too. It was already disconnected when i bought it, guess that is because it is annoying as hell to hear that thing blaring in your ear.

so it seems to me that my car doesnt know whether it's doors are closed..so it thinks it should "Unlock" the seatbelts which keeps a continuos drain of the battery??? sounds about right?? thanks
</TD></TR></TABLE>

The single wire door sensor on the body side jamb doesn't figure in this scenario....It's the latch mechanism INSIDE the door....You are right about the door thinking it should "Unlock" meaning to "Retract" the seatbelt, thus continuosly draining the battery......

SO the short answer to your question is "YES"....good luck

 

Ok seems like it may be 'fixed'. i unhooked the sensors on the seatbelt mechanisms and i am taking it to Honda monday to get the seatbelts fixed. Now i think my battery may be toast again though cause it holds a charge but when a load is put on, ie: starting the car, it takes like 3 turnovers before it starts up. any ideas???
Thanks for all the help everyone.

 

Ok, teh saetbelt thing seems to be the problem. After a week all seems well. Thanks for the input. I am still going to have to take the car to Honda cause the seatbelts need to be fixed. Thanks everyone

 

My new seatbelts from the dealer did not solve the parasitic drain problem........good luck.....

 

your car should also be charging around 14.5v. glad your parasitic drain is fixed but your alternator should be charger higher. i would check it again

 

Well, it charges at around 13.8 and when it was done it was at 12.20 V. I think it is charging fine...hasnt died yet???