Mysterious dead battery in 2000 Honda Accord
 

Last weekend my wife reported that the battery was dead in our 2000
Honda Accord V6.

I charged battery overnight; started fine after I put it back in.
Looked for drains with a multimeter; after a few minutes, current went
down to 12 mA, which AFAICT means there's no way it could empty the
battery. (Car had been parked at most a couple days, and it's pretty
warm here.)

After getting some reasonable replies in a different thread here, I
took it to Advance Auto Parts and had it tested for free. Everything
checked out fine.

Anyone have any ideas? I know that electrical issues can be
notoriously hard to diagnose. Is it possible there's something about
the alternator or the rest of the car's electrical system that the
test at Advance would have missed? (The test is broken down into a few
parts (battery, starter, charging system), all reporting normal.)

Also, if there was something seriously wrong with the alternator or
battery, I assume I'd be getting dead batteries more frequently. We
had a dead battery quite a while back, probably due to cab light being
left on. After that, last spring the alternator went bad. Had that
replaced. A couple weeks after that, left it at the airport for about
5 days; dead when we got back. Had it jumped. It's been fine until
last weekend. THat's a pretty big gap (early May to mid August).

TIA

Mysterious dead battery in 2000 Honda Accord
 

On Aug 17, 4:14*pm, woger151 > wrote:
> Last weekend my wife reported that the battery was dead in our 2000
> Honda Accord V6.
>
> I charged battery overnight; started fine after I put it back in.
> Looked for drains with a multimeter; after a few minutes, current went
> down to 12 mA, which AFAICT means there's no way it could empty the
> battery. (Car had been parked at most a couple days, and it's pretty
> warm here.)
>
> After getting some reasonable replies in a different thread here, I
> took it to Advance Auto Parts and had it tested for free. Everything
> checked out fine.
>
> Anyone have any ideas? I know that electrical issues can be
> notoriously hard to diagnose. Is it possible there's something about
> the alternator or the rest of the car's electrical system that the
> test at Advance would have missed? (The test is broken down into a few
> parts (battery, starter, charging system), all reporting normal.)
>
> Also, if there was something seriously wrong with the alternator or
> battery, I assume I'd be getting dead batteries more frequently. We
> had a dead battery quite a while back, probably due to cab light being
> left on. After that, last spring the alternator went bad. Had that
> replaced. A couple weeks after that, left it at the airport for about
> 5 days; dead when we got back. Had it jumped. It's been fine until
> last weekend. THat's a pretty big gap (early May to mid August).
>
> TIA

How old is the battery?? Anything near 4-5 years old and it's time for
a new one.

with the car running put the multimeter on the battery to see what
your alternator is charging at. It should be above 13.5vdc or so.

does the car get driven on a regular basis?

A jump start may get you going, but your alternator won't fully charge
your battery. You need to slow charge the battery with a charger..
alternators only quick charge batteries.

Chas

Mysterious dead battery in 2000 Honda Accord
 

woger151 > wrote:
>Last weekend my wife reported that the battery was dead in our 2000
>Honda Accord V6.
>
>I charged battery overnight; started fine after I put it back in.
>Looked for drains with a multimeter; after a few minutes, current went
>down to 12 mA, which AFAICT means there's no way it could empty the
>battery. (Car had been parked at most a couple days, and it's pretty
>warm here.)
>
>After getting some reasonable replies in a different thread here, I
>took it to Advance Auto Parts and had it tested for free. Everything
>checked out fine.
>
>Anyone have any ideas? I know that electrical issues can be
>notoriously hard to diagnose. Is it possible there's something about
>the alternator or the rest of the car's electrical system that the
>test at Advance would have missed? (The test is broken down into a few
>parts (battery, starter, charging system), all reporting normal.)

1. Your wife left the dome light on and didn't tell you.

2. Your teenage daughter has been making out with her boyfriend
in the car in the garage with the radio on full blast to hide the
noise.

3. Something intermittent is coming on, like a faulty latch that sometimes
doesn't close the glovebox completely.

>Also, if there was something seriously wrong with the alternator or
>battery, I assume I'd be getting dead batteries more frequently. We
>had a dead battery quite a while back, probably due to cab light being
>left on. After that, last spring the alternator went bad. Had that
>replaced. A couple weeks after that, left it at the airport for about
>5 days; dead when we got back. Had it jumped. It's been fine until
>last weekend. THat's a pretty big gap (early May to mid August).

A popular failure mode is for the alternator diodes to fail and the battery
to discharge through the alternator when the car is parked. But if this
had been the case, you'd have seen it on the ammeter.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Mysterious dead battery in 2000 Honda Accord
 

On Aug 17, 4:40*pm, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
> woger151 > wrote:
> >Last weekend my wife reported that the battery was dead in our 2000
> >Honda Accord V6.
>
> >I charged battery overnight; started fine after I put it back in.
> >Looked for drains with a multimeter; after a few minutes, current went
> >down to 12 mA, which AFAICT means there's no way it could empty the
> >battery. (Car had been parked at most a couple days, and it's pretty
> >warm here.)
>
> >After getting some reasonable replies in a different thread here, I
> >took it to Advance Auto Parts and had it tested for free. Everything
> >checked out fine.
>
> >Anyone have any ideas? I know that electrical issues can be
> >notoriously hard to diagnose. Is it possible there's something about
> >the alternator or the rest of the car's electrical system that the
> >test at Advance would have missed? (The test is broken down into a few
> >parts (battery, starter, charging system), all reporting normal.)
>
> 1. Your wife left the dome light on and didn't tell you.
>
> 2. Your teenage daughter has been making out with her boyfriend
> * *in the car in the garage with the radio on full blast to hide the
> * *noise.
>
> 3. Something intermittent is coming on, like a faulty latch that sometimes
> * *doesn't close the glovebox completely.
>
> >Also, if there was something seriously wrong with the alternator or
> >battery, I assume I'd be getting dead batteries more frequently. We
> >had a dead battery quite a while back, probably due to cab light being
> >left on. After that, last spring the alternator went bad. Had that
> >replaced. A couple weeks after that, left it at the airport for about
> >5 days; dead when we got back. Had it jumped. It's been fine until
> >last weekend. THat's a pretty big gap (early May to mid August).
>
> A popular failure mode is for the alternator diodes to fail and the battery
> to discharge through the alternator when the car is parked. *But if this
> had been the case, you'd have seen it on the ammeter.

Ammeter? I think the newest vehicle I've seen with one of those was
an 80's Dodge pickup truck...

nate

Mysterious dead battery in 2000 Honda Accord
 

On Aug 17, 4:38*pm, m6onz5a > wrote:
> On Aug 17, 4:14*pm, woger151 > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Last weekend my wife reported that the battery was dead in our 2000
> > Honda Accord V6.
>
> > I charged battery overnight; started fine after I put it back in.
> > Looked for drains with a multimeter; after a few minutes, current went
> > down to 12 mA, which AFAICT means there's no way it could empty the
> > battery. (Car had been parked at most a couple days, and it's pretty
> > warm here.)
>
> > After getting some reasonable replies in a different thread here, I
> > took it to Advance Auto Parts and had it tested for free. Everything
> > checked out fine.
>
> > Anyone have any ideas? I know that electrical issues can be
> > notoriously hard to diagnose. Is it possible there's something about
> > the alternator or the rest of the car's electrical system that the
> > test at Advance would have missed? (The test is broken down into a few
> > parts (battery, starter, charging system), all reporting normal.)
>
> > Also, if there was something seriously wrong with the alternator or
> > battery, I assume I'd be getting dead batteries more frequently. We
> > had a dead battery quite a while back, probably due to cab light being
> > left on. After that, last spring the alternator went bad. Had that
> > replaced. A couple weeks after that, left it at the airport for about
> > 5 days; dead when we got back. Had it jumped. It's been fine until
> > last weekend. THat's a pretty big gap (early May to mid August).
>
> > TIA
>
> How old is the battery?? Anything near 4-5 years old and it's time for
> a new one.
>

It's from 2009. Checked out at the auto parts place (load test).

> with the car running put the multimeter on the battery to see what
> your alternator is charging at. It should be above 13.5vdc or so.
>
> does the car get driven on a regular basis?

Not every day, but at least 3 times a week. Given how warm it is
outside, I find it hard to believe that there's not enough driving
going on to charge the battery.

> A jump start may get you going, but your alternator won't fully charge
> your battery. You need to slow charge the battery with a charger..
> alternators only quick charge batteries.

Yeah, that's what I did this weekend. Took the battery out (no garage
here), placed it on a charger and set the charger to 2 A.

> Chas- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Mysterious dead battery in 2000 Honda Accord
 

On Aug 17, 4:40*pm, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
> woger151 > wrote:
> >Last weekend my wife reported that the battery was dead in our 2000
> >Honda Accord V6.
>
> >I charged battery overnight; started fine after I put it back in.
> >Looked for drains with a multimeter; after a few minutes, current went
> >down to 12 mA, which AFAICT means there's no way it could empty the
> >battery. (Car had been parked at most a couple days, and it's pretty
> >warm here.)
>
> >After getting some reasonable replies in a different thread here, I
> >took it to Advance Auto Parts and had it tested for free. Everything
> >checked out fine.
>
> >Anyone have any ideas? I know that electrical issues can be
> >notoriously hard to diagnose. Is it possible there's something about
> >the alternator or the rest of the car's electrical system that the
> >test at Advance would have missed? (The test is broken down into a few
> >parts (battery, starter, charging system), all reporting normal.)
>
> 1. Your wife left the dome light on and didn't tell you.

Could be, but she swears she didn't. She'd be aware of that because
one of us did that before.

>
> 2. Your teenage daughter has been making out with her boyfriend
> * *in the car in the garage with the radio on full blast to hide the
> * *noise.

Girls too young for that.

:-)

>
> 3. Something intermittent is coming on, like a faulty latch that sometimes
> * *doesn't close the glovebox completely.

Yeah, that's what I'm worried about cuz it sounds like a b*tch to
diagnose.

>
> >Also, if there was something seriously wrong with the alternator or
> >battery, I assume I'd be getting dead batteries more frequently. We
> >had a dead battery quite a while back, probably due to cab light being
> >left on. After that, last spring the alternator went bad. Had that
> >replaced. A couple weeks after that, left it at the airport for about
> >5 days; dead when we got back. Had it jumped. It's been fine until
> >last weekend. THat's a pretty big gap (early May to mid August).
>
> A popular failure mode is for the alternator diodes to fail and the battery
> to discharge through the alternator when the car is parked. *But if this
> had been the case, you'd have seen it on the ammeter.
> --scott
>
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Mysterious dead battery in 2000 Honda Accord
 

woger151 > wrote in
:

> Last weekend my wife reported that the battery was dead in our 2000
> Honda Accord V6.
>
> I charged battery overnight; started fine after I put it back in.
> Looked for drains with a multimeter; after a few minutes, current went
> down to 12 mA, which AFAICT means there's no way it could empty the
> battery. (Car had been parked at most a couple days, and it's pretty
> warm here.)
>
> After getting some reasonable replies in a different thread here, I
> took it to Advance Auto Parts and had it tested for free. Everything
> checked out fine.
>
> Anyone have any ideas? I know that electrical issues can be
> notoriously hard to diagnose. Is it possible there's something about
> the alternator or the rest of the car's electrical system that the
> test at Advance would have missed? (The test is broken down into a few
> parts (battery, starter, charging system), all reporting normal.)
>
> Also, if there was something seriously wrong with the alternator or
> battery, I assume I'd be getting dead batteries more frequently. We
> had a dead battery quite a while back, probably due to cab light being
> left on. After that, last spring the alternator went bad. Had that
> replaced. A couple weeks after that, left it at the airport for about
> 5 days; dead when we got back. Had it jumped. It's been fine until
> last weekend. THat's a pretty big gap (early May to mid August).
>
How about this: charge if overnight again at 2A. Make *sure* it
registers more than 12v and then leave it *unconnected* in the garage
for a full day and then test it again. At least that eliminates the
battery one way or the other.

--
(setq (chuck nil) car(chuck) )

Mysterious dead battery in 2000 Honda Accord
 

On 8/17/2010 4:38 PM, m6onz5a wrote:
>
> How old is the battery?? Anything near 4-5 years old and it's time for
> a new one.

That is a crock! What are you a battery salesman?

> with the car running put the multimeter on the battery to see what
> your alternator is charging at. It should be above 13.5vdc or so.
>
> does the car get driven on a regular basis?
>
> A jump start may get you going, but your alternator won't fully charge
> your battery. You need to slow charge the battery with a charger..
> alternators only quick charge batteries.

After that comment, it's apparent that you are not a battery salesman.
:^)

Mysterious dead battery in 2000 Honda Accord
 

"woger151" > wrote in message
news:00c6b230-32f0-4793-992f-

>
> 3. Something intermittent is coming on, like a faulty latch that sometimes
> doesn't close the glovebox completely.

Yeah, that's what I'm worried about cuz it sounds like a b*tch to
diagnose.

***
They can indeed be a bitch to diagnose. And I think this is the likely
problem.

Common offenders are
(1)lights, as in glove box, trunk compartment, dome, etc that are not
always going off.
(2) Brake light switch intermittently activating and depleting the battery.
(3) Any of many relays in the car activating at their own will. (Mine was a
seat belt retractor relay in a Regal.. Nearly NEVER found that
scoundrel)
There are others. In odd circumstances the battery and or alternator can
mimic
these symtoms.

Since it is likely intermittent, it is 100% good some 90+% of the time.
Sometimes
a maximum indicating VOM, set on amps scale, can help. Or, you can start
removing
fuses one at the time overnight and see if you can pick out the misbehaving
circuit.

My condolescenses

Mysterious dead battery in 2000 Honda Accord
 

> How about this: charge if overnight again at 2A. Make *sure* it
> registers more than 12v and then leave it *unconnected* in the garage
> for a full day and then test it again. At least that eliminates the
> battery one way or the other.
>
If you can pop the filler caps off, see if it is dry.
Could be all the electrolyte has evaporated or leaked out some how.

If it is dry, add enough distilled water to get to the bottom of the filler
holes.