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alternator/battery issues

J

john_d

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fife
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Saab 9-5 Aero
wife's car has stood for 5 days, she went to start it and it was dead, i got my car and jump started it and took it for a good drive, after the drive i left it for 5 minutes and got the following readings

ignition off - 12.32v
igintion on- 11.88v
engine running - idle 13.87-14v

when i put the jump cable on you could hear the strain on my engine (engine bogged down but wasn't close to stalling)

so, the battery is relatively new (18 months or so) so i dont suspect that, we only changed the battery as we got stucked once when the old battery died after my son was messing about with the electric windows and drained the battery after 3 minutes.

the alternator seems to give a good reading, so if it's not that then i have something constantly draining the battery, but how do i go about finding out what it is?
 
Are you sure it's not just a dud battery? I've had 3 on my car in the last year. Might just be me with the bad luck though :(
 
as said its only 18 month old, same thing happened with the old battery, if we didn't start it atleast every 3-4 days it would be dead when we tried.
 
Hmmmm. Have you tries locking the car in the early hours of the moring and then haveing a look about in the dark to see if any lights stay on? Or if you can hear any electrical noises?

Random question i know, but has anyone fiddled about with the alarm at all? I remember reading this same sort of problem on an Audi forum and it was becuase it had a new fancy alarm on the car.
 
That'd certaintly run the battery down over a day or 2 yeah.

Is yours staying on? Sorry Cliff, wrong person :lol: But that's the sort of thing that shoul;d be looked for.
 
OK, I'll wait till its dark and check for irregularities :)
 
John what make of battery are you using ;)
 
Can't remember, I'll check when I go out tonight, will also get the battery capacity etc.
 
No lights or electrical items running, battery is a varta, 41ah, 360a.
 
41ah is a little weak even for a Petrol is it not?
 
^^^Sounds a little weak.

I'll go check what i've got in mine in a min. It was fitted at Holdcroft last year and still works fine. Even turns over the new cams :lol:
 
Probably stating the obvious here but the fact that the battery voltage goes up when the car is ticking over tells me that the alternator is pushing charge to the Battery. I would put money on it either being a duff battery, a light (like the boot or glove compartment light) staying on, a bad permanent live going to aftermarket stereo if there is one fitted and you can switch it on when the key is out of the ignition or a bad earth somewhere on the car.
 
Dan Robinson said:
41ah is a little weak even for a Petrol is it not?
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Ain't got a clue about batteries m8

I'll try removing the stereo and take some reading, may even try removing the fuses in turn to see if that makes any difference.

PS, it is a 2l petrol
 
ok.

haven't started the car in over 20 hours and the battery gave a reading 11.94v, with the ignition on it dropped to 11.67v

whilst the ignition was on i removed all fuses and relays seperatly (including the fuses in the passenger compartment), the only thing that made any difference to the reading was a fuse that i beleive to be the fuel pump - when i removed it i heard a click and when i replaced it a heard a noise like petrol being fed through.

after all this i still managed to start the car even though the battery was reading 11.6v

so i aint got a clue.
 
john_d said:
ok.

haven't started the car in over 20 hours and the battery gave a reading 11.94v, with the ignition on it dropped to 11.67v

whilst the ignition was on i removed all fuses and relays seperatly (including the fuses in the passenger compartment), the only thing that made any difference to the reading was a fuse that i beleive to be the fuel pump - when i removed it i heard a click and when i replaced it a heard a noise like petrol being fed through.

after all this i still managed to start the car even though the battery was reading 11.6v

so i aint got a clue.
Click to expand...
Hey John

I am surprised the car started with that low a voltage but it is a Honda :D . I honestly think that battery is the issue here. The alternator is pushing charge to it but it is not holding it. If I was to hazard a guess as to why I will say that I have come across a lot of battery issues over here in the last few months. The very cold winter we had is to blame. If your car was not used regularly during the winter the battery may have been freezing. this affects the alkali in the battery and its ability to hold a charge. If it is not a sealed battery this can be tested. you can pick up kits in most motor factors if it is a sealed battery it cannot be tested and unfortunately the only thing you can do is attach another battery to the car and see how that fares over a couple of days. But if you are like me and do not have access to another battery then it is down to a motor factors to buy one I am afraid to say. Sorry I do not have anything better to add than that.

On the above point on battery's and winter and I am sure I am preaching to the choir on this but even if you are not going out anywhere, once the temp drops below -5 or so you should always just turn over your car for about 15 min or so. It keeps the battery from freezing and a costly replacement. Found that out after having to replace a battery on my Volvo at a cost of €200.
 
I do have access to another battery, I could try the 1 from my ST, not sure if the posts are on the same side though, I do know it won't fit in the battery tray though as its a big-***ed mofo so will need to strap it down somehow.
 
john_d said:
I do have access to another battery, I could try the 1 from my ST, not sure if the posts are on the same side though, I do know it won't fit in the battery tray though as its a big-***ed mofo so will need to strap it down somehow.
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Hi John

Handy having a battery to try. Not sure what damage, if any, using a bigger battery will do to your car. Just looked at the owners manual and the battery suggested by honda is a 12 V - 55AH/20R for the 1.8, 2.0, 2.2 and 2.3 engines. so it is possible you have an underpowered battery on the car if you are only using a 41AH this would account for it going dead after 18 months as well as there is too much load being placed on it. Hope this helps

Andy
 
No harm having a bigger one, but too small and it will be killed by the long term strain of the starter load.
 
well been ****ing down day so didnt get around to swapping, hopefully try tomorrow.
 
Dan Robinson said:
No harm having a bigger one, but too small and it will be killed by the long term strain of the starter load.
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That's what she said :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
luvmyaccord said:
That's what she said :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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1.gif
 
Boom Boom!!! :lol:
 
so, i used my car earlier today, and swapped batteries, the accords battery on mine fired the car up no problem.

after i put my battery on the accord i took more readings:

ignition off 12.71v
ignition on 12.05v
engine running 14.5

my battery size if 590A and 60AH, as stated i used my car so the readings are not the same as they's be having been left overnight, i shall take readings tomorrow morning but ive a gut feeling im gona be faced with the same regardless of which battery.
 
Just been and checked mine.

It's a 12V - 60AH battery. Genuine Honda part.

No - 31500-SIA-G01-HE. If you do end up needing another battery i can recommend this one. Got it from HH at a very reasonable price last year, and not had any problems with it at all.
 
41AH does indeed sound weak.....if your voltage is over 13V then most likely your alternator is ok and charging the battery....seems most likely to be a bad battery....sometimes just bad luck!
 
ok so, my battery has been on the car for a couple of days now, i left it over night (twice) and started it the next morning, fired upboth times and the engine turns over a lot quicker than with the 41ah battery, so looks like the battery is too small.

i contacted HH and got quoted £66 incl. vat but they cant post unfortunately, so i'll have to look elsewhere.
 
john_d said:
i contacted HH and got quoted £66 incl. vat but they cant post unfortunately, so i'll have to look elsewhere.
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That's an excellent price.
That's the price of a "no-brand" battery here in Portugal. In a Honda Dealer, they were asking about 120€, IIRC :eek:
 
totally agree with it being an excellant price, shame i cant get it :(
 
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