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Battery Problems?

L

Lizzi

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Location
Wiltshire
Car
Toyota :-(
Hi all.
Had my 2006 Accord 3 years, and love it to bits. However, I've got a bit of an issue with the following, so would appreciate opinions please:-

About 22 months ago, I had a new battery fitted, as the service report from my local (trusted) Honda garage showed the battery to be having trouble charging. Test showed a voltage reading of 12.17v.
Following service showed a battery test reading of 12.30v, but no reference to a problem was made, so I went happily on my way!
Just had it serviced again, and the battery test has been highlighted again. Results are 12.02v. Time to charge is
11 mins to 40A, 23 mins to 20A and 46 mins to 10A. They are saying see how it goes, and if I notice issues, they will test for leakage.
But that's just it; I am not (yet) having any obvious battery problems. It starts on first turn over, all electrics work. Its used almost every day, sometime 3 to 4 miles, often around the 20-25mile mark, and every couple of months 100+ miles to see family.
Now when I dropped it off yesterday for the service (a 20 mile trip) it was dark and raining, so I had on lights, wipers, heater and radio. Last couple of miles was in stop start traffic.

So my question is should I be concerned at these readings? Or would the heavy electrical usage whilst driving to the garage of caused a reading of only 12.02v? I had a god awful experience with a Toyota that an electrical problem a few years back. It died on me on the M25 when the outside temp was -2c, and Greenflag took 4 hours to rescue me! So you can see why I am a bit nervous about this, and don't really want to wait for it to fail before sorting it.

Any views greatly received!
 
It's a battery, and by virtue of its design it's not going to last forever. I would agree with the advice, and see how it goes.

If you are overly concerned, replace it.
 
^ as above

out of curiosity, Is it a diesel or a petrol (they have different sized battery) ?
 
F6HAD said:
It's a battery, and by virtue of its design it's not going to last forever. I would agree with the advice, and see how it goes.

If you are overly concerned, replace it.
Click to expand...
But thats my point. It was replace just under 2 years ago, because the readings looked low, and I didn't want to be in a breakdown situation.
So if the readings are low again, could that mean something is draining it? Or do you accept a battery life of 2 years??

Its a petrol 2.0. No hands free kit.
 
Get them to replace it if it's under the 3 year warranty, my battery since new lasted 5 years (2.0 also), but I've got the accessory Bluetooth kit fitted as well as a car phone charger, so I've got extra draw going on there.

The colder weather could be affecting it's performance as it normally would, batteries and cold weather don't get along, but I wouldn't be overly concerned unless you have a non start issue.

The accord won't leave you stranded at the side of the road, once it's going it's going.

If you're still having concerns, try to limit the short journeys to a as few as possible as these are not letting the battery charge up enough.
 
If the figures you mentioned are charging voltages then they are too low - when the car is running the voltage across the battery terminals should be around 14.4 V - which could point to a problem with the alternator.
 
A battery voltage of below 12.5v is a concern, but doesn't have to be the battery that is at fault.


Cliffordski said:
If the figures you mentioned are charging voltages then they are too low - when the car is running the voltage across the battery terminals should be around 14.4 V - which could point to a problem with the alternator.
Click to expand...
It is important that this is confirmed to rule out an alternator problem.


gtv said:
do you have bluethooth hands free?
Click to expand...
Good question... even though Liz has now confirmed that this car doesn't have this equipment, it could still be a similar type of parasitic drain (a lamp remaining on somewhere?) making the battery look knackered.


Lizzi said:
But thats my point. It was replace just under 2 years ago, because the readings looked low, and I didn't want to be in a breakdown situation.
So if the readings are low again, could that mean something is draining it? Or do you accept a battery life of 2 years??

Its a petrol 2.0. No hands free kit.
Click to expand...
2 years is not acceptable... you may just have been unlucky. But may be the consequence of buying a particularly cheap battery... was it supplied by Honda? If so, then I'd have expected it to still be under warranty.

If you know that the alternator is pushing enough voltage, and there is no unexpected battery drain (will need to be investigated using an ammeter and - if above, say, 200mA drain - pulling the fuses one at a time to pinpoint the faulty circuit) then the problem must be the battery.
 
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