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

 

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

 

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.

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

 

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

nate

 

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

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.

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.

 

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

Girls too young for that.

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

 

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.

 

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

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

 

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

 

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.

 

Batteries in Houston, Texas last about 3 1/2 years.

 

That is pretty much the experience I have had with them. Maybe a few more
years
but not too much. The heat, the abuse, etc just seem to limit them.

 

If your ammeter has a min-max or some sort of recorder, leave it on
overnight. If it stays at 12 ma, it's either the battery or an
intermittent problem.

All of the advice above is good. You can check some of those things
easily - pull the glove box door out slightly - it it takes very
little movement to turn on the light, that's probably it. You can
apply that principle to most of the other possibilities. I doubt that
car still used door jamb switches, but that would be another thing to
check.

It might also work to put a test light in line with the battery cable
to help you see when the various switches trip.

Also, do you park the car in a garage and leave the keys in the
ignition? That has been an issue on some vehicles.

 

Here in New England, batteries from Sears, AutoZone, etc seem to last ~5
years or so,

I bought a genuine Toyota battery for my old Corolla in 1999. It drove
until 2004, sat for 2 years and then the battery was pulled and put in my
Mazda in Dec 2006. I just replaced it two weeks ago.

 

That would seem to be very good performance for a battery that was left
unattended for a couple of years. I rather doubt that most would
give this type of service, granted the same conditions.

 

Have either of you guys tried Continentals? They make them right across
the border for the Texas market and they handle the high temperatures a
lot better than typical car batteries.
--scott

 

if it is dry,chances are the plates are sulfated and you need a new
battery.Every time I've refilled a low or dry battery,it didn't last very
long.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

 

Heat is the Number One enemy of car batteries.
Vibration is #2. hold-down brackets are important.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

 

I should have bought another. Made by Exide, I believe.

 

Exide, (Willard), batteries used to have an excellent reputation. I've
just not seen them around for a few years and suspect todays Exide may
not resemble those of yesteryear.

Other battery brands that I have found with good longevity include those
from the old Wester Auto, Sears Die Hard and current "gold" AutoZone.

But, my Honda guru sells Interstate and I get a break. We'll see as I
have never been particularly impressed with this brand.

(Anything Paul Harvey plugged, watch out!)

JT