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Hi all,

I have a civic 96 Exi 4-door sedan with D15Z4 engine.

I could experience fast battery drain. hence could not start the car after 2-3 days. I replaced the battery couple of months back. Sometimes observed faint illumination of car DVD setup panel when ignition switched off. I guessed this fast battery drain happens due to a fault in DVD setup. I used to remove DVD's front panel when the car had parked. But not resolved yet. the Check Engine normally illuminated and went-off after ignition switched on.

Can it be a short circuit of sensors? ECM/PCM?
Can it be a fault in DVD setup?

Could you please help me to resolve it?

Thanks!!!

 
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first try to fully disconnect any accessories you added other than what the car comes with. see if the drain still occurs.

 
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Hi GearBox, Thanks for the reply.

BTW; Is it ok if I follow this approach to isolate the issue?

First connect the multimeter in between negative terminal of the battery and cabel. then measure the amount of current draws when ignition switched off. (Can you please tell me the acceptable current that needs for ECUs and clocks????). If it draws significant amount of current then remove the fuses one by one...??? starting from Audio out/ECM/PCM fuse?

 
Rep Power: 813

start by pulling fuses for the extra parts you installed. is it just the dvd player or do you have amps too? its usually not the car at fault. any small drain by the ecu and other electronics should not be enough to drain the battery in a few days. does your battery read the normal 12.5v or so right after driving?

 
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FYI: Extra parts that I have installed!
============================

- DVD player & mirror LCD (additionally works as reverse camera)
- 850W Blaupunkt GT Amplifier and subwoofer
- security system with remote key


Anyway I checked the battery drain by removing Amp power cable (big red wire going to battery +ve) as well. No clue :-(

Recently I found that, DVD player and security system are going through Audio, ECM/PCM Fuse. (ECM reset fuse).

 
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I am wondering if you have the DVD player through a constant on fuse, if so change it to a key on accessory fuse like the cig lighter.

 
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civicpapi,

I didn't get you clearly.

I pulled the #47 (Audio Unit, ECM/PCM) fuse and observed that DVD setup and security system were not working after ignition switched on. [after engine started]. Isn't it a acceptable wiring for accessories?

Could you pls explain little more? Thanks

 
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What year and model is your car?

Is the dvd player an in dash unit that replaces your stock radio? A quick thought if it is a dash unit, is it possible you switched the 2 power wires, one is red and the other is yellow?

If it is an accessory I would wire it to a switched lead, which means it is only active with the key on. There might be 2 radio fuses, I believe under the dash and the other under the hood. As for the security unit that is ok to wire to a constant on, since it needs power for the led and to function in general, an accessory will drain your battery, say a radar detector etc.

 
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Keep that fuse pulled and see if the battery drains. If it doesn't drain, then we know it is something to do with your ICE.

 
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it's 1996 4-DR sedan Exi with D15Z4 engine. (Manual)

The DVD player was attached to the dash which replaced the Factory fitted Honda Radio. Additionally 850W Amp and subwoofer were installed. but powered directly from battery, in this case I disconnected power to the amp already.

 
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Is the amp drawing continuous power? Is the remote wire functioning properly so that it turns off when the car turns off?

 
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Thanks for replying gentlemen ....

yeah it was drawing continuous power. So I disconnected the big red cable from Battery +ve very first. I think remote wire was functioning properly. As the amp LEDs turned on only after the DVD turned on and played something.

But the thing is after the car turned off, could observe faint illumination in DVD panel display LEDs.. So I used to remove the DVD panel when car turned off. But the battery drain continued ....

Does that sign a fault in DVD player or wiring?

help me... :-(

 
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If you see a faint lighting in the unit then it prob it is wired wrong. Did you use an aftermarket wire harness that plugs into the honda one? I would pull the dvd player and double check the wiring. Like I posted before check the 2 power wires one is red and the other is yellow. The yellow on is a constant on (going on my memory).

 
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I just removed both DVD setup and HONDA factory setup (To narrow down the scope :-))last weekend. Right after keeping the engine ON for 15minutes (without running), the battery terminals read 12.93V. After 1 day the car started without any issue. So I switched off the engine and kept for another day. But the following day car did not start. The battery terminals were somewhere around 10V.

Why it was drained significantly after removing all the added accessories except security system?

1. By keeping the engine ON for 15minutes (without running) - Will the charge not enough to start the engine two three times? (May be a stupid question!!!). I thought first attempt consumed significant amount of battery that prevented the engine start by second attempt.

2. Problem with the new battery?

Thanks.........

 
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A couple of thoughts, did this only happen when you got the new battery?

Another thought, double check to make sure you got the right battery. The reason I am saying this is many years ago I went to Sears for a battery for my old firebird and the idiot gave me the wrong battery, so it was under sized for my application and it kept dying on me and even took out my alternator with it.

 
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It was experienced with the old battery when I purchased the car. I thought battery was expired and bought the new battery. The battery was 60Ah. (Most of my EK3 mates using this!!! EK3 2000 same!)