gearbox

iTrader: (95)

this has been a constant problem for my car as long as i can remember. if i drive the car every day, its fine and there is enough juice to start the car. if i let it sit for a few days, i need to charge the battery up. usually it settles around 11.4v if i let it sit for a few days. after a week, the car will barely start. something is draining this battery more than normal and i have no idea what it is. obviously ive checked the usual stuff, the amp is off, the alarm is off, everything else ive wired to the car is turned off. how can i even try to see where the drain is coming from? this is a fairly new battery too barely a year old and its an upgrade 500 cca lead acid battery with full electrolyte.

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

You should measure the amount of current that is being drawn.

unTuned

when you upgraded to this battery, what was the deal with the old one? was it doing the same thing?

if it was then you know its the car. maybe you just had bad luck and got a faulty battery this time? what kind is it?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

oh its the car for sure. my last battery was an oem type replacement with 450cca and it lasted 2 yrs with daily driving, but it would do the same thing with slight drain over time (unfortunately, it was my own fault that killed the old battery cause i did not think to check the fluid levels, EVER) lol. i will check the current later today. i can do it with multimeter right? also if i unhook the battery from the car, it will stay fully charged for several weeks.

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

To measure current you may need to move the input connector pins on the multimeter to read amperage. Also be sure to put the meter in series between the disconnected cable and the open battery post. (the current being read will flow through the meter)

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

look into the CTEK 3300

http://www.ctek.com/EN-US/Buy-US-Charger.aspx

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

already have a trickle charger for when it sits more than a few days.

MidnightCivic

iTrader: (11)

gearbox with a problem?

I wouldn't know where to start, i did read up something sort of similar like this on another forum and it ended up being the alternator but it may be different...GL with the fix

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

damn this has got to be a bitch to figure out I hope someone could guide u in the right direction. Ill do some searching if I find anything worth letting you know I will.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i mean what would drain power without being on, other than the ecu and stuff? i went around and checked all my addons including led foot lights and stereo stuff. everything is totally off and no power leaks. if i wait 2-3 days the car still starts fine. after a week it struggles bad and barely has enough juice to turn the engine. after that i have to charge the battery. electrolytes are all full, battery clamps are tight, i even removed my alarm backup battery which was dead anyway a while back thinking it may be trying to use car battery to charge itself, but that didnt help. my alarm is disarmed too, i just lock the doors when its parked in garage.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

This is just a quick thought, but check your trunk light might stay on when ur trunk is closed.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

thanks for the idea, but i checked this a while ago when i put the 1w red led in there and it turned off with trunk closed. even then, 1w is almost nothing. do you think its a combination of weird stuff on my car that each use up a lil bit of power? i know the alpine deck needs to keep memory, same with ecu, maybe the alarm too even if its not turned on.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

I dont know all that much about electronics. But I highly Doubt an aftermarket radio and alarm would cause that. Besides u say u disable the alarm and it still happens. I dont see how and aftermarket stero would use any more then an OEM when off. They are still storing pretty much the same information.

Id try to randomly disconnect things like your amps and aftermarket stuff and see what happens u never know even if it looks dead **** is sometimes defective. This could take awhile to do since u need to wait a few days, but its my best offer.

unTuned

theres no way its that stuff. i dont know much about the alarm system, but i highly doubt it. the deck and ecu take next to nothing. do you have an amp? i remember for a while for some reason when i shut the car off my amp would stay on for a while after. i never knew until one day i heard my car slow to start. after some investigation i noticed my amp was staying on for up to an hour after i shut the car off. the problem seemed to have went away when i grounded it better though.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

amp turns off as soon as i take the key out. after driving yesterday i checked the volts today and its 12.1v, so i threw the charger on and got it back to 12.6v. im gonna check again tomorrow. also it seems like even right after driving, the battery voltage is only around 12.2v and doesnt get any higher. i heard thats normal tho and the alt never really should be charging the battery to full. so long as the charge stays around 12v, i have no problems for a few days. daily driving i would never notice. after a week, its down to 11.4v and car really has trouble starting. i know this isnt normal cause other cars we have still start after couple weeks of sitting.

unTuned

any chance it could be your alternator screwing up? i remember reading before that you had changed your alternator. what was the deal with the first one, and what one did you install? is it oem?

im wondering if when the car is actually on, your alternator isnt giving enough juice or something, and the car is feeding certain things off the battery? just a thought..

because if youre shutting the car off and the battery isnt full after that, its obviously draining while the car is running too. i can see the alternator being a problem.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

first oem alternator crapped out after 3 yrs, battery light came on and it wasnt charging at all. i had another one put in (prolly napa aftermarket since thats what the shop uses and it was covered under ext warranty) and never had a problem for the last 4 years. it always reads around 14-14.2v at the battery when the car is running. i did have an issue about a year ago where i was getting mad squeaking from the alternator belt and the shop said the whole alternator was about to fall off due to the adjustment bolt that had loosened. but since then everythings been fine once they tightened the bolt.

but even if the alt was not charging the battery completely, it still doesnt explain how fast the battery is losing charge by sitting (going from 12.2v down to 11.4v in a week.

unTuned

i have no idea, i think you have crappy luck problems. everytime you have a problem its one of those ones that are always hard to investigate haha.

cloud2987

Hey, this exact thing happened to my friend's 95 Buick two weeks ago. First we tested the battery at O'reilly's auto parts and it read 11.4v too. Then he bought a new battery and two days after that it died on him again. He ended up replacing his alternator and now it is fine. That worked for him, but can't guarantee its will solve yours since his was a Buick. I think it is worth a try tho.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i think alternator can be ruled out. i connect the battery to a charger and bring it to 12.6v but after a few days of sitting it will go back down again. only explanation is somethings using up the battery.

cloud2987

oh ic. Well if you can't seem to find whats draining it you can try some of these (not sure if you already have a manual or a better manual)..on my Chilton's Service manual for 01-05 civics it says under trouble shooting for battery will not hold a charge:
1. Alternator drivebelt defective or not adjusted properly.
2. Battery electrolyte level low
3. Battery terminals loose or corroded
4. Alternator not charging properly
5. Loose, Broken or faulty wiring in the charging circuit
6. Short in vehicle wiring
or 7. Internally defective battery.

Well anyways, I hope you find out what going on. Let us know if you do.. i am curious now lol. Good luck!

TrekkieKim

I just found your post and want to say that I have an 07 Civic that started doing this VERY same thing about a month ago. Now it goes completely dead every 5-7 days. It has been to the shop and had a new alternator and battery put in and that made NO difference. The shop has had the car for about 10 days now and they can't find what is causing it.
The car was fine for 2 years and this started out of the blue....and it has to be a problem with the car, not the battery and alternator.
I know NOTHING about cars, so I'm simply trying to find information that may be helpful to the mechanics. If you discover something that could be the problem, would you let me know. This is a HUGE problem. I'm very frustrated, since I thought Hondas were suppose to be great cars with very few issues.
thanks

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

problem finally solved. in my attempt to switch to a lighter braille b2015 battery, i decided this draining problem needed to be fixed or it wouldnt start after sitting overnight. so i started ripping out electrical stuff ive never used, and one or more things completely fixed the problem. i ripped out the entire rear defrost circuit including coil and relay, no more radio plugged in, keyless entry module unplugged, door lock actuators unplugged (driver door only), interior light fuse removed, all door triggers unplugged except driver side (so i still have the warning beeps), and now the braille battery with only 25 mins of reserve will start the car no problem after sitting for a week. the reason for unplugging the door triggers is so that the MCU remains in sleep mode if i need to get in the car from the passenger side without wanting to drive it. same with removing dome lights, less power used when car is not running. its been 6 months and no problems.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

i have all those plugged in and working.....and i dont have any drainage problems... thats strange.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

yeah im sure its not a normal thing to happen, something that i unhooked was broken or leaking power.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

makes sense.

dbis

I had this problem and here's what I found: Using a clamp on volt/amp meter, I determined that I had a sustained 12 amp drain on the system whether the engine was running or not. The culprit? The rear defrost system. When I pulled the rear defrost relay, the amperage drain disappeared. When I re-inserted it, it returned. I swapped relays: same result. I unplugged the dash switch: same result.

For me this problem began after my voltage regulator went out on a long trip and I fried my battery as a result of a sustained over voltage situation. Hope this helps somebody. I've yet to determine where the short is (I suspect it may be in the defrost wiring on the rear window) but at least my battery isn't draining constantly when the engine is off.

Also, in my 97 Civic, there is no fused circuit for the rear defrost system. There is only a fused circuit for the rear defrost relay and pulling the fuse to this circuit did not eliminate the constant drain.

mac25

you could put them back in, one by one until you find the item.

then it could be a useful thing for people to check if it happens to someone in the future.

fusion158

iTrader: (2)

I had this problem at this time last year only it would drain a lot faster. I put a multimeter in series with the battery and it was drawing 3.4A. Turned out a relay was stuck in the on position. It was the A/C relay and the compressor solenoid was always on. Check those relays you pulled. They may be ok now but if you test one at a time you may find the source of the problem

ezone

I think your problem should be in the front half of the car, sounds like something is keeping the RDEF relay engaged.
Fuse #16 in the dash fusebox covered the relay.

Fuse #50 in the engine compartment box (30 amp) is the one for the defrost grid.

Wiring diagrams are handy things!



Agreed.
A solved problem would be far more useful than hearing about stuff that was just left disabled.