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So I have a 06 1.8 civic that I bought just before lockdown.

During the lockdown the battery went dead as it wasn't being driven, that was the assumption anyway.

I owned the car and had been driving it for about 4 weeks before lockdown and no issues whatsoever.

So after lockdown I got the car tested at Kwik fit and was told everything was fine but needed a new battery. So replaced tbe battery.

1 month later I come out to the car and completely dead. Can't even unlock it with the button. Worth noting I have had absolutely no issues or clues as to something was wrong before. Started perfect everytime

Car goes back to Kwik Fit, they tell me the negative terminal was loose when they connected the new battery and this is the problem as everything else is fine. New battery again.

4 weeks later exactly the same issue with one small exception. About a week before the car had a issue starting, just kept turning over. Locked and unlocked the car started fine. Not sure if this is relevant.

Any advice? money is now tight so i dont want to spend more then I have to.


Also if I start the car with the battery pack it drives perfect, no issues at all.
only other thing that could be relevant is it does have a funny idol, intermittently the idles will drop and the car will stutter like its stalling and then come back up. Its also random, regardless of heating being on or off or anything like that.


Sorry for the wall of text but I'm a bit stuck!

Cheers

 
Rep Power: 225

Do you have a decent multi-meter? Measure current draw with key off.

 
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I have one of the old yellow block ones, is that good enough or need to buy one?

 
Rep Power: 225

As long as it can measure current it should work. I would expect it to be maybe a few hundred mA with everything off. Someone else will have to chime in with a better estimate.

 
Rep Power: 100

I have only limited knowledge here, but I believe a 50 mA draw is considered the maximum. If you have more than that, then there's probably something wrong that is causing your battery drain.

When I was having a battery drain overnight a few years back, it was due to a faulty ignition switch. With the switch in the OFF position and key out, the current draw was 700-800 mA. This was typically enough to drain the battery overnight although not always. If the car started, then everything was fine.

But a parasitic draw could come from a lot of different sources. I got lucky because I could toggle the ignition switch while watching the current draw. If I disconnected the switch, the current dropped to about 10 mA. Easy to diagnose. But if it is a wiring or fuse or relay problem, the only way I know of to find it is with an infrared thermometer. Just look for the heat and you'll find your problem.

You need to start with current draw with your multimeter. Use the 'Amps' setting for current and have your leads connected in the correct ports on the multimeter. Remove the negative battery terminal and use the multimeter leads to complete the circuit. There are plenty of YouTube videos on how to do this.

 
Rep Power: 0

Sounds very similar to the problem I had with my car (see my thread "Parasitic Draw..." which I've just updated.)

Turned out to be a known fault with the factory stereo. Having the stereo disconnected fixed the problem.

My car's 10 years older than your car 'though so you'd hope the fault wouldn't be in later models - but who knows!

 
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Sorry to hear and wish you luck.. I have an '08 CivicEX Cpe... very similar problem. Had the Battery replaced thrice before the AAA guy said no more its not the battery and with his little test device said its not the starter or alternator either... I have lots of electrical/electronics background and further tried to TS. the issue myself, pulling fuse by fuse, measuring volts and/or amps... Now be aware there is also a small drain, measured in mil-amps due to factory-radio/clock security, remote locking system, and factory security systems.

Turned outm according to Honda dealer, after 2 weeks of them having the car chasing the problem, to be the Fuse Panel (the one inside under dash) and the Gauge Cluster according to the service writer at a cost of only $1,600.00.. I have/had trouble believing both components were bad and had quite an argument with the Service Manager and got nowhere... except he wanted to charge me more yelling at the service writer for not billing the complete hours expended.
When I picked it up there was a crack in the cover over the Radio area, I guess it had to be removed to replace the gauge cluster.. yet another argument over over if it might have been broken before it went to the dealer... they ended up replacing it for free though, you could see where it had been pried off.
Then as I was leaving down the street I realized I had no rear signal lights, immediately returned, back in the shop, and the guy who did most of the work did a little digging and found a plug they had not plugged back in.
Next day I was at home, unlocked and opened the door, and got side tracked talking to a neighbor and heard the doors lock, fortunately the door was open..
Back to the dealer and same mechanic.. found the switch to turn on the interior light and also tell the security system the door was open was stuch in the closed position... replaced that swicth..

Since all this, and its been about a year, no further problems of a dead battery.