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ok, here is the thing i checked my battery volts last week with a DMM and it read 12.39v and today my car didn't start i checked the volts again and it read 11.76v so that what a battery shows when is dead right? but the problem is that my neighbor help me and jumpstart the car with cables. the car was able to run. but after a couple minutes letting the car to charge the battery, the car turn itself off.

so here is the question, if the car is already running but have a dead battery is it possible that the car turn itself off because of the battery? or is it the alternator that is not working as it should?

the weird thing here also is that i have checked my battery volts many time and always give me a different reading. the battery is like 2years and half old. but it is a optima yellow top d51.

hope someone help me here. i'm not able to take the car to autozone to test the battery since it won't turn on.

 
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I have had cars turn off before when disconnecting the battery and the alts were still great. so you can't judge it like that anymore...

you got to some how get it tested even if you have to pull the alt or battery and get a ride to Take it to the nearest Autozone , advance auto parts , pepboys ect. they test both for Free..

 
Rep Power: 203

Keep in mind, if the battery is bad just because it's reading 12v doesn't necessarily mean it's holding the charge. Easiest way to test this is hook up your car to a friend's battery and see if your car dies or not. If it doesn't than you know what the problem is, and vice versa.

 
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Check the voltage at the battery with the car running. The alternator should be putting out more than 14 volts so if you see something in the 12 v range then the battery is not being recharged. My guess is that while the jumper cables are hooked up it recharges the battery a little so that after it starts and the cables are disconnected there is enough charge to run for a short time. If you turned on the head lights it would probably die right away.

Besides the alternator the other cause may be the ELD.

 
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Yeah with the car running use a multimeter on the battery terminals. It should be between 13.4 and 14.8. Mine runs at 14.4 fully loaded.

If it's at 12 volts then the alternator is the problem.

 
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ummm probably was that. i turned the headlights for less than 10seconds just to see if they would work. and they did i turned 'em off and seconds later the car died again and wouldn't start.

and about the ELD is that a common failure in this gen? i ask because someone suggest me that once and i kind of read that couple of times in forums. is it hard to replace that? or do i have to remove the alt in order to replace the ELD?

 
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good to know that. but i'm afraid to jumpstart the car again en try to make it to autozone with my car not dying on the way.

thanks for letting me know that. gonna try to get a ride lol.

 
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i tried that once also not long ago. i guess couple of months ago. and my readingd were at 12volts but the a different day i tried again and the reading show 13volts. so i don't know. could it be the ELD then?

 
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i checked again the volts on the battery and it read 12.06volts but it doesn't start the car. as soon as i try to start the car everything goes off. it can barely activate the alarm.

can it still be the battery? when i try to start the car there is no noise as you would hear sometimes when battery is too low to start the car.

 
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I'd try to jump it and leave it connected for about 10 min so the battery gets some charge off the other car, then remove the cables and check with a multimeter again. A good battery will read around 12v with the car off.

Anything under 13.4v means bad alternator, every time I've checked Honda's with good alternators it's been over 14v.

 
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in case that it were the alternator. do you know any brand and/or what kind of alt should i get? and what are the cost of them? (saying that i gotta say that i have two amps Alpine MRP-M500 and a rockford t400.4 and planning on replace the alpine with a Rockford t1500.1bd or t1000.bdCP)

i don't know if the sock alt can handle that.

 
Rep Power: 811

to be honest, i think its the optima. i never had good luck with the yellowtop before. its worth checking the battery and alternator at the auto store just to rule that out, but if the battery light is not on, the alt is prolly fine. get a good lead acid battery (honda has 500cca group51 now which is excellent) and i bet its problem solved. i couldnt believe the difference. the battery is nearly 6 months old and still hasnt dropped below 12.6v at all. the optima barely went above 12.0v for the two yrs i had it and finally crapped out and would not start the car or take a charge.

 
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Do you have a part number for that Honda 500cca battery? Google doesn't turn up anything specific.

 
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if you walk into any honda dealer, its the only group51 they carry now. the original equipment 420cca batteries were discontinued and just as well. not enough amps for a normal battery. they have the 51 and 51r in 500cca so be sure you get the right one so the terminals are in the proper place.

 
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yep, i end up buying the duralast gold at autozone. the battery it self show 12.4 something volts. and the optima still in my car and of course not running showed 12.05v, replaced batteries and the optima not hooked in the car read 10.56v. sad and yes i barely had it for 2 years but i couldn't find the damn receipt.

so yes, now with the durlast in the car off show 12.48v and running 14.48v.

never gonna buy an optima again it was a pain in the *** lol. i'm gonna take the car tomorrow morning just to make sure the alt is fine.

 
Rep Power: 811

looks like youre good. check the voltage in a few days just to be sure, im betting it will go up a bit after you drive it. usually those "new" batteries sit around for a few months on the shelf and lose a bit of power.