Recently my car has been dying for no apparent reason. When I turn the ignition i get buzzing/ticking and the gauges flash. In the past, I did need a jump every so often but this was because I would accidentally leave the fogs on so the reason was obvious. But last night and just a few moments ago my car died for no apparent reason. I just parked at work, sat listening to the radio for about 15 minutes. I turned the key to check if the car would start, and it wouldnt. Is it possible a battery/alternator would die in only 2yrs? Any ideas guys? Thanks!

*notes*
there is some red liquid at the top of the battery posts. Battery acid? leaking?

The power indicator for my foglights is connected directly to my battery. So the little light draws power directly from the battery at all times, even when car is off. But never caused any trouble in the past.

 

It's most likely a battery problem. My '08 GD had the same problem 2 years and 1 month, I took it to a Honda dealer and they replaced it free of charge because the battery was defective LOL. Not bad for a new battery free of charge 2 years 1 month 62000 miles. Take it to the dealer and have them run a battery load test. If it fails new battery GL

 

If you start it and it stays charged, it's not the starter or the alternator....agreed bad battery!

 

cool. Thanks guys! Yes I was really hoping that it would be covered under warranty, whatever the issue might be. I'll take it in this weekend. =]

 

A standby LED for your fogs shouldn't really use a whole lot of energy, so as suggested above it's probably just that time for your battery.

When you get your new battery, you might want to consider installing a heavy gauge, like 2ga or bigger, dedicated, fused (~150A) charge wire from the alternator to the positive batt terminal.

This should help alleviate any run-down issues in the future as well as supply greater and more constant voltage to all your accessories and more importantly your fuel system. (injectors specifically)

 

Great, thank you! Yes I was thinking the same about the light. It never caused any problems and I drive the car everyday, so the battery would have been charged anyways.

 

Got the battery changed this morning at the dealership. I hope that the battery was the problem. =]

 

So I checked the service report from Honda and it did say that the battery was low. However, do you guys think that it was because of my Fog LED being hooked up directly to the battery? Would it have done this over time? I told the HOnda guy that I did forget to turn off my lights sometimes and the car did die, but those times it was obvious what caused it so it wasn't a big deal. The honda guy told me that leaving the lights on sometimes shortens the overall battery life. Is this true? I was under the impression that if you jump it and drive, it just charges to full.

 

That is kind of a common misconception, the battery only gets charged by what the car isn't using. And at idle you may only be putting out 12.3-12.5v at idle with no accesories running.

To recharge a battery with a 100A alternator that puts out an ideal ~14v may take a couple hours at 1500rpm or greater to recharge the battery in any significant fashion. Draining the battery several times will kill it quickly, especially AGM style batteries.

I killed a brand new 650cca bosch battery that I bought in february for the Laser because my injector dead times were off and the starter was dying. I was seeing as low as 8.x volts under cranking before I finally trashed it in august.. But I have a much higher electrical load than most who aren't audiophiles.

Even with 1ga wiring all round, extra grounding straps plus a 150A alternator with a small pulley three fuel pumps, 4 computers, a bunch of gauges and all my running lights take their toll. So now I have the 1115cca Braille Endurance battery I posted above and have not had any problems even as it gets colder, and the car can sit for several days and sometimes as much as two weeks without being turned on.

 

Was it covered under warranty?

 

Ahh I see. Ok that makes alot of sense than. Great, thanks! I guess it should be ok as long as I try not to leave those PIAA fogs on.
But do you think that LED light constantly on will take its toll on the new battery over time?

Sure was! =]]

 

The single LED shouldn't matter IMHO, but I have never bothered to measure what if any draw exists while the car is off.

FWIW I have been on the stock battery for going on 3 years now, and for almost an entire year (sep 2008- june 2009) the car sat 3-5 days a week because of a spinal injury. Even when it was -20F air with -45F windchill up at my friends cabin (20 minutes from Lake Superior) last winter the Fit started first crank, also dealt with the absurd snow like a champ.. We did have 500lbs of passengers plus my 285lbs with 200lbs of tools/equipment in the car though lol

So there may be more going on than meets the eye with your car.

 

Mine died in 2years and 1 month, but I had a Pioneer F900BT + HD radio module + XM module + PAC steering wheel adapter, led tails HID's and fogs, don't know if all that contributed to the battery dying prematurely ?

 

Same thing happened to be a couple weeks back. Battery would keep dying, and eventually I found that it wouldn't ever hold a charge any longer (had to jump start it every single time). Replaced it with a lightweight battery and now car works fine again.

 

My 09 has been dying recently when it gets around freezing. I killed the battery once by leaving the radio on without the engine running, and it hasn't been the same ever since. If I took it back to the dealership do you think they'd replace it?

 

Ya that could happen, its important to turn off all accessories and idle engine a few seconds to shut the circuits. I have to do it in my truck or else the battery will be dead. Theres a memory of load that the battery remembers.