Hi,

In the past three days, my 2015 Honda Fit EX doesn't start, the battery is dead but after 15-45 minutes, the battery goes alive again.
Normally, I can unlock the doors using the keyless-keychain and the overhead light lights up for one second and then goes the battery goes dead, I wait several minutes and the car lights up, the dashboard is reseted. It happened 3 of 5 times I tried to start my car on the last three days.

I left my car at my Honda dealership overnight and they tested the car and the battery in the afternoon and the morning after and everything was good.

The problem started three days ago, I drove to Boston and New York City in the last two weeks and had no problem with the car.
The temperatures between December and January were similar, so I don't know what to do. Should I change the stock battery to a better one? Any Ideas?

btw, I live in Rochester, NY. Currently the weather is 9F (-15C).

 

How did you confirm that the battery "was" actaully dead?

Engine not cranking/starting does not always mean the battery is dead. There can be a few other possibilities - bad connection in the starting and/or ignition start system, starter solenoid, starter itself, etc. There must have been an intermittent problem since you were able to start the engine in 15-45 minutes. Hope the dealer fixed that. If it happens again, check the battery voltage.

 

I would take a look at the terminal and see if it looks corroded. I've had similar behavior from other vehicles in the past.

 

Well, I can unlock the doors using the remote but after that, nothing else really works. The overhead lights does not work, it cannot lock the car using the keys again.

It happened again tonight. After one hour waiting, I had to call Road Service to jump start my car. I drove back home (around 20-25 minutes) and locked my car. Few minutes later, I unlocked my car, tried to turn the engine on, but only the panel lighted up for a sec and now, not even the locks work.

I will try to get a multimeter to measure the battery and I'll call the dealer again.

 

Definitely try and wiggle the terminal connectors and see if they are at all loose. Hope you can figure it out!

 

I had to replace my battery after about a week of ownership. It turned out it had a bad cell, so ACC and ACC-Lock worked, but it took five to fifteen minutes of trying to start it to get it going.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/gene...ml#post1281750

 

Well, It could be an intermittent battery but this really sounds like an intermittent battery connection.

I would remove both battery cables and clean them on both ends with steel battery cable bush. Do nto forget to clean (shine) the posts also. If you do not have a steel battery brush, then sand paper them and reinstall them tightly. I would also pull the big main fuses and clean them the same way.

The next time it fails I would put a volt meter / multimeter directly across the battery posts and take a reading. This will eliminate all of the battery connections while you are taking a reading. If it reads a voltage above 12 volts, then your battery is NOT the problem.

What is interesting to me is you jump started it without a problem. Again this is a symptom of a dirty battery cable. Depending on where you attached the jumper cables you probably bypassed some of the battery cables / connections. If you jump it again, note where the jumper cables are attached and then you can figure out what battery cables and connections you did not use while jumping it.

Good Luck

 

Let me add that once you're done cleaning the terminals, lightly coat them and the cable clamps with petroleum jelly to help prevent corrosion in the future. But don't put too much on or you'll end up attracting dirt.

 

Dead batteries don't magically become alive after 15-45 minutes later.
Also, there is no such thing as 'intermittent battery' issue.
Once it's dead, it stays dead until recharged (only if rechargeable).
Maybe the battery voltage is at a minimal border line like just below 12V.
The very first thing to check is to measure the terminal voltage and go from there. I'm surprised Honda dealer let go the car like that without further diagnosis when it got towed to them with the symptom.

 

Before you do the test above, put your voltmeter terminals on the battery cables rather than the battery posts. Having two different readings indicates the terminals and/or posts are corroded. Remember, don't disconnect the terminals without having your radio code handy, as the radio will lock up once power is disconnected.

Bill

 

I don't think OP will disconnect the terminals when he only has to check the battery voltage. Not necessary.

How do you know for sure tht 2015 Fit radio rquires a code input whenever power supply (battery) gets interrupted when you have a 2007 Fit?

 

While your checking the voltage issue, I would also invest in one of the battery jumpers (not sure if that is what they are called). I have one in my daughters car, just in case. Just be sure to cable it down to either the rear seat or one of the tie-downs in the cargo area. They are heavy, and you don't want them flying around in a wreck. This will eliminate you needing to call a service to jump your car. Besides, with all this bad weather, who wants to be stuck with a bad battery?

I would still take it back to the dealer and insist they replace it (under warranty). Take your service receipt for proof it failed.

I think most of those portable batteries are around $50.00. They are worth the money, particularly with this small battery Honda uses.

As an added bonus, the Stanley version I have (purchased from SAMS) in my daughters car, also has an air compressor built in, and a USB charging port for her cell phone.

 

I inserted that warning in the event the OP does elect to remove and clean the terminals. According to the 2015 Fit owner's manual, the radio does lock when power is interrupted. I do virtually all the work on my family fleet, but considering it's a 2015, this is one for the dealer's techs to deal with.

Bill

 

There is a new kind... MUCH smaller and lighter ,and it doesn't need to be tied down because it may even fit in a pocket of your coat or jacket (if out of its case).

Spend a little bit or so more and get this:

I have one similar to above and I did some experiment to see if what they are claiming is true. And it was true! I was able to jump start a car with dead battery 25+ times with a single charge of this micro starter!
Not only it jump starts many vehicles, it charges your phone, iPod, lab top, gps, etc. with the gizzilion adpaters/connectors it comes with.

One thing you need to be careful when jump starting a car is that you MUST remove the cable connection from the car's battery within few seconds after the engine starts. If you leave it connected with engine running, it will get cooked. And don't ask how I know.

 

Actually that is not quite true. In a previous life I worked as a battery tech (meaning I repaired them) on very large industrial batteries that powered large lift trucks moving to steel coils. These batteries were approximately 6 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet. Intermittent internal connections occurred occasionally and exhibited symptoms similar to yours. When this occurred it was usually the internal connector between the plates and the adjacent cell that failed. While rare, I have seen this failure once in an automotive battery. I agree that this is rare but is still a possibility.

One word of warning: If there is a crack there is always a possibility of an internal spark and a single cell explosion when a heavy load is applied to the battery like when the starter in engaged. So keep your head away from the battery if someone else is starting the car. Again this is rare on most modern sealed batteries, but I have personally seen this happen twice. Small amounts of hydrogen is produced by batteries when they are charged and much larger amounts of hydrogen is produced when batteries are over charged.

This is probably not a battery failure. I still think it is a cabling problem.

 

While vasoline will work I prefer anti-oxidation compound available at places like Home Depot or a hardware store. Look in electrical section.

One tube or bottle will last you a life time. So buy the smallest size available.

https://www.google.com/search?q=lead...ation+compound

 

A few other members and me have had some battery problems, although I think closer to taking delivery of the vehicle. I suggest having the dealer check it and if they deem it necessity to replace the battery then you should be all set. Otherwise they can check your connections too.

 

We are talking car battery here.
You are comparing to something that's completely different in design, composition and how they work.

 

No, they are somewhat similar and an intermittent internal failure could be the problem.

 

They are similar (not the same) in construction. The ones I worked on were flooded cell deep cycle lead acid batteries. They were designed for lower and longer term discharge rates. They were discharged and recharged almost daily. We read the specific gravity of every cell prior to recharge and after recharge. When an individual cell or cells went weak (or is some cases became intermittent or shorted) we replaced the bad cell(s). Due to the relative inexpensive lead aid batteries used in the automotive world we simply replace the whole battery and recycle the old ones to recover the lead.

Automotive starting batteries today use much less lead and acid with much thinner plates. They are designed to maximize the lead surface area for short term high current starting of vehicles. After starting they are simply a storage device as the vehicle is really run off of the alternator, not the battery. The lead acid (2.1 volts per cell) design is similar but different to match the demand of starting a vehicle.

To the OP, The point of this posting was to say yes, it is possible to crack or break an internal cell or post connection in an automotive battery. The solution is to replace the battery. It happens occasionally due to poor assembly, or rough treatment, or vibration.

Again, I still doubt that this is your problem, but it could be.