I just changed my battery for the fourth time in 7 years. Damn it!

There's absolutely no chance of redemption; unlike other cars, when the battery is dying, you can still pray hard and keep cranking at it and then the car may start.

The 4 times my car died on me, I was NEVER able to get it to come alive by cranking persistently.

Does this have anything to do with having 8 spark plugs because of the iDSI engine?

 

That shouldn't be happening. Are you replacing with a new battery or a used one?

Is your charging system working properly? Maybe it's not the battery but the fact that it doesn't get charged.

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"The 4 times my car died on me, I was NEVER able to get it to come alive by cranking persistently."

So, are you saying the car is cranking when it won't start? I mean if it's cranking then the battery is most likely working. I'm confused.

 

4 times in 7 years is too many times. There must be something causing short battery life. Do you have a high powered stereo and amplifier?

 

Yes I do have a high power stereo and amp.

I guess my more pressing question is, what are the other signs of battery replacement if I do not even get the typical warning (taking a few cranks to start engine)?

 

brand new batteries each time. my uncle has a workshop. he does mechanical repairs and not really electrical, so he doesn't have load testers etc. and yea I trust he's giving me fresh batteries.

the alternator is def working. my voltmeter from 12v port hovers 13.8 to 14.2v.

I mean, the car 'tries' to crank but it doesn't. It's more of a tick-tick-tick-tick sound.

 

This car has a battery for lawnmower
My original battery lasted 6.5 years
the sign of dying was the ABS+Brake lights that came on start up, but diappeared as soon as I stepped on the brake pedal (low voltage during start caused ABS pump to jam during its 2 second power up test (If I will wait 5 seconds after turning ignition on before cranking this will not happened, but I began to crank right away))

 

So many reasons why your battery is draining excessively so am sure you'll have it diagnosed to determine the cause.
From my limited knowledge of batteries, once one of the cells crack as a result of acid stratification, the battery will progressively get worse and no way of saving it. This is caused by too many hungry accessories and/or driving short distances on a repetitive basis.
Since 1996, I've been using a product "Battery Tender", originally made in Florida (now assembled in China). This mfg. have their patented trickle charger which is now so successfull that BMTroubleW's and MsBend's now have their own version of it. It is capable of charging a weak battery overnight and it won't overcharge either. It can be left on indefinitely (months).
Have not changed a battery on any of my vehicles since using this. In your case, until you find the cause of excessive drain, a device as this, if connected overnight, would at least prevent a weak battery from staining during the start process in the morning. Straining an undercharged battery does not promote an even distribution of acid.
Hope this helps for future batteries.

 

Yea you're spot on regarding the driving pattern. I do make multiple short trips (<15km each time) but I can't possibly change my patterns for the battery.

I will look into the battery tender, but in the mean time are there any symptoms of dying battery, in particular for our fits?

 

Don't think that our US Fits have that issue of premature battery failure. The first thing I would do is go and have your battery load tested. If it can hold a good charge then diagnose the reason for the high drain.
Your daily 15km is not bad but 30km (one way) would be preferred. Not only good for the battery, but you heat the engine enough to boil away condensation in your engine and exhaust system. A technical guy once told me "start in the morning and go at least 15 miles" (around 25kms).

 

Sometimes I drive for only 5kms..

Mines a Japanese fit though.

 

Put a 51r in there and be done with it. Never had a problem since I got mine. Even after the coldest nights.

 

is your battery tender the type that plugs into mains or the solar kind?

 

Plugs into 110v. Am sure you guys are 220v. Somebody from China for sure will have a knock-off for cheap.

 

Yes you're right. I'm at 220v. I actually have this one.

Original 12V Car Battery Charger 12V Lead Acid Charger Motorcycle Charger For SLA,AGM,GEL,VRLA,Charge Mode 4 Stages,MCU Control-in Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com

My battery was dead and I connected this charger to it. The next morning I couldn't even turn the car on (the CEL, airbag, steering indicators).

I'm on a new Bosch battery now though, and that charger doesn't seem to work.. the old battery has been sitting for over a day and the charge is only 10ish volts right now.

 

Your charger might be good. Bring your old battery to someone who can perform a load test on it. If its gone, nothing can charge it fully.

 

You most likely have one of the following problems:
1. Your alternator is regulated to an insufficient voltage. If the voltage is too low, it will insufficiently charge your battery.
2. Your alternator is not capable of sufficient amperage. Turn your lights, AC, rear defroster, etc and read battery voltage with engine running. It should be over 14 volts a little above idle.
3. Your stereo requires too many amps and your charging system cannot keep up. If in step 2 above, you turn on your stereo and the voltage drops significantly, that would tell you.
4. Your stereo or other device was improperly installed and is sucking power with key off. This is called parasitic battery drain. You can check this with ammeter with key off. This could happen if a connection was made to a continuous power point when it should have been made to a key "run" or key "accessory" point. If your amp was wired this way, it would draw power when key is removed, when it should be off.
5. Unlucky and getting lots of bad batteries. I seriously doubt this one.

My Fit started when 15 degrees F outside after 3 weeks of not being started, even with ScanGauge attached on a year old 151R battery. If I had to guess, I would guess #4 above, particularly if the problem is worse after a few days of not starting car, if a non professional installed your stereo, or if problem started after installation of stereo.

 

Honda has something called an ELD. Electrical Load Detector. It senses the electrical load on the alternator (and battery) and makes adjustments to the charging voltage to save some gas mileage when possible. The important thing is all loads must go through the ELD to be sensed properly. If you install an after-market medium to high current device (usually radios and amps) they can not be attached directly to the battery. If you do attach them to the battery, the ELD will not sense their current/power usage and the alternator output will not be adjusted accordingly to make up for their power consumption. The end result will be a slowly deteriorating level of charge in the battery.

If you have after-market electrical devices installed, check to see where they are getting their power from.