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GUYS- thanks for the much needed advice, sorry for the delay in responding.
BeardedGTI - So i think i'll ask a friend to take me to costco (no online purchase from what i can see) so the battery in question is the MT 51R interstate right ? Just googling suggests its $149.99 which is more than i want to spend- and there's apparently no way to call Costco to ask if they still stock this battery, only walk-ins are allawed (Covid or no-Covid apparently). At any rate Is there any chance you may have a photo illustrate what you said about "the terminals need to be shimmed with a trim nail or something" ?
re: Japanese Vs Mexican model..i actually read about it on this site but did not save the thread, someone suggested the japanese version will have no problem accomodating a 51R but maybe he meant a "particular brand" 51R i dont remember.
Also one other thing guys- about the booster..can anyone recommend this one? It is $46 but i dont know if there are cheaper ones to be had that do the same thing. http://www.ebay.com/itm/322979565377
Your swift answers is cheerfully accepted
PS its getting more sluggish by the day...so i'll probably need to act soon, im having to start it every day on account it wont die on me..and this is in sunny CA. BTW anyone kno roughly how much a replacement HONDA battery costs?
Last edited by Zero2Hero; Apr 21, 2020 at 08:37 PM.
I think the shimming he's talking about is that the post on the other battery may be slightly smaller in diameter so the battery terminal might not be able to tighten enough around it for a secure connection. I've seen people do stuff like put a nail or even a piece of aluminum from a beer can to make it a bit bigger and then put the terminal around that.
This is the jump pack I carry around with me. I bought it on one of those prime deals for about $35:
As far as starting daily, that's probably worse. You really need to at least drive it for a few minutes as anything below like 1k RPM isn't really charging the battery.
As far as starting daily, that's probably worse. You really need to at least drive it for a few minutes as anything below like 1k RPM isn't really charging the battery.
Agreed. Don't just start it. Drive it. You need to burn off moisture condensation and circulate the fluids.
The alternative is to take the battery out and put it on a trickle charger. I like Battery Tender.
2Rismo2- Glad to hear back from you and thanks for the tip..indeed, on second thought, if i'm going ahead with a new battery, i would not need a booster since i should be good for the foreseeable future with a new one so - Steve37- You are right indeed, thanks for illuminating that and mister coffe - yes i will be driving it from now on..didnt realize a simple start was not enough, learning everyday hehe.
I'm still trying to get a friend to take me to Costco this weekend hopefully..
2Rismo2- Which has happend to me more times than i care to admit, i'll get the costco battery and maybe pony up for this unit at a later stage..i hate having to call (and WAIT) for Geico everytime it happens tho lol!
Last edited by Zero2Hero; Apr 24, 2020 at 08:51 PM.
GUYS- Ok just returned with the 51R battery from Costco..and dropped off the core honda battery as well..to tell you the truth i'm a bit panicked about being imobile at the moment as i'm having some major issues positioning the battery in place. There seems to be absolutley no room to put this battery in position, even after taking off the plastic housing that holds the battery. Guys i need your tips. Ive included a few photos perhaps you guys can highlight the parts i need to remove to get the battery in, at this point i dont know what to do.. I thought even the plastic housing would be wide enough to accomodate this battery but it would need to be cut off from the right side, although what i need to also know is do most of you actually use this housing or do without?
the two other photos is just to help me figure out what else i need to remove so you could maybe highlight on the photos. In hindsite, i should have kept the core till i knew i have this 51R firmly in place before returning the core. thanks.
Everyone thankyou for your support but especially BeardedGTI..thanks for working through this with me, i was about to give up on it till your helped me turn the corner, hats off man!! As BeardedGTI suggested, you really dont need to cut the metal bottom plate in order to get this battery in a decent position, its not a flush fit but enough to feel secure about it. It took a whole lot of wiggling and pivoting but indeed, i can ascertain that the Costco 51R will fit the FIT, minus the plastic tub.
If you want a cleaner install, you can use a 00 Civic battery undertray, with some rubber mats under the tray. This is what I did, so the battery is not installed directly on metal. It also helps to distribute the pression under the battery since the 51R battery is larger than the metal part...
@Zero2Hero: You got the 51R to fit just by wiggling it around, and you were able to use the stock hardware to secure it, and the connections to the battery positive and negative terminals reached?
I just want to understand this. Maybe BeardedGTI could chime in, too.
As I mentioned to Zero2Hero in a dm, I would not recommend anyone attempt this while in the parking lot or If you’re in a hurry. Get the car home and give yourself some space and have some patience. It will fit, but it’s tight. Do not cut or bend or modify anything. Just be patient.
The terminals reach just fine. The one I got had too slim of posts. Basically you could tighten the clamps down all the way and it looked like they were tight but you could still rotate them slightly and that’s not a good enough connection. I stuck a trim nail in between mine as a shim, works fine. Zero2Hero mentioned to me that his posts were the correct size and didn’t need shims.
As I mentioned to Zero2Hero in a dm, I would not recommend anyone attempt this while in the parking lot or If you’re in a hurry. Get the car home and give yourself some space and have some patience. It will fit, but it’s tight. Do not cut or bend or modify anything. Just be patient.
The terminals reach just fine. The one I got had too slim of posts. Basically you could tighten the clamps down all the way and it looked like they were tight but you could still rotate them slightly and that’s not a good enough connection. I stuck a trim nail in between mine as a shim, works fine. Zero2Hero mentioned to me that his posts were the correct size and didn’t need shims.
This is the best news that I have heard in five years of reading about our crappy Fit battery.
To be clear: Any 51R will do, but there may be some difference in the size of the terminals? All 51R batteries are otherwise the same?
One last thing: Is Zero's new 51R sitting on a flat surface, or is it on top of the lip on the edge of the battery bracket? (Hope that's clear.) EDIT: Looks good in the photo.
To be clear: Any 51R will do, but there may be some difference in the size of the terminals? All 51R batteries are otherwise the same?
In theory yes. In practice, I'd get feedback before trying a specific one. The 51R has standard dimensions. But any deviation in either direction by a few mm or some sort of plastic molding "lip" or handles around the edges could cause issues. On cars specced for a 51R, they almost always have some wiggle room that this isn't a problem so battery mfg's don't have to be super precise. But on the Fit, there is no wiggle room.
On top of confirmation that the Costco one fits, it also has the following going for it:
cheapest I've found (~75 after core)
easy to acquire/almost always in stock
decent warranty
If you can find something else that ticks all three of those boxes, go for it. But I'd look for feedback on here first just to make sure someone else has done it and it fits.
The terminals reach just fine. The one I got had too slim of posts. Basically you could tighten the clamps down all the way and it looked like they were tight but you could still rotate them slightly and that’s not a good enough connection. I stuck a trim nail in between mine as a shim, works fine. Zero2Hero mentioned to me that his posts were the correct size and didn’t need shims.
Almost all battery retailers sell a sleeve that will fit over the terminal to fit the clamp.
Do not use a nail or shim.
