^ Check the water level. That's what the red/blue indicator is indicating.

 

Just the red dot, a red circle would means low water. A good battery should be above 12V from what I have read. I would have until for another year to replace it if the winter temperatures here don't go below zero.

 

If anyone is interested in not only removing the factory battery issue (whether current issue or thought to be soon) ebay has a kinetic HC600 battery pack for $70. Its one of those hybrid battery/capacitor setups. It would be about the same size as factory, or smaller by a smidgen. You would have to buy terminal adapters, as they use 3/8 inch threaded holes. Im sure terminal adapters would be cheap locally, or just buy em off ebay for a few bucks

 

They pretty much DO make batteries like they used to. Unless you go for capacitor flux technology.

3 years is better than average. I'd go for whatever is cheapest in the correct size (pictures of people stuffing civic batteries in there are ugly). Autozone I believe charges a premium for theirs (longer warranty), but there's no difference in battery technology. If you plan on keeping the car a long time that may be a benefit (it really only serves to rope you into getting a pro-rated replacement there).

Higher capacity batteries in the same size don't impress me. This means they stuffed more plates in there making failures more likely.

Here's another thread with a link to a coupons. It's a couple months old so I don't know if they're still valid.

 

mmmmm spent some time reading about these. It's an absorbed glass mat (AGM: Optima uses the same technology) battery with sketchy specs. "600 watts" is meaningless. They suggest a $400 battery (list price) as a replacement for a starter battery. I wouldn't trust the $70 battery ($200 list!) to have enough reserve capacity.

I think there's some confusion as it's a battery substitute for capacitors used to provide a "power well" adjacent to high power car audio systems. But it's just a battery (not some hybrid tech). A small expensive one.

 

Well, the battery in my civic was still good when I trade in for my Fit after 5 years of use. And the battery in the in the Accord i just replaced was 7 years old. Maybe the size has something to do with it.

That link kind of works. The discount worked, but not the rebate.

The OEM is $89 and Auto after discount is $90 with a longer warranty.

Thanks


Update: There is a new discount code that's $50 off instead of $40. "DOTW52" . So, the battery is now $80.

 

Interestingly enough, my battery failed this week, too. My wife took the car on Saturday night to her parents place. It was fine when I was driving the car earlier in the day, and she reported no issues on the road. Sunday night, I took the bus to the town where her parents live. The car would not start for her to pick me up. Se started it on Monday, the it wouldn't start on Wednesday morning. After charging it for the afternoon, it had to be boosted to come home. It was fine for my errands on Thursday, but when my dealer looked at it on Friday, they replaced the battery.

I never did find out what the problem was, but the piece of mind tells me not to knock it.

 

I noticed the ones that are dying most frequently are the Yuasa version of the batteries, anyone with the Fujikawa version having any issues? There are 2 versions of the batteries i know of being used. One says "GS Yuasa" and thre other "FB" for Fujikawa Battery. In the past ive had good luck with Fujikawa batteries that were OEM in my ZX14, VFR800, ZX6R and Gixxer 750.

 

I just replaced my Fujikawa battery last week as it was weak, load tested only 126CCA. Never stranded me or failed to start the car though, I just didn't want to push my luck. Four year life on a battery so small is ok. I replaced it with the Advance Auto battery to get the 3 year free replacement warranty. I'm betting that near the 3 year point the battery will be under acceptable CCA and I'll get a free battery. If not then I'll be happy to get another 4-5 year battery life.

_

 

My 4runner came with a Japanese Panasonic battery and it lasted 8 years before i decided to replace it. It never died, i still have it in my garage and it still works, but i was heading out to a road trip and didnt want to risk it dying somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

 

Same exact reason for me as I'm halfway through a 3,500 mile cross country trip. I drive mostly at night where services are few and far between and traveling with my 84 year old Mom so no risking it.

If local driving only I would have left battery in until it completely died. With a manual trans it's always easy to bump start to get car running and then drive straight to the Auto Parts and buy a new battery.

_

 

My Yuasa still starts my 2009 Fit with 63,000 miles just fine, even at close to 0 degrees. When I turn key to "run" before starting, it reads about 11.6 volts on my Ultragauge. Every 6 months or so, I leave the headlights on for 10 minutes or so after the car sits overnight. If it starts strong, I guess that the battery is OK. So far, so good.

 

OEM batteries are over priced !
I would get a new one at Napa and a trickle charger if its not driven on a regular basis . .

 

I have been reading and reading on the Honda ELD used on most Honda models including our Honda Fit. I understand basically how it works but not exactly what it was designed to do under various situations.

What I think I know is that it was designed to charge the battery initially at high levels and then change off to maintenance levels when the battery reaches near full charge. It looks like they chose approximately 14.3 or 14.4 volts for the high rate charge and 13.2 or 13.3 volts for the maintenance level charging. These levels make sense since those are accepted levels for 12 volt lead acid batteries under those conditions.

It appears to me that the ELD monitors charging current going into the battery and based on that measurement the PCM decides when to shift the alternator to maintenance levels (13.2 volts).

What I do not understand is:
1. Does the ELD also monitor current leaving the battery?
2. What happens when people add 12 volt accessories (amps, radios, etc.) wired direct to the battery rather than running them before the ELD?
I would think that the extra current flow for these accessories through the ELD sensing would fool the PCM and cause the PCM not to shift down to 13.3 volt maintenance mode. From what I'm reading that is not happening. The alternator is being shifted down and causing problems for people with these added accessories.
3. I'm also thinking that dead batteries and premature replacement of Fit batteries may be caused by this ELD sensing when accessories are wired direct to the battery.

Does anyone know of a good theory of operation on the ELD? I would like to read it. I have found a few articles on car audio sites but I have found them full of technical errors and therefore not very reliable.

Thanks