Well it only got down to - 15c here last night and the battery is completely dead. I checked the lights and other accessories and everything was turned off.

Apart from the cold weather is there any other reason that would cause the battery to drain that way?

Still under warranty so it will go in next week. Hopefully they will give me a new one. If this happens again should I just get another brand? Anybody else having problem with their batteries this winter?

 

that's 5F for us metric challenged yanks.

Battery should perform OK in that weather. 30 below I'd expect problems requiring plug-ins.

Law of averages says some batteries will last less than a year or two. I'd get it replaced under warranty from Honda. Extreme temperature changes play hell with batteries, so if they're on the way out they'll pick the first really cold or really hot day to die.

What's your daily drive like? Does it get a chance to charge?

 

Yesterday for example the car was driven a good 2 hours between going to work and back,the groceries and the gym.

I must say that the battery gave us problems earlier in the week. The car starter wouldn't work. When I went outside to use the key to start it all the lights were going click click click click. And the car wouldn't turn over. I needed road side assistance to come give me a boost and it started right away. After we drove it all week without problems. We normally drive the car at least an hour per day.

Maybe the battery was not able to fully recharge in the cold after 5 days of use? I kinda doubt that.

This morning the battery was completely dead. Not clicks or nothing.

As well after the boost I let the car sit and running with all accessories off for at least 45 mins.

 

I will get Honda to replace it this week but if it happens again well I will invest in a bigger better battery I guess.

I'm still wondering if there is a reason the battery would drain if all the accessories are off? I mean the iPod is connected all the time but that is connected to the accessories yes?

 

My battery died last week, but that we because I left my lights on. On top of that, I do deliveries, which means lots of short trips which barely recharge the battery.

For every start, you need 20 minutes or more, just to recoup the charge used to start the car. This is what googling will net you.

Idling actually won't recharge a battery (or does so too slowly), you need to be driving or at least revving it past 2k. Again, via google.

After the battery dies once... it needs an incredibly long time to recharge, and it can't be just idling to bring the battery to a "healthy" status (if it isn't flat out bad).

The thing about the battery is, there's an "immediate" and long term charge.

What happens when you are actively using the battery, is that the charge isn't being used from the entire battery, but from the solution immediately around the terminal (that portion of the solution slowly pulls some charge from the rest). Which is why, sometimes, when you drain the battery quickly (like everything on, except the engine), it won't start initially. But it does after waiting a bit. As the charge basically averages out from the rest of the battery, the terminal then has enough flowing to crank the engine. Which is what happened to me in Nov '11, when I was playing with the radio I had just installed and drained the battery because I left the engine off. The car's electrical cut out all of a sudden and of course, it wouldn't start at first. Gave it about 30-40 minutes and it started up.

The same is true when charging the battery. You build up a charge around the terminal, and it eventually averages out the rest of the battery. Which is why you need a long consistent charging cycle (and slow enough that the solution immediately around the terminal doesn't over-react, and cause damage).

You can replace the battery if you want... but until you do, you need to make sure that you don't take too many short trips. Make em count.

For myself, I put in a remote starter, so that I can lock the doors and have my keys with me, while leaving the car running when I drop off the food at the customer's door and even in some cases when I pick up food that's ready for my next delivery (since I can just pop in and out).

This can turn 3-4 minutes per start, into an hour, depending on how busy I am. Reducing the likelihood of the battery dying on me and number of times I use the starter.

 

Mine went dead last week. Replaced under warranty..no cost.

 

They just wear out. In AZ, they almost never last more than 2 years...any of them

 

Dwalbert320 . Similar temps here. I am in my 4th winter. Just waiting for it to die. On the coldest days it struggled. I doubt it would have turned over for more than 15 seconds. Good thing it fires right away. I will likely need a replacement in the next year.

 

That doesn't seem right. There's no way that the only cells involved in a battery are the ones on the terminals.

 

I can't tell you how frustrated I've been with the battery. I've had my 2011 Honda Fit Sport with Nav for less than 2 years, can't tell you how many times I've had to jump it. The first time it happened was the first winter I had it, took it into the Honda dealer and they said they tested the battery and couldn't duplicate it. Happened again a few weeks later, brought it in again and this time they said the CCAs were a little low, so they did replace it. Well, that was not the end.

This winter it's failed to start 5 times, I bought a jump starter and carry that around in my car at all times now. There are a number of factors that play into this, but ultimately I wouldn't have had this issue at all if it had a proper sized battery around 500 CCAs. Going to a few places including batteries plus confirmed that they can't fit anything bigger in there-I've seen a few people here do it successfully with some mods, but this car is under warranty and I'm not mechanically inclined enough to mod my battery tray, and I don't feel I should have to. This is why I bought a Honda, reliability (other than the battery, the car has been perfect, but fiddling with jumper cables every time it's below zero and sometimes single digits is not acceptable).

Does anyone know how I would contact Honda corporate about this? I'm very frustrated, and can't believe Honda hasn't made a bigger battery to fit in all the years it's been out, and that no other company has made a drop in replacement with higher power (highest I've seen in the same size is 340 CCAs). If I lived in a warm climate, it's likely I'd never have an issue until the battery truly dies.

Having said that, if future Fit buyers are reading this, I don't want to make it seem like all Fit batteries will have issues like I have. I live in Minnesota where -15 is not uncommon a few times in the winter, and unfortunately have to park outside. I have a remote starter installed, which I thought would help a bit, but it may play a negative factor. I've had a couple of parasitic draw tests done, and the first time I had it done they did say the remote starter was drawing more power than it should be. However, I've since had that replaced, but the problem continues. Finally I do have a short commute to work where I don't take the highway, so I fully realize it's not getting fully charged during my commute. On the flip side, I bought a battery charger and use it at least once a week (I'd use it more but I can only use it when my roommate is not home and I can park in his garage). My car didn't start last Saturday...on Friday I had the battery fully charged and took it off the charger at 1pm, then parked my Fit outside. Went to work at 7 am the next morning-wouldn't start. It was 12 degrees below zero however, but I can't control that.

I fully believe that a bigger battery would prevent these problems. My last car was a Mini Cooper with more electronics, such as a more powerful stereo, heated side mirrors, etc. My driving pattern was identical (and I never had to charge it), but the battery was over 500 CCAs. It finally failed after 5 years, so I was hoping for something similar this time around. I had other, non electrical problems with my Mini which is why I sold it, but I never had to hold my breath that it would at least start.

I am looking at ways to fit a bigger battery in now. I still feel I shouldn't have to do this, but does anyone know if I replace the stock air intake to make room for a larger battery, if that voids the warranty on the car? I'm afraid of tinkering with anything outside the battery because once the car starts, I couldn't be happier with the car. I don't want to get rid of it, but if it's just not meant for cold climates I may not have much choice.

 

A battery is usually charged at a voltage of around 14.0 volts. 14.2 or 14.3 is normal for a cold alternator. If your alternator is putting out that voltage at idle your battery will be charged at the same as it would at 5000 rpm. On a cold day the first few minutes of charging is not actually charging the battery. That power is consumed as heat warming up the battery. The rate that the battery is charged is determined by many different factors most of which have nothing to do with the engine rpm. A warm nearly dead battery will initially take a charge at 40 or 50 amps rate but after a few minutes that rate will quickly drop to 10 to 25 amps. As a battery charges the reverse emf (voltage) in the battery increases and the battery will accept the charge at a slower and slower rate.

Years ago we had generators instead of alternators on cars. Generators would not put out enough voltage at idle to charge the battery. When alternators were widely introduced to the automotive market in the 1960s their biggest advantage and selling point was that they would put out a good charging voltage and current a low idle speeds. Yes, they can not put out 100% of capacity at idle but in almost all situations the battery also will not accept a charge at that higher rate any way.

So feel free to let your engine run at an idle. It will charge the battery at almost the same rate as driving it.

Obviously a better situation would be a plug in 110 volt charger. Something as small as a 1 or 2 amp charger left on over night would keep the battery warm and topped off. Slow charging is always much better that fast charging any battery.

 

I bought a 1 amp charger... it's not designed for much beyond maintenance charging.

So, in the case that a battery actually dies, it says it can't be used for it.

re: malaux

in the case of multiple cells of plates placed parallel to other plates (alternating cathode/anode). There isn't a 100% distribution of charge moving across the plate... nor is there an even 100% chemical reaction in the solution. Obviously, the solution can only react when in contact with the plate. And the reaction is greatest near where it's connected to other plates. The solution itself has to do two things... allow electricity to flow through it and move similar to convection (or at least enough so the already reacted portion of the solution makes way for unreacted).

It all basically seems like an hourglass. As the sand at the bottom, closest to the opening fall through, other sand moves in and then falls through. In the battery, near the terminal, on each plate near the connection... that's where electrons move the greatest.

 

Once a battery dies once, it is no longer as good as a new battery. Yes you can charge and recondition it, but even if you use the fanciest chargers/conditioners (with desulfate cycle) it is not the same. Think of it like a patched tire.

For the guy whose battery died 5 times in 1 winter, your battery has been through trauma. Try a new battery of well known brand before coming to the conclusion that the design is defective.
If it is convenient, do hook up a modern smart battery charger/maintainer when car is not in use. Look specifically for those that desulfate. Batteryminder is well known but there are others even more modern. Don't bother buying a nonsmart charger

 

Thanks raytesng for the info. If this was still my first battery I'd agree it's not a design flaw at all and just a bad battery, but since it's my 2nd, and I'm skeptical about a 3rd one working (of the same kind from the Honda dealer) I do feel a larger battery would help enormously.

I will look at a smart battery charger/maintainer, but unfortunately I only have access to a garage and an outlet for a few hours a week. The charger I have now is not a smart charger, but I don't leave it on for more than a few minutes after it is fully charged. Would that damage the battery? And if since you say my battery has been through trauma, are there any battery tests that would prove this? It's passed a battery load test fine.

 

To me it makes sense to replace the battery for an aftermarket one with an increase in amps even if Honda puts a new one in this week. It's a matter of safety and convenience. The last thing I want is my wife parked somewhere downtown and not being able to get the car going. It's a reliability issue now for me.

In order to fit a new battery it looks like a very basic mod. The tray has to be cut with a cheapy 5$ hacksaw. No need to move any other pieces like the intake box. Plus it's a good excuse to get some fancy looking tie downs...

 

Dwalbert, I agree an aftermarket battery is the way to go, just not sure if it's as simple as you say. I will look forward to hearing how your installation goes. Can I ask what battery you plan on putting in?

 

I had my battery die this winter too, though mine is the original battery from 2009. I (think) I left a light on when I flew home for Christmas, came back to a completely dead battery.

Jumped it, drove home (45 minute highway drive), parked in an outdoor garage -- it's not heated, but it's warmer in there than outside. The next morning it started up just fine, drove a short distance to work (4 miles) and parked it outside. It was around 15F that day. I went to start leaving work and... click click click. I had lights but couldn't start it. I had to get another jump .

Anyway, at that point I was worried that the initial deep discharge had killed the battery, and since the battery was almost 4 years old, I figured it was about time to replace it anyway. I replaced it with an Autozone Duralast Gold battery, mostly because of a couple of coupons and rebates at the time, and it seems OK so far...

As an aside, when the guy at Autozone saw the battery, he was like, what car is that for, and are you sure that's the right size??? It looks too small

 

Hey Dwalbert! Fellow montrealer here. Ditch that puny lawn mower battery and get a Kirkland battery from Costco (I went to marché central). The one you want is battery #11 (which corresponds to the 51r). It costs 70$ and is guaranteed 3 years. bring your old battery because they charge 10$ more that they will refund only after you return the old one. I used my dremel tool to cut through the battery tray and it cut through there like a knife through butter (the plastic is easy to cut).

I got 500 CCAs now (vs 330)! Even on the coldest day, my car starts without too many chugs. I say this mod is a must for anyone in a cold climate. The only problem I have is that the clamp on the positive terminal is too large, so it doesn't actually clamp down on the post. I've ordered a pack of battery post shims so PM me if you do the mod and I might have one left over. My car is a GD, maybe the GE has tighter clamps so you might not have that problem.

P.S. I might be wrong, but I feel that remote starter receivers require a little power to function so they might slightly drain the battery when left over night.

 

Did Autozone have the correct battery? Our (original) battery is four years old this month. I can't find anyone around here (including the nearest Honda dealer 60 miles away) that stocks parts for Fits. They always have to order, which leaves me in the lurch even for simple things like filters and wiper blades.

I have a jumper battery in the back—I know our old one will go one of these days.

Cheers.

 

You should have the dealer check everything, it'll be interesting to see if the Chinese Fits are lower quality compared to Japanese made ones.