I was away for a few days, and when I tried to start my car, the battery was completely drained.

A good friend tried for more than 30 minutes to jumper start my battery with cables, and although his battery provided electricity to my car, the battery refused to charge, and I could not start the engine.

The really strange thing is that my 2012 Honda fit base is still less than 2 years old, and I noticed when I attached the jumper cables, that I did not leave any lights or radio on. (The car alarm did go off, when his battery was first connected, but it stopped when I clicked my car's wireless key fob unlock button.) I also had 3/4 tank of gas.

However I do recall for the last couple of weeks seeing the low battery indicator on the dashboard whenever I inserted and rotated keys, before starting the engine, but this would always go away after starting engine and driving. Is this normal?

Could my alternator have issues? Did something trigger my car alarm, which killed my battery? Is my battery defective, if it dies less than 2 years? My car is parked in underground structure, so it was always above 50F.

Does my Honda warrantee cover this, if the car is less than 2 years, or should I ask AAA to bring a new battery?

Thank you in advance.

 

First I would check out the friend with the jumper cables. Either they were not making a good connection (which is very common) or they were a very thin set not capable of moving enough current to start your car.

As to what caused the battery to go dead, it is impossible for me to guess at that remotely. It could have been many things like a bad battery, or a poor alarm installation that did not shut off after a few minutes of running. There are several other possibilities.

The "low battery light" you are referring to is (I assume) the alternator not charging light. It is normal for it to be on when the key is on with the engine is not running.

The first thing I would do is get the car started again so the alternator can attempt to recharge the battery. You can do this with another vehicle and a decent set of jumper cables or you can plug in a battery charger and leave the battery charge over night. If the jumpers do not work, wiggle the clamps on the battery posts, or wherever you have them connected, until you get a good connection. Also common is for the jumper cables to work under a light load like the headlights and then fail under a heavy load like the starter. If this happens simply wiggle the cable clamps again until you get the starter to work.

Once you get it started I would run it for at least 1/2 hour to partially recharge the battery. After you get past the starting issue, you can start to determine the source of your problem.

The battery may be under warranty. Check your warranty book. At this point you do not know if this is a battery problem or not.

Have you checked the battery cables on both ends to see if the connections are clean and tight?

I would not ask AAA to bring you a battery. The Fit uses an odd size battry and it is very expensive. AAA will not have one in stock. Costco is a better price option and they will install it for you. Go back to the dealer if your battery is still under warranty.

 

I agree with n9cv. Most cheap battery jumper cables are worthless for starting a car. Your battery is warranted for 3 years or 36k miles.

Clifton

 

If possible, when jumping a car battery, have the side of the jumper cable that has the wire attached go directly onto the battery post, rather than the battery terminal. This will ensure the most direct charge. However, if the battery terminal has significant corrosion, the car still may not start and/or the battery charge.

There are battery terminal cleaners that can be used, as well as the acidic can of Coke. Most battery warranties are misunderstood. There is usually a short period that the battery is replaced free of charge, but the pro rated portion is complicated. For instance, if your battery has failed (after being properly tested) after 24 months and the battery has a 36 month warranty, the warranty will not credit you with 1/3rd the cost of the original battery.

Hopefully, you can use a slow trickle charge on the battery, which will provide the deepest charge. If you simply are able to jump start the car, the battery will take hours of driving to fully charge from the alternator.

 

good advise on slow charging to full.


op- were you making short trips often? then your car doesnt get a chance to fully charge your battery.

 

A trickle charger is a great investment to make. I am still using the same battery that came with my Fit since new and I feel like it is due to hooking it to my charger on the trickle setting if it hasn't been in awhile. I bought my Fit in July 2006... Has anyone else had the stock OEM battery last as long?

 

Seltzer works as well as coke, no need to get syrupy stuff all over the car.

 

Two days ago I replaced the original battery on my daughter's 07. 115000 miles and 6 years on a battery that led a hard life in the Northeast is not too bad.

 

Silly, everything goes better with Coke.

While drinking a coke.

If there is white corrosion, this dissolves nicely with a solution of baking soda and water.

 

Just out of curiousity, did you close the car door tight? Once I thought I'd closed the door, but it wasn't closed tight enought, so the ceiling light stayed on, and drained the battery so I couldn't start it the next day. That was no fun.....

 

Bah. Just get a Kirkland brand 51r. It's 70$ with an 8 year warranty! I use white lithium grease to coat the battery terminals and no corrosion forms.

I learned my lesson the hard way, I had a battery quit on me and I missed a days work. Lost way more than 70$ so I don't mess around with a battery that's getting old anymore, I just replace it. Then again, I live in a cold climate.

 

Yes, I made that mistake once on another vehicle about 4 years ago. "Its a bad battery" I thought, so I went and bought a new one without really diagnosing the problem. It also was an odd size battery and cost around $140.

About a week later I had a "new" dead battery and had to go diagnose and fix the real problem.

A two year old battery should not go dead on it's own but sometimes they do. Until proven differently, I initially suspect something else was draining it.

If Honda will give you a new battery for free or minimal charge under warranty, take it. Some places if you bring the battery in will just hand you a new one under warranty.

Otherwise I would get the car running again with jumpers or slow charging charging over night (a 6 amp charger will do the trick), then diagnose what the real problem is after that.

I still ask if you cleaned and checked the battery cables to see if they are tight.

 

We are the opposite of you, live in hot box Phoenix, Az. Batteries usually last 4 years max, and you're lucky if you get that. The joke here is that you go from your air conditioned house to your air conditioned car to your air conditioned job, and that's how you survive. HA

 

All the more important to have that 8 year warranty then!

 

The 2012's are clever enough to turn the dome light off after about 20 minutes if you leave the door open. They'll also turn the cargo area light off after some time if the hatch is left open. (If the dome light switch is "on" rather than "door", that's a different story entirely.)