Did you check battery terminals for build up?

 

Jump start. Does it run?

Need more details:
What happened leading up to the car not starting?
Were you driving along and it stalled?
Parked, engine off, listening to the radio?

 

It happened on a hill, so I decided, rather than call AAA, to roll the car down hill and bump-start it. The engine turned right over and I was good, so I figured I would head home and deal with it in the morning. Then, I had an idea. I circled back and went to the place where I got stuck and shut off the engine. When I tried to restart — boom — it started. At that point, I decided to take a chance, not go home. I went out to dinner as planned. Two hours later, I got in the car and it started right up.

I had been parked with the ignition "On" but not the engine running. I was listening to the radio. I think the battery was momentarily drained because the a/c was running even though the a/c switch was not lit up. Just a guess, but I don't know what else would have drained the battery.

Anybody ever notice that their a/c was running even when the switch wasn't lit and the "defrost" setting wasn't selected?

Thanks for the replies.

 

You left that out of your original post.
But yeah, that would be the whole enchilada there.

Now the question becomes is your battery now so weakened that you will want to replace it before Winter or risk this happening more and more?

 

Winter may not be a concern for him in CA, but your point is very valid. Batteries do not do well with full drains.

 

Is there a test that someone could run on the battery to see if the full drain did significant damage?

 

Parts stores can test them or a battery place like Interstate.

 

Understood. But would a parts store test tell me whether the battery was irreparably damaged by the severe drain incident? Just wondering.

 

The parts store just use a discharge type setup so probably not. Someone else on another forum took his battery to interstate and they did a floating ball chemical test. He discharged his newer battery to dead and it ended up damaging a cell in the process.

 

[QUOTE=Mister Coffee
I had been parked with the ignition "On" but not the engine running. I was listening to the radio. I think the battery was momentarily drained because the a/c was running even though the a/c switch was not lit up. Just a guess, but I don't know what else would have drained the battery.
Anybody ever notice that their a/c was running even when the switch wasn't lit and the "defrost" setting wasn't selected?
Thanks for the replies. [/QUOTE]


Engine must be running for a/c to be on.

 

There is a LOT of stuff sucking power from the battery while the ignition is in the run position (engine not running). Up to 3 fans, Daytime running lights when equipped, dashboard lit up, etc. Figure between 10-30 amps to run all that stuff, you can drain a perfectly good battery in a VERY short time.


If you only have it on ACC (accessory) so only the radio is on, you can do that for a long time because it does not consume much power.

No. They can test if the battery is good, and it probably will pass that test now that it has been charged up by the alternator.

Car batteries (lead-acid) are not designed to be deeply discharged, it can shorten the overall lifespan of the unit, but that's not really an issue at this point as long as the battery starts the car and passes its tests now.

 

My only question is: Why this time? It never happened before.

It felt like there was cold air coming from somewhere (but I didn't pay attention to it). I had the Fan on #1 position, but the A/C switch light was not on.

I drove my usual route yesterday, and the car and battery worked fine. I even parked with the Ignition in the "On" position and sat for an hour with the radio on. I did not have the Fan switch on this time. No problems.

Normally, I would, at this point, get a new battery just to be on the safe side. This summer, I changed out my OEM battery early for the same reason — to be on the safe side. This time, I'm going to wait a little. I'm getting tired of buying batteries.

Thanks for the Replies, gentlemen.

 

With a manual transmission there'a good back up plan for a dead battery I wouldn't replace it yet either.

 

Why would you re........Nevermind. You're a glutton for punishment.

 

There is no way you got cold air from the AC with the engine off. Unless it's colder outside and it's just pumping cool outside air, into the cabin.

 

In that case, I really have to starting thinking about what caused this failure. Let me re-summarize the situation:

1) Parked for an hour.

2) Engine off.

3) Ignition in the On position (not the Accessory position).

4) Radio on.

5) Fan on at #1.

6) I removed the fuse for running lights a long time ago, so the running lights were not on.

7) This battery is approx. 3 months old. No other troubles with it.

I've done this before and never had battery trouble.

Your thoughts, gentlemen?

 

Number 5!

The motor will consume power!

 

Yes the fan will still run. The clutch may, or maynot be engaged (someone more familiar with Honda hould tell us that) but if the compressor is not spinning (because the engine is not running), there is no "A/C"
All these functions on... With the engine not running is a huge draw on the tiny battery. When you only have the key in the first position, it only allosa the radio to be on. All other functions are not powered.

 

So you do this frequently? Are you saying you have done this before with a previous battery? This just happen to be the time that killed the battery.