Purchased a new 2019 Fit around Thanksgiving of 2019. Battery keeps dying after car sits for 3 or so days. We're on our 3rd battery.now Dealer has had car this last time for about 15 days.
Got a call saying the issue appears to be, and on this they were vague, a electrical power commands that sits near the fuse box.
I'm unable to find such a part on Honda Fit part site schematics - anyone know what the part might be?
I've seen various issues on older Fits w batteries dying, but is this a known issue on new cars w less than 5,000 miles on them?
Car has the CVT.
Thanks!

 

Isn't there like a fuse box for fits that's pretty large? I believe it's behind that red cover on the positive terminal. Maybe it's allowing a larger drain and killing your battery. During this pandemic my Fit is not driven much. After several weeks, I notice it was struggling to start but still would. I've since put it on a battery tender. 3 days and it kills your battery is excessive though.

 

Honda tech said they tested for parasitic loss, but it was well within limits (e.g. clock, computer, etc). We keep the car outside, and it's always locked, so that's not the cause (e.g. computer constantly checking for locked doors).
The first 2 failures occurred pre-COVID, so car was being driven M-F to work about 18 miles round trip. But, on say, a 3 day weekend, if it was not driven, battery would die.

They said the bad part was not the fuse box, but something that hooks up to it and controls the power - not the computer module though.
Not sure if they are bull$hitting me, or what. Starting to think we bought a lemon.

 

Something is eating your battery. Just to let you know I have 2017 LX CVT, 56K miles. Left the car outside while I was on a trip that lasted one month, a couple of times. On my returns, the Fit started up after the first crank.

 

This isn't good. Potential safety issue, leaving you stranded any time you leave it sit for more than a couple days.

An electrical system that doesn't hold a charge might be a candidate for a lemon-law return. Laws vary by state, but if you've exceeded a certain number of service visits on a critical component (which electrical should be) and it can't be fixed, the manufacturer buys the car back from you at the price you purchased it for.

Obviously they don't want to do this, as they're buying back into a problem. But it should be an option for you if you want to go that route. I certainly wouldn't blame you.

 

I was going to post my results but in a nutshell, I did the 2 different parasitic power drain tests and battery diode test on mine and from what can tell, all the power drain is very, very low. Almost negligent. I did not test large fuses (like the ABS). Diode test was normal.

The tech may be talking about the ELD, which detects load on connected systems such as A/C, power windows, etc... An aftermarket stereo is technically not connected to this device (which is located in the fusebox in the engine). The ELD restricts/reduces the alternators' ability to charge the battery at 100% output, rather it varies the charging ability. I am no expert, but from reading other Honda owners posts, this ELD is supposed to help with fuel economy and prevent the alternator from dying out early if run at 100%.

I'm on my 3rd battery (stock, 51R Kirkland and now 51R Optima Yellow) and in the summer, it's weak to start after 3 days. In winter, I'm lucky if it starts after sitting overnight (stock and modified car). Some people are lucky and have no issues. Others with stock GK's have issues.

One alternative I am exploring is to have a higher output alternator and either put a switch to temporarily bypass the stock ELD, or to just bypass it since the new alternator can handle 100% output all the time (hopefully).

EDIT: After installing my new dash cam to the backup battery, I discovered that I had hooked up the backup battery DIRECTLY to the main battery when it should have been hooked up to the intended circuit only when the car is switched on.

 

You shouldn't be on your 3rd battery without knowing what is draining your battery. Is Honda saying there is nothing wrong with the electrical system? If so, have you ask them what is draining your battery? Did you tell them fix the problem? Getting a bigger battery is not the solution. The stock battery works just fine as I mentioned that even after a month in storage the battery started the car after the first crank.

 

I always put a voltmeter on all my cars. Picture shows voltmeters I buy. Very cheap. Hook up two wires ro a lighter plug so only active when ignition is on. On my 2015 fit driving down road when I first bought it and battery voltage went from 14.2 volts showing charging to 12.6 volts and started to decrease. I thought alternator had gone bad and srared for dealer. Like magic it started charging again. Computer monitors the battery drain and turns off charging to save gas. It is easy to keep it charging. Just turn on your headlights and charging system should stay on. Hook up a meter and watch it while you drive. That will show proper charging and battery voltage level. For parasistic drain put VOM on current scale and hook in series with battery posistve. Make sure not to short out positve terminals. Watch low current draw. Pull one fuse ar a time to watch what sections are drawing current and how much. I put my LED voltmeter on dash with double sided tape and use that to monitor my system.I run 14 to 14.2 volts driving down the road.

Hope that helps

James




James

 

I once chased a similar problem for several months on a GM brand car. In the process I got a hold of an engineer at GM and got some specs that may be useful to you. The spec is: after the computer goes to sleep, which is usually about 6 to 8 minutes after you exit the car, the parasitic must be less than 20 milliamps. (.020 amps). Also every vehicle they make must be designed to start after sitting for 30 days. That means the battery sizing must be capable of sitting for 30 days with that parasitic drain and still be able to crank the specific size engine used in that vehicle. In my case it was an added mirror with compass that was keeping the BCM awake. I had chosen to get power off of a circuit to the interior lights. The BCM saw that draw and thought the door was still open was still open so it stayed awake. After fixing that issue the parasitic draw with the BCM sleeping was 18 milliamps (.018 amps).

With these numbers I would monitor the parasitic draw and see what you have. You must exit the car to kill the RAP (Retained Accessory Power) and sleep time out before taking the readings. I have to assume that Honda runs on similar numbers.

The other poster is also correct in this could be an ELD issue. You can get an accessory plug digital meter for around $3.00 on ebay. Watch it while you drive to see what the alternator / eld is doing. The ELD is just a measurement device that it tells the BCM how much load is being used. The BCM actually makes the decision when to reduce or increase the charging voltage. This is NOT an alternator sizing issue.

 

Battery loss on standard lead acid batteries is about 1% per day - slightly more in Summer than Winter. So after 90 days, there is usually not enough charge to start the car. However in 30 days - there should be plenty of charge. Check the parasitic draw by hooking an ammeter in between the + lead and the + cable ( + battery lead----ammeter----+ cable) to monitor the amp draw.

Side note: many cars with factory alarms have a cyclic state that the car runs through diagnositcs and stores state events in counters. The amp draw is higher in those states but is normally about 12 (Honda motorcycles) - 27 (Mazda Miata NCs / BMW) milliamps (as posted above).

 

I think my first step would be to insist they NOT be vague and explain to you exactly what a "electrical power commands" is.
I mean politely, calmly...but...you have a right to know what they are replacing on your vehicle and why.
I assuming this is being done under warranty?
Get it all in writing.
And I've never heard of an "Electrical Power Commands", have them explain it to you, until you understand. Then come back and tell us, because I'm curious.
If it's something they can replace, their parts department should be able to show you exactly what and where it is.

 

That's likely the Honda "Intelligent" Battery monitoring system. If it fried or one of the connections is poor from moving the leads - the alternator might think it needs to deliver too high of charge and fried the battery. Else they're referring to the ECM - which is not cheap. Get the details please - thanks.

 

i would see what parasitic draw the car has...if not excessive...its the battery???....but as indicated above...is the battery reaching full charge.??....its uncertain times...for the battery also

 

In order to qualify as a lemon under most state laws, the car must: have a substantial defect covered by the warranty that occurred within a certain period of time or number of miles after you bought the car, and. not be fixed after a reasonable number of repair attempts.

In California, the dealer has to fix the problem within three attempts, within one year, or they have to buy the car back.

 

So I added an edit to my original post. I had hooked up my dashcam backup battery directly to the main battery circuit instead of a switched circuit, which would account for the really poor performance from my Optima Yellow Top (it was constantly being drained) but not the stock or Kirkland battery. I keep records of my installs (yes it helps to trace down issues). I still had charging issues with the stock battery. I still had issues with the upgraded Kirkland (even before I installed dashcam battery afterwards).
After correcting the dashcam battery hookup, now my voltage reads at least 0.2 to 0.4 volts higher. So normal voltage during driving is now 14.0 to 14.4volts. It used to be always 13.8 to 14.0. I recently left the car idle for 2 days and it started up with no issues. So it was partly my bad.

Still with the Kirkland battery before the dashcam battery was installed, I still had some starting issues esp. in colder weather (but then again, anyone else would).

The parasitic draw test, I measured both under the hood and inside the car. Both immediately after shutting off the car and leaving the car parked overnight with the windows opened. I climbed in (Dukes of Hazzard style) to avoid tripping the stock security system. The parasitic draw was identical and very, very minimal. I bypassed the hood detection simply by closing the latch with the hood open.

I did once ask the dealer to find out why my car with the Kirkland 51R had trouble maintaining a charge. The dealer wanted me to return everything to stock before they did that test. They did an alternator test and it was fine.

Still I do not really know why other's with a stock Fit have battery issues other than the charging system may not be adequate enough or the stock smurf battery doesn't hold enough power?

 

if it makes you feel better. my car shut off on the 95 twice! took it for a battery and alternator test and it read that the voltage regulator failed.
battery is good but the alternator is toast. mine is a 18 6mt

 

I've read of this happening. Is your car stock electrically or do you have a smaller pulley?

 

all stock 2018 fit sport 6mt

 

Here's a thought: Are the battery / charging system failures happening on pushbutton start models, or on all models? I have no charging issues on my '16 LX, but that's a sample of one.

I've long believed the reason that starters and power switches burn out on the pushbutton start models is that the circuit is not robust enough to absorb the initial surge. In key start models, the circuit is completed mechanically and there doesn't seem to be much in the way of a surge, at least not the type that burns out a circuit over time.

It wouldn't surprise me if Honda cheaped out on the circuit design, parts or both. Designing a reliable electronic circuit is not difficult in today's age, nor is obtaining parts. Cost-cutting on the loss leader?

 

that's sad. Only early 1980s Furds had bad voltage regulators. Maybe someone found a warehouse full of them to use on the Fit.