Good afternoon everyone, I've searched various posts and have done some research pertaining to my new to me 2015 Honda Fit EX. Just a small run down, I purchased this car in February of this year (2/15/24) and overall love the car. After about a month or two I noticed that I repeatedly had issues with the battery. No battery light or charging error indicated on the dashboard it would just randomly not start and the dash would flicker as if it had no juice. Luckily I invested in a 3000A battery pack beforehand that I keep with me for whatever occasion which has in turn brought peace of mind while out. I took it twice to autozone, the first time they tested just the battery and said it was good, I spoke to the guy and informed him that I read up a lot about how these batteries are too small for the car and how other people have upgraded to the 51r. Immediately the guy said he's heard about people doing that and having electrical issues and would advise against it. At the time I took it into consideration and figured it was something else. Fast forward another month or two and intermittenly having these issues and I take it back to Autozone and again the battery tested fine, but this time the lady doing the testing offers to test the entire system. Once she's done she tells me it's the alternator which I thought was somewhat strange since the issue did not seem consistent enough to be the alternator, although it could be on it's way out. I plugged up my OBII bluetooth scanner and drove it around this past weekend and under load it kept a steady 13. 9-14.2 read out. Most of the driving was also smaller trips like 5-10mins in between each other for about an hour worth of driving and I had 0 issues. The battery that came with the car is a Napa 65151r stamped from 22' which judging by the reviews wasn't a great battery to begin with. I tested the car as well with a multimeter and got normal readings. I may see if I can test for any weird ground readings this weekend to rule that out. I did unplug the "smart charger" cable thing, but it still needed a jump right before lunch today lol. Did not find too much information on that system, so wondering where this information may have been found or pulled from? Anyone have any advice on how to approach this? Thanks!

 

Do you know if the Start Button was replaced in the Recall notice?

If not you may have an issue with the Start Button.

Since you bought the car used I'm not sure if you can get the Start Button fixed for Free.

As far as the Starter motor you may need that replaced.

I had mine replaced recently at my expense.

My 2015 EX stick starts and runs great.

 

I've read a bit about the start button, I may have to double check mine to see if it was done or not. I doubt it's the starter as it always flickers due to a dead battery.

 

[QUOTE=DerpyTurtle666;1484537] I tested the car as well with a multimeter and got normal readings.

Did you test for a parasitic draw on the battery?

 

[QUOTE=jscene;1484541]That's actually going to be my next step! Hoping to have time this evening to check.

 

Total baloney from the guy at Autozone. The Fit will run equally well on either the smaller OEM 151R battery or the larger 51R battery. The larger capacity battery simply gives you better performance in cold weather starting, a longer lifetime, better resistance to small parasitic drains, etc. and since it costs virtually the same it's a better buy. Your problem does not appear to be battery related unless as mentioned it is a bad ground or a parasitic draw (technically neither is the battery's fault). I have incidentally put an oversized battery in virtually every car I've ever owned. I even had to bend the radiator on my old Camry in order to jam my bigger battery in - not really a smart thing to do but that was in the days when I was young and stupid. (Now I'm just old and stupid)

 

i have the 51R upgrade, no problems....+1 on the autozone baloney

 

someone on the forum claims he ran an extra thick cable from alt to battery and it solved his problems and couldn't and didn't cause any other problems, it was quite an extensive post, i asked him some questions

 

So honestly I'm just stumped. I tested the battery, alternator and looked for a parasitic draw.

So I tested the alternator directly and it's reading out 14.3-14.4.

The battery was around 12.49 after letting it sit for 45 minutes after I got back from work. As I was reading to let it sit for a while before testing to rule out anomalies from the computer etc.

I tested for a parasitic draw and at first got a read out of 0.91 and it settled to 0.23 and dropped bottoming out at 0.17 or so, but never went back up.

We have been experiencing temps in the upper 90s this week and 97 for the past 3 days or so. So I'm wondering if the little guy is having problems in this heat. When I went to test the alternator the car started right up with 0 issues.

Battery before testing

Output under load at battery and at the alternator it was reading out at 14.41.

Parasitic first read out

Parasitic after a few seconds

 

I went ahead and got the 51R and will be changing it tomorrow hopefully.

 

1. Since when you use the battery pack and it starts without issue.
- No problem with starter
- No problem with push button
- Then that means it is the battery without enough juice
2. How come the battery doesn't have enough charge?
- Bad battery?
- Failing alternator not being able to charge the battery
- Connection issue between alternator and battery?
- Parasite draw?
3. Good luck in resolving your issue... battery? alternator? connection between battery/alternator? Parasite draw?

note:
- A new battery should be around 12.6V, as there are 6 cells with 2.1V each, is how you get 12.6V in a new battery. Anything under 12V you need to check and monitor the battery.
- For Honda, the alternator should be providing 14.44 ideally, if it is higher, there is an issue, and if it is below 14V, you also need to take a look at it also. I had an issue with the 2015 Ex alternator before, it was bouncing between 13.8V - 14.3V, but once the alternator was replaced, issue was resolved.
- If it is the starter's issue, you should be hearing click/click/lick when you try to start the car. Or at times you won't hear anything but car still won't start. Both cases would happen regardless if you have a fully charged battery or a low on charge battery with a battery pack. Unfortunately I also experienced the early starter's failure for the 2015 Ex, and the starter's troubleshooting was more straight forward than the alternator issue.

 

Yes, the guy saying the 51R battery is bad is bullshit. I have a 2016 and I replaced the original battery with a 51R in 2020 and replaced that one in 2023. Never had a problem with either 51R battery. My car was built in Japan, so I didn't have to modify the battery tray.

 

**Update** Hey folks just an update for future people looking into similar issues etc. So it did end up being the battery! I did all the testing required and I am glad I went a step further to diagnose the problem myself. I replaced the battery with an EverStart 51R from Wal-Mart; 425 CCA and has a 2 year warranty. I installed the battery while at work Thursday 6/27/24 and I have not had to jump it or do anything since then 7/1/24. I would suggest making sure to test all routes before spending money as this saved me a lot of money and time rather than just listening to Autozone or a parts store; especially if voltage seems to check out. Thank you all for taking the time and trying to help me out!

 

Keep a lookout on your Start Button.

If it takes you two times tapping the start button before your car starts, go to your local Honda Dealer to have the start button replaced.

 

you cant really "test" a battery without deep loading it.....and its hard to do,so many do not...glad u got it sorted...your post may help people in future

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-...ery-drain.html

 

Check if the dealer has updated the IMMOBILIZER software...

 

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Class Action Lawsuit for Honda Fit Battery issues - Page 4 - Unofficial Honda FIT Forums