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I'll apologize in advance for this long pointless rant. Over the last couple of months my car battery hasn't seem to been able to keep a charge. It started when my automatic car starter wouldn't turn over, now full disclosure I live in Atlantic Canada, so it's cold. Sometimes it's brutally cold and I understand that can give batteries a hard time. So I chalked it up to that. I could still go outside and crank the car manually and it had enough juice to turn over.
Progressively it got worse. The panel would get dimmer each week when I put in the key and sometimes I only took the car out twice a week. Over the last month the temperatures have been crazy warm here sometimes as high as plus 14 celcious and rarely below -10. So if expect my battery to be fine, but it's been dying to the point that I have to boost it every couple of days just to turn it over and in the last two weeks it's died so much the security system comes on every time I boost it.
So I took it to the dealership (45 min away) they tested the battery and say it's totally fine. Now when I've driven my car it's been a minimum of a half hour, shouldn't that be enough time to charge the battery for the next day?
I've checked all the interior lights are off, nothing's plugged in to draw power that I can see.
Below are the test results from Hondas tester. The guy at the service desk said I may not be driving it enough to keep a charge, eco mode may be causing it to not get enough charge cycles, or if the battery gets too low the alternator may not charge the battery back to full as a safety precaution.
I'm not sure what all this means, but if anyone has any tips or advice for me I'd greatly appreciate it, because I feel like a complete tool.
how often do u drive your car and distance? it appears u are not driving enough. in this case u should get a battery tender and just keep your battery in a float state until you take the car out.
for instance if u only drive your car twice out of the week and no more than 10-15miles at a time, the battery will ultimately die.
i use this on my hobby cars while they hibernate all winter, but i also used it when i got my new car a few weeks back because new cars also dont come with a full charge. on top of that, i got the windows tinted and the tinter will run the power windows up/down without the engine on so that also drains the battery.
I have two suggestion
First one and the most awesome move to mexico we like canadians and it is hot here(well some places).
The second one but a battery insulator(just diy) also as kenchan suggest buy a trickle charger. You also may want to consider buying an jumper starter and kept it in the car. There are some good ones out there so slim with usb so you can charge your cellphone and other devices. Amazon.com: Portable Car Jump Starter: Automotive
The most drastic and expensive is to move the battery to the interior, put it in the back. You need to put it in the back size of the trunk or in the tire spare space. Buy a new one that is sealed(look for bmw battery so you can get what i am trying to say and make all the adaptation. To much if you ask me.
I'll apologize in advance for this long pointless rant. Over the last couple of months my car battery hasn't seem to been able to keep a charge. It started when my automatic car starter wouldn't turn over, now full disclosure I live in Atlantic Canada, so it's cold. Sometimes it's brutally cold and I understand that can give batteries a hard time. So I chalked it up to that. I could still go outside and crank the car manually and it had enough juice to turn over.
Progressively it got worse. The panel would get dimmer each week when I put in the key and sometimes I only took the car out twice a week. Over the last month the temperatures have been crazy warm here sometimes as high as plus 14 celcious and rarely below -10. So if expect my battery to be fine, but it's been dying to the point that I have to boost it every couple of days just to turn it over and in the last two weeks it's died so much the security system comes on every time I boost it.
So I took it to the dealership (45 min away) they tested the battery and say it's totally fine. Now when I've driven my car it's been a minimum of a half hour, shouldn't that be enough time to charge the battery for the next day?
I've checked all the interior lights are off, nothing's plugged in to draw power that I can see.
Below are the test results from Hondas tester. The guy at the service desk said I may not be driving it enough to keep a charge, eco mode may be causing it to not get enough charge cycles, or if the battery gets too low the alternator may not charge the battery back to full as a safety precaution.
I'm not sure what all this means, but if anyone has any tips or advice for me I'd greatly appreciate it, because I feel like a complete tool.
Drop the car off the day before the appointment and tell the service advisor you want the car to sit for a day before the battery is tested. You will be surprised how different the battery tests can be with just a day between them.
I didn't like the fact that your battery voltage drops to less than 9 volts when the car is started. In the 1980s, that would have caused you to lose all your radio presets even if the engine started!!!!!
Also, I like to see more voltage prior to starting (12.0 - 12.5 VDC rather than 11.34 VDC as in picture 2)
Yes, the voltage went up in Pic 4 after they rapid-charged it for 5 minutes, but it takes a LOT longer than that just on your car's alternator.
Something to consider:
An idling engine will not charge the battery as much as driving (higher RPMs) so if you have an automatic starter but only drive a few miles, yeah you need to take the long way to work to charge your battery.
03-01-2016, 02:57 PM
we like canadians and it is hot here(well some places).
