The car is a 2.2 MK 9 (2012) Ex Diesel that has Sat Nav, Hands Free Telephone, Stop/Start and most of the extras that were available at the time. Used about three times each week on long journeys. The battery is a 70 amp Varta Stop/start bought from a Honda dealer. The first battery from new was replaced at about 3 years and so was the next battery.
About two weeks ago, the car froze over one night and I detected a slight hesitation before the engine started. The following morning before starting the engine, the battery voltage measured 11.9 volts that indicated it was nearly discharged. On starting the engine, the voltage rose to 14 volts + so I am assured the alternator is ok. As a firm believer in having a good battery and regard a good battery as the heart of any car, I immediately replaced it with an identical new battery. Three years is a very short life for a battery considering that many heavy-duty batteries last for six plus years without a stop/start facility however, I am not too daunted because of the otherwise reliable nature of the car?
I reported on the forum that I had bought the new battery discounted from Cox Honda Dealer purely to share the information that the batteries were being discounted. This prompted other contributors to suggest that the short life of these batteries can be attributed to the stop/start facility on the Civic which cannot be permanently deleted.
However I am now having second thoughts because having fully charged the battery I had taken off, which is not now installed on a vehicle, it is retaining its charge at 12.5 volts, whilst the new battery on the car has a battery reading of 12.1 volts after being left overnight. I am beginning to think there is a parasitic drain and not a problem with the battery.
I have read elsewhere that a faulty Hands Free Telephone (HFT) module is a likely cause of battery drain. Can this be disconnected with affecting anything else to start a process of elimination in an attempt to track down the source of any drain on the battery?
I'd say close, but no cigar:- As it's the 9G, I don't believe it is down to the HFT, as they, AFAIK, use different units. (I know the Facelift will be integrated to the headunit, I'm not so sure for the prefacelift as in this case)
Have you tried taking a resting current measurement from the battery? as per my recent thread, I was getting what seemed to be a fairly large reading, but after a battery replacement it seems to be cured:- It would be interesting to compare results.
By coincidence I have just replaced my battery with a Yuasa YBX027 for similar reasons. My original battery has always measured low just over 12v which according to my memories of school physics is not charged for a lead acid battery. My car is 3 1/2 years old, and for the last 2 services I have queried battery condition, but the Honda battery tester printout showed needing a charge, which they did, and battery passed. Last month after a 120 mile daylight journey I stopped at a ferry car park, and when I started the car after a 20 minute wait I immediately got a warning saying start/ stop not available due to battery-- not the usual warning you get after driving and you stop in traffic and start/stop goes into 'sulk' mode.
When I got home I started checking the battery voltage with the car on the drive and not being used, and it gradually dropped from 12.27v to 12.15 to 11.91. I have never had any starting problems even with the voltage at 11.91v, in the past I have measured it at 11.71v and car still fires up straight away.
I had to assume battery was on it's way out, so ordered and fitted a new one-- I used a new battery I had for my home alarm to provide power to the car while battery was being changed.
The old battery is sitting on the floor in my garage where it's been for 2 weeks-- I just went out to check and it's sitting at 12.18v, the battery I removed from my burglar alarm (12v lead acid) measured 13.6 v when I took it out , and 12.58v now.
So, my car 's start /stop works perfectly now , but I don't know if my old battery was on it's way out, I just popped out to check the car and battery is sitting at 12.17v and car hasn't been used for 3 days.
My assumption is that efb batteries possibly don't have the same voltage as pure lead acid batteries, but what do I know?
My father has a 14 year old Jazz-- he was upset when he had to replace the battery when it was only 12 years old, my wife's 13 year old Micra needed a new battery after about 10 years, both cars without start/stop.
So is it the start/ stop killing the battery , or are car batteries crap now ?
Thanks for your interesting post 'bill ericay' I've yet to measure any leakage with an amp meter. Just returned from a 60 mile motorway journey and battery voltage of the new battery with the engine switch off is 12.7 volts. Ill leave it over night and see what it is again in the morning. After standing overnight the voltage is 12.7 volts which is much as I would expect it to be.
I'm beginning to think that if it is something expensive like the HFT module and the car still starts of despite a voltage drop it's cheaper to replace the battery every three years than replace it. I do make use of the hands free facility and would not want to delete it altogether.
Ill email Varta and ask them about the batteries because I did get a sensible, considered reply from them when I asked a question about charging this type of battery.
Why don’t you start from basics. Connect the multimeter and see how much is being drained after locking your car.
When you establish what the drain is (usually shouldn’t be higher that 50mA but in some cars up to 100mA is acceptable) than disconnect fuses still looking at the multimeter. When the drain drops after disconnecting the fuse then this will give you clue what might be causing the drain.
Far too logical. Why do it that way when you can incur a lot of expense and time wasting by changing random stuff until you are not quite sure whether it is fixed or not.:grin2:
Rather than using the principle of guesswork, has anyone got the correct quiescent current specification for poor1's car?
High
I to have same car only doing short runs not having enough time to correctly charge the battery
I have read your article very carefully, while you may have something draining your battery,it is more likely that the battery is not being charged long enough to keep topped up over night,
It is easly checked,just disconnect over night measure then measure again in the morning before reconnecting
During the winter season I just top the charge up once a month and always through winter month keep stop start turned off
Hope this helps
Thanks, I guess there is no difference to the 1.6 engine.
No "Cox" here in Germany. I ordered Yuasa (Japanese) and hope it works. It is a little stronger than the original Varta.
Cars with stop/start technology are supposed to require a battery specifically designed for the purpose. The batteries from Honda for the 2.2 diesel are 70 Amp but it does no harm to have a higher capacity/ more powerful one.
Battery is in. Start Stop was not available for the first few kilometers. Now it works. Car starts way better compared to the old battery even after charging all night.
Ours is a 2016 Civic 1.6 diesel SR model .Had problems earlier this year with battery going flat . Turned out be a parasitic drain caused by a USB memory stick and phone USB cable been left plugged in more or less all the time . Original battery lasted 3 years . Replacement battery lasted 6 months ! Hope this third battery lasts a bit longer . Had a mark 8 previously , first battery lasted 3 years , replacement was still going strong when traded the car in at ten years old .
I would prefer the USB to be live when the ignition is turned off because its most useful purpose is in charging a mobile phone. I would presume it would only consume energy when it is charging
That`s just what I thought . Apparently not all the power to the USB interface is turned off when ignition is off . Was told there was a drain of 200 milliamps which disappeared when USB was unplugged . Must admit I no longer leave it plugged in permanently , and so far ,no more battery problems . Was very sceptical and think there is an underlying problem .
Washed the car today, checked oil etc, and while bonnet was open checked battery voltage. Car last used yesterday , approx. 160 miles of which 80 were coming home in the dark( including 45 minutes of stop/start traffic jam on M11) so headlights on. Battery voltage today 12.79V , that's good enough for me. I don't remember seeing it that high on original battery. The Yuasa battery I put in a month ago was about £3 more expensive than the Varta from Cox.
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