Following a period of starting problems, in March 2005 I replaced the battery in my '96 Civic 1.5, which rectified the problem (see www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=29456 - thanks for all the advice).
Over the past three weeks the <10 month old battery has gone completely flat when the car has been left parked up for two or three days. Once jump-started and given a good run, engine starts the following morning no problem. I commute 100 miles per day Mon-Fri, so this is not likely to be a problem during the week, but the car is not used at weekends, so I need to get this sorted to avoid having to jump-start every Monday morning!
Battery was purchased from Halfords (3 yr guarantee) so I took the car down to the store near to my place of work to get it checked today. "Good Battery," says helpful Halfords chap. He suggests that something is draining the battery. I've already checked for interior lights stuck on etc, nothing evident. I will have access to a friend's multimeter at the weekend so I'm planning on checking for high background current drain and pulling out fuses until I find the culprit circuit. The car does not have an alarm/immobiliser, just a digital clock as far as I can tell - how many mA should I expect to read? What else should I check? Car runs/starts perfectly otherwise, no other symptoms.
Any advice/suggestions gratefully received as usual.
Ed.
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Is there a light in the boot, which may not be going out?
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This could be a faulty diode in the rectifier pack inside the alternator. Start by placing the meter inline with the +12V ( I assume you have the radio code, and measure the quesant current. Some cars draw current for several minutes after being shut off then the current falls to less than 5 ma some lass than 1ma, so do this from cold i.e. do not turn the ignition on. If you have a higher cuttent then you can try pulling fuses but I would disconnect the alternator and see if that solves the current drain. I have seen alternators drawing 300 ma to 3 amps with a faulty diode. Check boot lights, glove box and auto dim interior lights for faults. Come back with the results. Regards Peter
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Had a lease VW Sharan some years ago, (complete POS). One of the many faults on this vehicle was the battery died after being left for several days. After many complaints and two new batteries, (warranty!) the fault was eventually traced to a leaky capacitor in the radio antenna. The radio antenna in this car was part of the heated rear window circuit and was able to discharge a good battery in 3 ? 4 days after being parked at an airport. Do not know if your Civic has this type of antenna, (suspect it might have?) but if it does it might be worthwhile isolating the antenna assembly. This will probably not be easy to do since you have to find where they have hidden it first!
Good luck.
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If it has one of these it will be in the tailgate,near the screen,which has to plug into it.
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As the body is similar to Rover 400,may be wrong.but Aerial is on the centre of roof no amp,if its tailgate/not booted. could possibly be a short within the rubber between tailgate and roof ie cable stretch,just a thought
--
Steve
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Also check the charging current as per Peter Ds advice in the following thread;
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=4&t=10...1
And that the alternator belt isn't loose or slipping.
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Thanks for all the ideas so far.
I have checked the boot light, glovebox, other interior lights, alternator belt, no problems. I'll try the voltage/current checks and report back once I get my hands on a multimeter.
Ed.
ps. It's an old-style 3 door '91-'96 Jap Civic, not a Swindon/Rover 400 Civic.
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Does your car have central locking,& does it work? Also is there an alarm fitted ?(working or not ?)
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My car takes 65 mA from the battery (no key near by) and 240mA when I approach the car with the key. That is OK. No problems in 3 years.
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Ok, ammeter reads 200 mA background current drain. No bulbs to be found stuck on. No alarm/immobiliser to blame. I went to unplug the alternator, but gave up due to poor access (need ramps). Pulled a couple of fuses under the dash - radio not guilty, ditto interior lights and dash circuits. By now pouring rain and lack of time got the better of us. Later on I remembered Elekie&a/c Dr's post about central locking - yes car is equipped with central locking, but has never worked in my three years of ownership. I re-visited the fusebox, pulled the 'power door locks' fuse, heard faint sound of relay clicking when plugging back in (ignition off, doors shut and locked). I really wish I had pulled this fuse while I had the multimeter connected. Perhaps I'll buy one of my own.
So, still no closer to conclusive diagnosis, but 'power door locks' sounds like prime suspect. The fuse remains unplugged, hopefully might improve matters. Will report back with progress.
Thanks for all your advice/suggestions.
Ed.
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Yes, 200mA continuous is a bit too much for peace of mind.
My thinking goes like this. I would not like to lose more than about half the battery charge (in a new battery) before I next used the car.
If the battery is a 40 amp hour one that means 20AH. Now 200mA loses you 1 AH per 5 hours. So in 100 hours you half discharge a new battery --- 4 days.
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' I really wish I had pulled this fuse while I had the multimeter connected. Perhaps I'll buy one of my own.'
Try www.maplin.co.uk/Home.aspx?C=Newsletter&U=P13-4
at £7:99 (halfway down the page) there is no reason not to.
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Try www.maplin.co.uk/Home.aspx?C=Newsletter&U=P13-4 at £7:99 (halfway down the page) there is no reason not to.
>>
Looks like they have revamped the page.
New link?
I bought a multimeter that works fine except for running costs.
If I forget to switch it to off ...Doh! another £2 for a battery.
Are they all like this?
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