Had to jump start yesterday..

[djpro1]

So I was driving for about 30 mins. Just normal cruising then I parked my car to meet some friends... After 5 minutes, returned to car, had the CD player on for about MAXIMUM 3-4 minutes because I was looking at my GPS. Tried turning on the engine, only hear a poor effort for engine to turn on.. Tried several times.. Nothing :( Then I knew the car battery had died.... I actually recently purchased a Supercharge Gold for $150 (has been less than a month and I do drive regularly every 2 daysish) and I just dont get how 3-4 minutes of stock cd player (not even loud) music can drain the battery so quickly. There was absolutely nothing else on.. I know the weathers been really bad these days and hence why I get those annoying cold starts in the morning... But come on 3-4 minutes draining the car battery DEAD?! What's going on!

Luckily, I asked around and got a jump cable and BAM worked like magic... Gave the car a good 5 minutes of idle to warm up before starting then another 10 minutes idle after an hours driving before turning the engine off.

I really hope its not an alternator problem because I really do NOT want to have to spend so much on the car! I've had a logbook service just 5000km ago but it just seems as though so many hidden problems are arising! Could it be time to sell?! What could it be that drained my battery and is it normal for 3-4 minutes of music to drain your battery?

The only thing I can think of doing next is taking it to my local servos and ask them what the problem could be and get the battery re replaced since Supercharge give you good warranty..

Has anyone else been having same cold start issues recently with the cold weather change?

[noobcake]

Not sure about this but the car needs to be on so you can do whatever you're doing, circulating the electricity?
That's like my car too leave the car on acc and turn on the radio 10 minutes later cars battery dead.

[redefine]

if its the alternator then the battery light will come on. the battery light is not an indicator of a battery problem, but rather a problem with the charging circuits....how long have you had the current battery for?? you might need a new one

[limleong]

It is not unheard of to have new battery DOA (death on arrival) due to manufacturing defect. However, it could also be the alternator/charing circuit as you said. How old is your Euro? Alternator/charging circuit problem is pretty rare on the Euro or for Honda for that matter.

I would suggest bringing it to a reputable auto electrician. They can often test the charging circuit and load test the battery at no cost to you.

[djpro1]

if its the alternator then the battery light will come on. the battery light is not an indicator of a battery problem, but rather a problem with the charging circuits....how long have you had the current battery for?? you might need a new one

I recently purchased it from my local mechanic about a month ago.. They did a simple charge up of it by putting it on park and then accelerating at a constant speed just to keep it going...

The battery light doesnt come on.. I'm hoping its just the battery problem !! I'll take the car down on Wednesday and see what they have to say..

[djpro1]

This morning I tried turning the car on... and guess what? The battery was dead...

Called the mechanic who put it in because he lives just down the street and he replaced the battery and it worked... He seemed very confused as to why the battery died.. My guess is that the battery was just faulty and did not charge properly. There are no appliances in my car that would drain the battery like that.. And I did realise the cranks becoming weaker in the past month after getting this "new" battery.

Let's see how this new battery lasts!

[hisoka]

put the new battery in, get a multimeter and turn car on, read the volts while car is on, it should be reading from 12.5 to 14.1 somewere around there.

if it doesnt just drive around for a bit and check again while leaving car on.

if its not reading then your alternator is faulty .

however some cars i know like nissans dont charge all the time, my silvia drops to 11.2 before it charges the battery , but then the volts shoot up to like 13.7 or 14.3 around there.

check you grounding points. shit grounding points can do this. aswell

[djpro1]

put the new battery in, get a multimeter and turn car on, read the volts while car is on, it should be reading from 12.5 to 14.1 somewere around there.

if it doesnt just drive around for a bit and check again while leaving car on.

if its not reading then your alternator is faulty .

however some cars i know like nissans dont charge all the time, my silvia drops to 11.2 before it charges the battery , but then the volts shoot up to like 13.7 or 14.3 around there.

check you grounding points. shit grounding points can do this. aswell

The new battery is in and fully working now. I'll get it a good few weeks to decide whether its the alternator.. I'll have to borrow a mates voltage reader and find out...

I really hope its not the alternator.... :(

The grounding was fine.. A friend mechanic put it in for me when I got it changed to a larger battery which was meant to fix the whole issue of bad cold starts...

Also, if it was the alternator, the battery light would come on??

[sodhi90]

my alternator stopped charging and the battery light never came on , my auto electrician couldnt understand why, but he tested it and the battery light should have come on , it stopped charging and within a week my battery died, had to get my alternator rebuilt :\ it made a horrible whine aswell.

[djpro1]

my alternator stopped charging and the battery light never came on , my auto electrician couldnt understand why, but he tested it and the battery light should have come on , it stopped charging and within a week my battery died, had to get my alternator rebuilt :\ it made a horrible whine aswell.

how much did it cost you to rebuild the alternator? cant it just simply be replaced with a new one?

[djpro1]

ok i got the battery checked out at the auto electrician and the battery charges fine and stays around 14 :)

Looks like it was a defective battery after all. The electrician said that it does sometimes happen where the battery is a factory defect..

I'm just glad I haven't had to spend any more money ! I just got a jump start kit 100amp for $7 at Kmart :) It said $25 but they only charged me $7 for it!!!!!

[sodhi90]

cost me 450 to get mine rebuilt, a new alternator was over 1000 mark :S stupid hondas

[djpro1]

Sorry for reviving an old thread.. Had to check approximate date I got my last supercharge gold. Battery died on me the other week :( jump started using mums x type jag and left on idle for a few mins but didnt go for a drive after that.. I know silly me... Next day tried to jump start and the car did not take a charge and would not start at all !!! Tried 3 different parts of the chassis in the engine bay for the negative terminal and I could see that there was a connection since I saw sparks when i rubbed the tip of the connector to the metal by accident. I also read something about rolling the car does something to prevent start up?

My assumption is that my battery is completely dead and that i need a new battery.. Really hope it's not my starter motor or alternator...

Time for a new battery? Currently the internal lights are very dim too.

I also had an issue with this supercharge where my internal lighting flickered... As well as my HIDs I put in... What battery should I be buying?