Help....my car just died and would not even turn over when trying to restart. The battery "green eye" shows fully charged battery. I jumped the car anyway and it started. I left if running but it just quit after about 5 minutes as if someone turned the key off. I jumped it again and the same thing happened again.

When I turn on the key the dash is black and a few seconds later the dash lights start blinking and and then turn to fully on and all lights, buzzers, etc. work, but when I turn the key to start the car they go dark and the engine won't even start to turn over or even give the tell tale clicking sound of a discharged battery.

Any ideas....relay switch, alternater, ignition switch, or just have it towed to the dealer? I am about 30 minutes from the dealer so I am afraid to drive it as I am sure it will just quit after a few minutes. The car has 48,000 miles so is outside of the warrenty parameters.

Thanks for any help.

Rick

 

It sounds like a dead battery to me, if it's low enough it won't crank over or click at all, get a volt meter and test the battery, then start turning the car over and see what it's reading, you could have a dead cell or something, if you get the car running then test the output from your Alternator, I'd say either your battery has been drained quite a bit from a failing alternator or the battery itself is dead, doesn't sound like a starter issue..... test the voltages first and I'm placing my side bet on the battery being dead (now) due to an alternator issue... If the car is just dying after a few minutes when you jump it then the alternator isn't charging the system

 

Yeah, those 'green eye' windows can't really tell for certain types of battery failure. It's not a TRUE measure of battery charge.

If your battery voltage is low, then you'll have to decide whether it's the battery or the alternator's fault. All depends on voltages. Measure like this:

1) Battery voltage right now, with everything turned off.
2) If #1 is above 12v, then measure again with everything turned on. Headlights, blower, stereo, whatever else you can think of.
3) Jump start the car & measure it with the engine idling, everything else turned off.
4) Measure again with engine idling, everything turned on.

If #3 & #4 are above 13v, then your alternator is good. But probably it's not; based on you saying it dies awhile after you jump-start it.

Assuming #3 or #4 are bad, then put the battery on a charger overnight. Re-measure #1 & #2 after taking it off the charger. If it stays above 12v, then maybe your bad alternator hasn't damaged the battery (yet).

 

if it is the battery it should be under warranty (prorated)... battery should last for at least 4 to 5 years...... if it is your alt, I would see about honda doing a goodwill on this.......

 

Thanks everyone....as it turned it was a totally dead battery. It seems to be working fine now that the battery has been replaced. This is the last time that I will give any credence to the "green eye".

 

glad that you got it fixed.... that's the problem with those indicators, there just an indication of fluid and electrolyte (yeah this is the wrong term but whatever) and not neccisarily a full or adequate charge.

 

Well, they're sorta OK, meaning if the 'green eye' shows bad, the battery is bad. But if the green eye shows good, the battery still might be bad.

So... Did you check any voltages? (Or have a shop check for you?) It STILL might be the alternator's fault for letting the battery go dead. In which case you haven't really fixed it. It might take a few days before your new battery goes dead.