Battery drain problem.
 

Hi, as I've said in my 'newbie' post, I've just got an Accord.

It's a 2004 Tourer, 2.4l, i-vtec..... :confused:

Anyway, The problem I'm having is that the battery is draining over the course of a few days.
I got the car on Wednesday, and this afternoon it wouldn't start.

The car was my uncle's before I had it, and he just accepted the problem and parked the car in the garage and charged it up - I can't.

He's changed the battery, and had the alternator checked (in June though).

There are no warning lights on the dash when driving.


Phew, anyway, so yeah, what do I need to do to sort it out?
I've had a little Google session, and I think the first thing I'll do is get a multimeter to check for a parasitic load. Any other suggestions?

you can pull fuses one at a time and see which circuit is drawing the battery down.
Electric stuff can be a real PIA.
Of course be sure the battery has electrolytes, is clean and the ground points are tight.

You could look for stuff that doesn't turn off when it should. Like a light in the luggage compartment? Glovebox light? Possibly an aftermarket amplifier for the stereo?

Well, I didn't get around to checking for any drains in the end. I came up with a much simpler test. I jump started the car, took it for a long drive (to recharge the battery), parked up, waited 2 or 3 minutes, then tried to restart the car.
I figured that if it was a parasitic draw, it wouldn't have time to drain the battery in 2 or 3 minutes.

Anyway, the car wouldn't start.
So it looks like the battery isn't being charged when I'm driving. Which is odd, because as I said, there's no warning light on the dash.

Is it possible for the alternator to be working, but not charging the battery? Loose connection maybe? I'm don't know enough about how it works to explain it.

You mention a multi-meter. What is the voltage across the battery terminals when the engine is off ... and when the engine is running?

Yeah, I didn't get one in the end. I figured my test would be cheaper.

It's booked into the garage tomorrow, so hopefully they'll tell me what's wrong.

Would have liked to have worked it out myself, but had a manic weekend so just took the easy option :(

yes the alt can charge but the battery not hold it. I'd take the battery to a store and have them test it (volts, amps the works).

You can have an alternator that is putting out voltage but little amps and some garages rely on a volt meter test to check recharging systems

If the battery reads 14v or so when the engine is running, then drops low when you turn it off, then I'd say it's a bad battery. The car is running off the alternator but as soon as you turn it off, the battery doesn't hold it's charge.

Let us know what happens.

So the garage have had a look at it, and they say there's nothing wrong.

So frustrating!