Just brought home my Ridge yesterday. I drove it a little today, started it up at least 6 or 7 times, and now my battery does not have enough of a charge to start the truck.

It's late Saturday and I'm not thrilled with the idea of waiting until Monday for a new battery. I realize it's possible that the alternator is bad, or there may be a slight short somewhere that's draining the battery, but I'd still like to go and get a battery today so I'll have use of the truck this weekend.

What will Honda do if I replace the battery now? :confused:

Man JaxRidge. That blows. :eek:Try to wiggle the neg cable.

Man JaxRidge. That blows. :eek:Try to wiggle the neg cable.


Yea, I'm pretty bummed.

I checked the cables, and went ahead and tightened them even though they did not seem to be lose.

I can see the "green eye" on the battery, but past experience tells me that does not mean a whole lot.

I went and bought a portable jump start box so I can get it back into my driveway. (I had parked it in the street while my wife was throwing a bridal shower.) When the jump box is charged up I'm going to at least get the Ridge off the street and then consider options from there. :(

Update:

I hooked up the jump box and my Ridge started right up. My neighbor saw what I was doing and came over to help out. We disconnected the positive lead from the battery and my truck kept running as smooth as silk. He said that proves that the alternator is fine, and the problem is the battery.

I'll probably take my truck to Autozone tomorrow and have them check the battery for me. I'm guessing I have a bad cell.

If you replace your battery before Monday, the warranty on your truck will cover it.

If you replace your battery before Monday, the warranty on your truck will cover it.

Thank you. Tomorrow I'll go and get a new one and contact the dealer on Monday.

Did you drive it on the freeway for a while after starting it back up?
If not, you'll want to do that to get the battery a chance to charge.

Did you drive it on the freeway for a while after starting it back up?
If not, you'll want to do that to get the battery a chance to charge.

I did not drive it any further than from the curb to my driveway. I figured the battery must have a problem to have died this quickly.

Conspiracy Theory mode on:

When I was buying the truck, the only feature the saleman went over with me was how to program the radio code if the battery should die. Nothing else.

When I went into the finance manager's office and he tried to sell me the extended warranty, the only example he gave me was if my battery should die the extended warranty would take care of a jump start, etc.

Conspiracy Theory mode Off

I bought a new battery today, and my truck is working perfectly. I'm going to contact Honda and the dealer tomorrow about what happened.

In the mean time, just for the heck of it, I'm going to measure the voltage of my battery eveyday and keep a log.

I could be wrong, and that's happened many times :rolleyes: but I think there is either a slight short (because no fuses are blowing) or something is leaching off the battery and killing it. I base this theory on the fact that last night when I tried to crank the engine, it at least made an effort, but this morning when I tried, it wouldn't even try. The battery had less of a charge this morning than it did last night.

I'll keep you'all posted.

Happened to me too, a few days after I got it.
Jumped in to take the wife out for a drive, nothing.
I jumped it and took it out for a half hour country drive.
No problems since.

Happened to me too, a few days after I got it.
Jumped in to take the wife out for a drive, nothing.
I jumped it and took it out for a half hour country drive.
No problems since.

Usually the problem with new vehicles is the fact that they sit so long waiting to be allocated to a dealership or they sit in the dealers lot with flashers on
trying to attract attention and don't get driven. For anyone looking to buy a Ridgeline, be sure to ask the dealer to check the battery, which should be a standard process to begin with but it does slip through the cracks. Tell them to do a battery test on it, not just look to see if the cells have sufficient fluid or the green dot is visible. That green dot can be a liar.
:)

I called my local dealer this morning. They won't be able to take my truck in until Wednesday to check out the system.

They did tell me to bring my receipt for the battery I bought over the weekend.

Ladyridge, you rock! ;)

Update:

I have not been able to take my truck to the dealer yet, but my new battery is holding up fine, so I'm guessing the old battery just got worn out like LadyRidge said.

I called my local dealer this morning. They won't be able to take my truck in until Wednesday to check out the system.

They did tell me to bring my receipt for the battery I bought over the weekend.

Ladyridge, you rock! ;)

Happy to help sir!! My pleasure. :)

I have my Ridge dead in the garage after putting on a few hundred city miles on the "new" purchase. I am skipping the headache of denial from the used car dealer and jumping straight to an Optima D35 - Amazon should be dropping it off today while I'm here at work.

Thanks for the post, I was starting to get worried with my wife asking continually asking if it is more than the battery since it would not even hold a trickle charge. I have confidence that this will resolve the issue.

There have been a lot of premature battery failures on Ridgelines. You're taking the right approach. Will a Group 35 fit? I have a Group 34 and it needs a spacer.

Sorry you had battery problems. Sometimes... they're just born bad.
:)

Ford owners know about this. The Motorcraft batteries tend to die suddenly right around a year old, and strand you in the bad part of town. At night. In a thunderstorm.

(ask me how I know -- it happened to both me with my Mercury Capri & my father with his Focus)

Chip H.

Not sure about yours, but my OE battery is not maintenance-free. This means you have to check and maintain the water/acid level in it. Only use distilled water. Never use tap, well, or regular bottled water. Be sure to wear rubber gloves and safety glasses. Acid fumes can ignite and cause the battery to explode. Never expose the battery area to to sparks or an ignition source. This is why you should always install the positive jumper/box cable to the positive connection on the battery first and then the negative jumper/box cable to a grounded metal part of the engine or body away from the battery - to avoid causing a spark at the battery and causing it to explode.

Sorry to go on about it, but there seem to be a lot of owners here who don't know much about this sort of thing. :)

Not sure about yours, but my OE battery is not maintenance-free. This means you have to check and maintain the water/acid level in it. Only use distilled water. Never use tap, well, or regular bottled water. Be sure to wear rubber gloves and safety glasses. Acid fumes can ignite and cause the battery to explode. Never expose the battery area to to sparks or an ignition source. This is why you should always install the positive jumper/box cable to the positive connection on the battery first and then the negative jumper/box cable to a grounded metal part of the engine or body away from the battery - to avoid causing a spark at the battery and causing it to explode.

Sorry to go on about it, but there seem to be a lot of owners here who don't know much about this sort of thing. :)

Manual state to never ground on the engine when boosting a dead battery.
It shows to ground on the negative cable near the headlight. (Just in front of the battery)

Manual state to never ground on the engine when boosting a dead battery.
It shows to ground on the negative cable near the headlight. (Just in front of the battery)

Thanks, I never learned how to RTFM ... :p

Where I work we have tons of battery issues due vehicles that aren't driven very often coupled with very sophisticated and complex electrical systems that draw on batteries even when they're sitting. If the customers use a light 1-2 amp "trickle" charger, they seem to do just fine. We install a simple black & decker 1-2A smart charger at no cost to the customers at PDI (pre-delivery inspection) to alleviate headaches on both ends. That being said, we have the most trouble out of AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries and the Optima batteries. Optimas have some benefits, but they are mostly good marketing. Lead acid batteries seem to outlast all other types of batteries out there currently.

Also, the "green eye" system is garbage, it only gives you a vague idea of what's going on with the battery, as it is simply a little float in a chamber which rises and falls with the electrolyte level in one cell of the battery. If that one cell is low, it's accurate. Aside from that, it's worthless.

After hearing about all of the battery issues now, I am a little worried as to the health of my battery. I'll run a check on it as well as the charging system tomorrow and make sure it's all up to par.