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Battery failed

7K views 44 replies 19 participants last post by  mtb 
#1 ·
I have a 2014 Ridgeline with all the options. Lately I noticed it was slow in cranking when starting and I was asked repeatedly to enter the navigation code. I bought the vehicle in March of 2014 and only drive it occasionally. It has 1700 miles on it. I took it to the dealer and was told that because of the minimal driving the battery was draining due to all the computer activity while the vehicle was sitting. I'm wondering if this is true or was the dealer making excuses. The battery was replaced and all is fine now. Anyone else have this experience?
 
#2 ·
This is true. The computers in modern cars will drain a battery if they aren't driven often enough. Drain it low enough (below 12 volts) and the battery gets permanently damaged.

Either buy a battery tender & plug it in when the truck is in storage, or disconnect the negative terminal (and have to deal with resetting the clock, radio stations, and auto-window sensor each time), or drive it more often for distances longer than 20-30 miles.

Chip H.
 
#3 · (Edited)
First I have to ask, how long was it setting between uses??? And how short are those drives?
Unless you REALLY don't use the truck much (sits for months at a time) and you only drive it on 1/2 mile trips, it's my opinion that you just had a bad battery.
That's presuming you don't sit in the truck after it's turned off, doing extensive searches with Navi or running lights &/or radio for lengthy stints.
Your battery should recharge fine, even if you only ever take short trips around town, as long as they are at least a few miles..... and it should HOLD a charge for months at a time w/o use in between. Now the combination of only 1 or 2 five minute drives between 2 month long periods of non-use probably just won't get it. But with 1700 miles on it in a year, I'm guessing that's not the case.
I hope they have you that battery under warranty!

I should add that once you HAVE drained the battery, for whatever reason, you really won't get it charged back up properly w/o putting it on a charger or driving it for a LONG time. If you got the battery jumped to get it started, you shouldn't expect it will be "good to go" after that w/o putting the battery on a charger...... that could explain the "recurring" issues you had. The initial drain could have been from a legitimate single drain event (left lights on, running electronics and/or interior lights w/o running engine, or sitting for a several months unused), and after that it was never recovered properly.
 
#6 ·
First I have to ask, how long was it setting between uses??? And how short are those drives?
Unless you REALLY don't use the truck much (sits for months at a time) and you only drive it on 1/2 mile trips, it's my opinion that you just had a bad battery.
Yep bad battery. Get a new one and see what happens. Drive or at least start the thing once in awhile helps.
 
#4 ·
i bought my 2012 in Oct of 2012. It was delivered to the dealer in Jan 2012. 10 months in the Texas heat and basically no mileage on the vehicle. Now I have 41k and the battery is 3 years in the vehicle and no problems. You got a bad battery and nothing you did hurt it unless you somehow completely drained it.
 
#5 ·
The dealer is correct. Sitting for long periods of time and using it for short periods of time will kill it.
 
#9 ·
The good news is the OP's battery should be covered under warranty.

I've drained (accidentally) my battery and after jumping my RL, still got years of use out of the old battery before having to replace. As usual, YMMV.
 
#10 ·
You should set aside a day that includes a 15 mile round trip on the freeway, or at least an expressway, per week. The rest of the vehicle, including the engine oil, needs to reach temperatures hot enough to boil off moisture. This is even more critical in winter.
The people hitting the freeway at least every few days to commute will rack up a lot more miles. But those miles will likely be more trouble-free over the years.
 
#14 ·
Vehicles can come with batteries that have partially depleted due to sitting on the lot. It's possible that the battery never had a full charge during your ownership if most of your trips are short.

If you have further trouble of this sort, consider getting a start/deep-cycle AGM battery. They accept a recharge much more quickly and won't take damage from depletion. That would be an Optima Yellow Top, Orbital Extreme, or Northstar. There are store-brand variants as well. It will cost you out of pocket, but it will provide better reliability for your normal habits instead of needing to change your habits.
Totally agree with these guys. I was having issues with regular lead-acid batteries not lasting very long. My commute went from 25 miles one way to 3 miles one way per day. The truck never sits for longer than two days without starting and running for a bit, but I do put on many short trips. With the cold winters and hot summers we have here, I had two batteries go bad within two years. The first went dead when it was extremely cold out and was never able to hold a charge again. The second was simply a bad battery and wouldn't hold a charge longer than 12 hours even in temperate climates. I used my warranty and upgraded to an AGM battery. It's not an Optima or Northstar, but an Autocraft Platinum from Advanced Auto. It is much more robust than the lead acid battery and it charges WAY faster. I still get the truck out on the highway and take it for a longer run once every week or two, but this battery is WAY better than anything I've ever had. Even in extremely cold temps, it cranks up with no issues.
 
#11 ·
Vehicles can come with batteries that have partially depleted due to sitting on the lot. It's possible that the battery never had a full charge during your ownership if most of your trips are short.

If you have further trouble of this sort, consider getting a start/deep-cycle AGM battery. They accept a recharge much more quickly and won't take damage from depletion. That would be an Optima Yellow Top, Orbital Extreme, or Northstar. There are store-brand variants as well. It will cost you out of pocket, but it will provide better reliability for your normal habits instead of needing to change your habits.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I have been searching the posts about battery replacement, and did not see so far, any mention of Duracel 24F (Sams Club $100 ) which I just bought, but not replaced yet (i used Sams because it is only 3 Miles away, whereas Costco 44 miles) ... should I take it back and get one from WM (24F EverStart Maxx $105)?

My 3 year battery (garage /AC kept) failed; and no cranking (only faint) when I turn the key after charging it ( and showing that it was Fully Charged).
I did not replace it yet because I read about Blown up Fuses in doing it?!?
Very confused about what to do... Any suggestions?

By the way, I never had a battery die after only 3 Years... usually 5-6 years... with no signs it was going to fail, except once last week, when the battery was totally drained because of Door light left on).
 
#16 ·
The OEM battery life has been all over the place... from a few months to 6+years. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason to the length of service before failure.

Personally, I put one of the WM Everstart Maxx in mine about 3 years ago. I don't recall the size, but if 24F is the correct size, I see no reason to take back the Duracell battery if it has enough CC amps, etc.

I have no idea what you mean about blown up fuses. But it could very well be your battery. Especially if you make a lot of short trips. The battery may never get fully recharged after a start.

There was a lengthy thread about that on here somewhere.
 
#17 ·
The OEM battery life has been all over the place... from a few months to 6+years. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason to the length of service before failure.

Personally, I put one of the WM Everstart Maxx in mine about 3 years ago. I don't recall the size, but if 24F is the correct size, I see no reason to take back the Duracell battery if it has enough CC amps, etc.

I have no idea what you mean about blown up fuses. But it could very well be your battery. Especially if you make a lot of short trips. The battery may never get fully recharged after a start.

There was a lengthy thread about that on here somewhere.
In this thread:
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37295&highlight=battery

"...I got a spark when I changed the battery causing the 120/40 fuse to blow (main fuse that allows power to the entire truck...

"The same thing happened when I replaced a battery. It was the 120/40 Battery fuse, along with the IG Coil 15 A fuse. Ran fine after replacing them. The Service Clerk at the parts counter said this was a big problem with Hondas. She knew exactly what had happened to my fuse. However, I had to drive about 100 miles round-trip to get the fuse. So I will get a spare to store just in case this ever happens again. The fuse was $15."
 
#18 · (Edited)
The biggest issues with all wet cell batteries constructed of lead plates sunk in sulfuric acid can be summed to one word: Sulfation.

Sulfation is a break down in the acid solution where sulfur solids separate from liquids and collect on lead. When voltage is allowed to drop - either by self discharge or demand from an external device - below a minimum level (about 10.5VDC), sulfur collects on lead. If voltage is allowed to drop several times below 10.5 to 11Volts, sulfur collection will chemically isolate the lead from the acid solution. When that happens, corrective action is "boiling" - which is supplying 14.5 VDC from a properly regulated external source. The presence of 14.5 V initiates a chemical boil (AKA: equalization), dislodging sulfur from lead, causing the acid to achieve correct specific gravity, restoring the battery to rated capacity. Boiling causes significant outgassing from cell chambers and must be vented into open air because the gas is explosive. And were there is gas, there is the potential for pressure, so a boiling battery needs to have old school caps.

The problem with so called "maintenance free" batteries is they can't be boiled. At least, not safely. These 40lb toxic waste "disposable" nightmares were concocted for the sole reason of removing a simple maintenance requirement from vehicle owners.

Any wet cell battery whether serviceable or "sealed" brings with it venting of caustic gases that cause lots of service issues, including terminal corrosion and other wiring issues we see under the hood of poorly maintained vehicle electrical systems.

AGM and gel batteries have distinct functional and service advantages. They *can* sulfate but don't at anywhere near the rate of liquid cells. And they don't outgas either, saving cables and greatly reducing the chance of cable/wiring failures during the life of the battery.

Glass mat and gel batts cost about twice as much as a premium wet batts but in my opinion, they are worth every single penny. Lower or even NO maintenance, little or no terminal corrosion or ancillary damage from outgassing, and FAR superior resilience to continuous dips below 11VDC. It's a no brainer in my book.
 
#19 ·
Perfectly timed posts. Had to jump my truck of to leave work today. The truck has a build date of Aug 2010 so the battery should be a few months older then that. Yes it is the original battery. We had to jump it about 2 months ago when the grand-daughter was playing in the truck and left the lights on.
It's funny I changed oil during lunch, started the truck at about 1pm to check for leaks. Went to leave work at 5 and click, click, click.
So at 5 plus years old I'm not even going to test the battery. Will get the new one tomorrow.
 
#20 · (Edited)
I had to replace 2 batteries RTL (Sudden death/3yr old) and Sonata (4 1/2 yr old) at WM today (EverStart Maxx 5yr warranty)
Ended up towing RTL on flat bed to WM 7 miles away.
I am glad I did not attempt to replace it myself, because it was a pain to do (from watching 2 guys doing it).
I returned the Duracell to Sams because I could not find anybody else (other than Sams) selling it (googled)... and I never liked duracell small batteries in the first place; because they were mostly the name ... and also don't think much of the products put out by procter and gamble.


Tips
:for those who want to replace the battery and never did it before:
there are 2 screws holding the +/- wires which need to be unscrewed for removing the battery, but when reinstalling, all it takes is to press on the screw and it will click into position.
2 hooks to be undone (1 on each side of the battery)... very challenging if you don't have small hand/ fingers : it was even challenging for the WM guy to undo and replace them, even though he said he had seen tighter spaces when he was working on helicopters in the army.

.
 

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#22 ·
jakeman;1716969 I wonder how many batteries have been changed out just due to dirty terminals?[/QUOTE said:
I would bet a lot across the industry. We never replace one at work that is under 5 years old with out testing it.
 
#23 ·
NEW BATTERY failed.

I bought a new battery 2 weeks ago... Run fine so far until this morning ...
The battery was totally drained this morning.
I went back to dealer without the battery (WM) to find out what could have caused it... and I was told that it could be a " stuck diode in the alternator" ; so I will have to have the alternator looked at.
Any idea how much a new alternator cost?
 
#44 · (Edited by Moderator)
Re: NEW BATTERY failed.

I bought a new battery 2 weeks ago... Run fine so far until this morning ...
The battery was totally drained this morning.
I went back to dealer without the battery (WM) to find out what could have caused it... and I was told that it could be a " stuck diode in the alternator" ; so I will have to have the alternator looked at.
Any idea how much a new alternator cost?
Stuck Diode? I have been in the electronics field for most of my 62 years and never heard of a "Stuck Diode". They are either bad or good. By bad I mean they are either completly open with no measurable connectivity, or the front to back measurment is below the design specifications for that diode. In my college days I worked in an alternator rebuild shop for a year and never heard the term. The #1 alternator problem was failed diodes. We had a device that could check the diodes on the diode plates all at once. If a plate failed, an ohm meter was used to look at the front to back ratio and when the bad one was found it was unsoldered using a large hot plate to loose them all. The bad one was then replaced with a known good one and the plate removed and cooled in a water bath.

You can also use a standard 9 volt battery to keep the information while changing the battery.

Of course that is ancient tech by todays standards. Modern alternators have all the diodes built in and sealer in epoxy so the whole unit has to be replaced and not just the bad diode.
 
#26 ·
I agree... check for the cheap stuff first.

FYI, Honda replaced an alternator on my Pilot at 93k miles when it failed as we pulled out of our garage on a Saturday headed out for vacation. Fortunately (or unfortunately, as the case may be), Honda was open on Saturday. They charged me nearly $600 for a reman that took them about an hour to install.

If you can DIY, you can likely pick up a good reman for $125-ish with your core.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Thanks for the suggestions everybody...
Unfortunately i have no idea how to change an alternator nor what a relay looks like...
all I ever did was change the fluids...
So I will probably take it somewhere to check for the problem ... and see if the alternator needs replacing.
I have an old Schumacher Battery with a Quick Engine Start of 50A:
I will have to charge the battery to at least 50% before using the Quick Start... but since it has been raining non stop for a few days now, I will have to wait since the vehicle is outdoor...
Should I worry the battery will get wasted, sitting completely drained for a few days?
Hopefully WM will not give me a hard time replacing it, if that happens (it is only 2 weeks old).

NB: I am wondering how does it get 50 AMP if home plugs are rated for 15 AMP ?
 

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#29 ·
Couple things:

Diodes are the rough equivalent of a vacuum check valve or a hydraulic "back flow preventor". It's purpose is to allow voltage to flow in one direction. In the case of an alternator, the circuit containing diode(s) allows voltage to flow out of the spinning alternator to the battery, then when the engine stops turning the alternator, prevent the battery from delivering voltage back into the armature. All by itself, a diode can't get "stuck". It can burn up but that's about it. Anyhow... the diagnosis is certainly plausible.

On the battery charger developing 50 Amps DC from a 15 Amp AC source, the ratio of current demand & production between AC & DC isn't one for one. There's an algorithm to calculate the ratio but that's not important to you issue.

Apparently, Honda's DC system is somewhat sensitive to battery condition, power interruption, disconnect, reconnect, ETC so someone else can speak from experience BUT on the topic of leaving the system alone for a few days until the weather clears, pulling a traditional maintenance free battery very low is BAD. Once or twice might not do irreparable damage but age and cell condition determines a given battery's resilience to repeated draining. SO, it might be a good idea to pull a cable off while waiting.
 
#30 ·
If it was me, just pull the battery and charge it out of the vehicle.

Just another option
 
#32 ·
Hmm. I wonder if it would be safe/wise to connect a jumpstart battery (like the Clore JNC 660) for a while before trying to jumpstart.

I'm not sure. I've only tried on a dead hybrid car but didn't leave it connected for any length of time. And I think I used a smaller capacity Jumpstarter from Costco instead of the more powerful JNC 660.

Regardless, it wouldn't start. So maybe it would be a good thing to leave the jumpstarter connected for a while, then connect a conventional charger and see if the battery will now take a charge.

Otherwise, I don't know too many people who keep a 12v car battery laying around the garage for a rainy day scenario.
 
#36 ·
I replaced my battery last week and did not do the idle learn process. My fuel mileage and shift points are right back where they were.
 
#37 ·
I've witnessed the same thing. I don't think it is a required operation every time.
I think it might be most effective when vehicles have no battery connected for a prolonged long time, like when a major repair is being performed.
 
#38 ·
Ditto here.

Next battery swap, I'll use my Jump starter plugged into the OBD2 port to power the systems during the swap. That will keep my trip meter info, etc.
 
#41 ·
Very common with the Honda's, most of them use Panasonic (has always been a weak area for them) after Warranty has passed by an Optima Red or Yellow top and be done with it. I have an 07' RTL started having issues in 10', because the warranty was pro-rated I replaced with a Yellow top in 10' and to date use the same battery with NE cold start winters, run inverters and all kinds of other accessories and still rock solid to date!
 
#43 ·
Big fan of AGM's in general. I currently have an Autocraft Platinum AGM in my truck. It's been serving me very well for two years now and has gone through two of the coldest winters I can remember in the last two years. I have faith in it to keep going for at least 2-3 more years.
 
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