2003 Honda Accord battery

Buy a multimeter for under $20 at your local auto parts store or Wal-Mart, and do the five quick checks listed about the middle of

. Read the rest of the site. Report back. I think pre-emptive battery replacements will tend to lengthen the life of the alternator.

wrote

The eye is a state of charge indicator. Get a small automatic charger and charge the battery overnight. Do not use a "manual" charger. Make sure it is the kind of charger which shuts itself off when done. It is possible that your short trip regimen is not getting the battery fully charged back up. If the eye turns green after a full charge and the car is starting well then you probably do not need a new battery. An example charger is this one from Sears:

DieHard 10/2/50 amp. Automatic Battery Charger Sears item #02871222000 Mfr. model #71222

Honda US sources it's batteries from Johnson Controls and the Japanese made Honda batteries I have seen say Panasonic on them. Interestingly enough, the green eye technology was an AC-Delco patented invention way back when, but I think Johnson bought the AC-Delco battery business from Delphi after GM kicked it's parts making division to the curb.

If you have to ask, of course the answer is yes! Maybe you'll waste $5.00 by buying it too early, but is it worth an afternoon of diagnostics to find out?

J.

Just take it out and drive it on the highway for a half hour or so. If the sight glass turns green, then your only problem was not driving enough to keep the battery fully charged. If it stays dark, then you probably need a new one.

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You said it yourself. The battery is due for replacement. Is it worth the price of walking down the highway in a rainstorm?

'Curly'

I just put in a new one every five years. Been my rule since 1975. bob

My battery on a Chrysler 300M was over 6 years old when I replaced it. I live in NC. It was still going strong and most people would have let it be. Batteries can die instantly from an internal short even when new.

I wish my batteries would last five years. Here in Phoenix, the summer heat really kills a battery. My average life for a battery is 4 years and that's good around here. When I lived in the cold cruel north, battery life was 8+ years. I do take good care of my batteries. Watered and cleaned regularly.

Paul.

5 cars/trucks 3 motorcycles

I was thinking the same thing! I lived 26 years in Phoenix and never had a battery last three summers.

Mike

More common than an internal short is what I believe is a cracked internal connection at one post or the other. The battery will suddenly seem dead or nearly dead, but a judicious whack (or two or three) on each post with a hammer will get it working again. The battery isn't fixed, just temporarily patched. It is fairly common in the first year or two of a battery's life.

I taught the technique to my daughter, and she used it when I was out of state and her mother's car died in traffic and wouldn't even click. She scrounged a hammer out of the back of the car and did the trick. My wife was astounded!

Mike

I had the "here today gone tomorrow, then back again" Green eye. I was told that the Green eye is a measure of only one cell. It doesn't necessarily mean that the battery is dead or needs replacement. The best way to judge the battery's health is to get a shop to do a load test. Mine passed that test. When it didn't, this past winter, I finally replaced it--can't complain it lasted from Dec '99 to Jan '07 MLD

Works with pretty much everything!

If not, try again, harder.

That's life!

J.

As an update I decided to give the car a run of about 50 highway miles (about 45 minutes at 70-80 mph). I then checked the battery and the built in hydrometer had no change in the appearance and showed insufficient charge (assuming it's working?? or 50 miles isn't enough). I decided to replace the battery at Autozone and while there asked if they can check the battery. Well guess what, his battery tester showed it to have 13.96 volts (I thought 12 was the max??) so I don't know if his tester was any good but his tester then showed Good Battery on it. Well I decided to replace it anyway because I wasn't sure about his test, it's at least 4 years old now and since I already took it out of the car so why gamble for $65 (cost of new battery). Anyway around here we usually get 3 to 4 years so even if this battery is extraordinary, how much longer could it go before I get stuck on the road.

Anyway thanks all for the advice.

ps-- I took my daughter's car (Corolla) for the same 50 mile run too because her battery's hydrometer also showed insufficient charge but upon arrival back home, the hydrometer changed to a good color to show the battery was okay.

Sometimes I'd like to try it on my teenagers or wife but I refrain :( .

They call it a 12 volt system (as opposed to 6 or 24), but it actually runs at something in the vicinity of 14. A battery that only reads 12 volts is usually all but dead. 13.9 is a reasonable reading for an OK battery almost full charged.

You probably wasted your time and money, but no harm done.

The last time I had one of those as soon as I hit the starter an internal arc blew the top of the battery to smithereens. Acid went everywhere. Glad I was in the car and not looking at the battery. Work safe and keep yourself shielded from the battery.

Agreed about the no harm done but for $65, it gives me peace of mind too. Regardless of the test (assuming a good test???) it was a 4 year old battery and around here, thats usually as good as it gets.