Have had a battery problem since just before it's first service.
.../...
Honda would refuse saying the mileage is too low (950)
Have had a battery problem since just before it's first service.
.../...
Honda would refuse saying the mileage is too low (950)
That would mean driving your Jazz (on average) less than 3 miles per day?
Maybe that's why the battery died?
Oh... and find yourself a better dealer... :(
Low mileage infrequent users should also bear in mind the handbook states the High voltage battery needs at least half an hour of continuous driving with discharge and recharge cycles within a maximum of 3 months . If thats neglected the very expensive HV battery may be damaged and may not be covered by the warranty due to driver 'negligence' . Worth bearing in mind for infrequent low mileage users
. Its not enough just to run the car for half an hour on the driveway. It needs to be driven to go through charge and discharge cycles.
I think the possibility was suggested on another thread that some cars might have have had a flat battery for long enough during the long voyage from Japan and storage to permanently damage the battery.
This might explain at least some of the cases where problems have occurred. (at time of writing 96% have NOT had any problem) In some cases a new battery under warranty may solve the issue permanently.
I'm surprised Robsterboy's dealer is behaving the way they are. If the battery is ok there is some other parasitic discharge causing the problem. They should find and fix the cause . Maybe that's why they need the car back to monitor the battery. But to be fair maybe Honda have realised some of the warranty replacments were due to owners only doing 950 miles between services and toughened their stance on replacing batteries if the battery rarely got a decent charge in service. Does 'fair wear and tear' also extend to 'unfair' lack of use?
Low mileage infrequent users should also bear in mind the handbook states the High voltage battery needs at least half an hour of continuous driving with discharge and recharge cycles within a maximum of 3 months . If thats neglected the very expensive HV battery may be damaged and may not be covered by the warranty due to driver 'negligence' . Worth bearing in mind for infrequent low mileage users
. Its not enough just to run the car for half an hour on the driveway. It needs to be driven to go through charge and discharge cycles.
Also bear in mind that 12v batteries going flat can be a problem in ALL modern hi tech cars,, especially those that are permanently transmitting to keys, phone signals internet etc., Even a 'normal' car with a full sized starter battery can go from fully charged to fully discharged (and at risk of permanent battery damage) in as little as a month. And may not start in as little as 2 weeks.
Low mileage users increasingly need to take precautions. Bring back starting handles. ;D
Let's try and clear this up once and for all.
What type/make of Battery Charger would you guys recommend?I have a NOCO GENIUS2UK (ie 2volts) which sells on Amazon for about £42. It's got a clear green/amber/red light display to show where it is in the charging cycle, I usually leave on for about 6 hours depending on what state the battery was in to start with - I use a Motopower Digital Battery tester (also from Amazon) to check the current voltage.
What type/make of Battery Charger would you guys recommend?
I think Robsterboy and all the other "low mileagers" (is that correct English...?) should keep in mind what our Lord Voltermore wrote:Yes its correct but quite awkward. 'low milers 'might be better. But top marks. Far better than my Dutch and Polish skills (which are non existent ;) )
I cannot understand spending over £20,000 on a car and doing less than 1,000 miles in it in a year. I have been amazed at the tendency for some Jazz owners to replace their cars every 2 years. When I bought my last Jazz, there was an old dear having her perfectly fine 2 year old red Mk2 being replaced by an almost identical brand new one. The dealer just smiled at me when I asked why she would do that.
If you are doing really low mileages, just use taxis, ask a friend to take you or hire a car, if public transport is not practical for you!
Perhaps a separate topic "What is the best battery charger?" and stick here with "Have you experienced a flat 12 volt battery with your Mk 4"?
Since 91.4% have not experienced that problem (so far), it does not seem interesting to me to mix this topic with chargers...
Had to call out Honda Assist (AA) today as battery completely flat. He got car started with jump leads but all warning lights on and insistent bong. Took it for a little run. All warning lights remained on as well as the bong. Connected his computer but unable to diagnose fault so arranged to follow me to local Honda Dealer (17 miles away). After a couple of miles warning lights and bong stopped and all appeared normal. Continued in convoy for 12 miles without incident. AA man then left and I took car for a 25 mile run. All OK but am unable to connect iPhone via bluetooth, only with USB, so will need to look into this. For ref, car is one year old with 6100 miles. Stood unused in garage for two weeks, last journey was a 230 miles run with just one coffee stop.Did you put the parking brake on while standing in the garage, and do you leave the car unlocked? Usually a garage floor is completely flat so ok to leave the parking brake off. I also switch off the internal courtesy light as that consumes a few amps.
I think I've posted before, a Honda employee once told me that you should always double lock as the second lock shuts down more circuits that aren't required.
In my case I always double lock and never use the parking brake in my flat garage.
After a couple of miles warning lights and bong stopped and all appeared normal.
How do you 'double lock'? No mention in the manual.
I always use the parking brake in the garage else as pushing past it to reach stuff would easy move car.
Hold down a second... Parking brake is we call it hand break right?Yes parking brake is the hand brake.( Americans also call it the 'emergency brake'. ) As far as I know it only uses electricity to put the brakes on using an electric motor , and again to release it it . But shouldnt use any electricity when the car is at rest when parked. Otherwise the car could roll away if the battery went flat. (Unlikely but just possible is they work like the brakes on a truck. All their Brakes are permanently held ON using very powerful springs. The electricity or compressed air is used to actively release the brakes while the truck is moving. If the electricty or compressed air fails the safety default is the brakes lock on due to the springs and cannot be released. I doubt they would use this for a car.
Jazz has an electric hand brake but is it consume power when everything is off?
Are we 100% sure the parking brake causes voltage loss ?I'm not 100% sure but often with this type of switch where it's switched momentarily there is a circuit monitoring the switch to see if any action needs to be taken, it's not a simple switch like the light in a house for example where there are just two positions and the current is either on or off.
I know the 2 red lights, dash and button do go out after a few minutes.
I had understood somewhere that it was necessary to arm the alarm. If the car is not in the steering wheel lock, there may be an electrical system working that waits for the steering wheel to lock.I don't think so but I have no idea how a steering wheel lock works with keyless entry.
Powering off the steering system may well give the impression of a lock