12v battery replacement

[Classkawa]

Just had to order a new 12v battery as the original Panasonic seems to have given up the ghost. I had it on charge on a battery maintainer overnight and it showed 13.07v when I checked it this morning still connected to the maintainer. Once I disconnected it and tried to start the car it was down to 8.94v so no go.
My observations - 1/ that's a short life for a 2021 vehicle (although the battery has no date code on it) and 2/ it's an old style wet battery (code 054 with the Jap terminals) and physically very small and a relatively low CCA and AH rating.
Reading on here I can see it doesn't have the job of cranking the car over but could a higher rated battery last longer I wonder?

[Whiteshark]

I think one of two things here, either you have been extremely unlucky ( happens, nothing is perfect ) or the battery has been allowed to empty completely, at which point the battery is goosed.
If it is covered under warranty I’m sure Honda will sort it out, although I have noted that like most warranties they cover you for faulty manufacture. If the battery has been allowed to drain that would not be faulty, unless there is another fault that caused the drain. Good luck

[Lord Voltermore]

Did you use a modern  smart charger that may be able to adjust to battery type ? Some battery types may  need to charge at a slightly higher voltage than others.  . Also a smart charger may be able to rejuvenate a completely flat battery by pulse charging, a feature that older, more basic, battery chargers lack.       

[5thcivic]

Some chargers you have to select the type of battery, and others will recognise an EFB or AGM battery just by connecting - or use the higher charge rate if the temperature is very low. Most microprocessor chargers will refuse to charge if the voltage is too low 7/8V say. This happened on one of my Civics. I still have a perfectly good old fashioned analogue transformer charger and that does not care about the state of the battery. Quarter of a hour on that, then the voltage was up enough for the pulse charger to take over. Never had another problem but whether the battery is ever as good as original after a drain like that is moot. The problem with upgrading the Jazz 12V battery significantly is the size of tray to fit it in.

[Classkawa]

I suspect you're right in your assessment Whiteshark. I have just bought the vehicle but I know it was written off by an insurance company following an innocuous knock on the rear offside. This will cancel any remaining warranty but it does mean it probably sat for some time awaiting assessment then repair and this has probably led to the early demise of the battery.
In terms of battery conditioner I used an Optimate 5 as I have several of these for my motorbikes. It is compatible with all lead acid, AGM and VRLA Gel batteries and automatically detects the type it is attached too.
New battery now fitted and it fired right up but the dash was lit up like a xmas tree. Owners manual says drive over 12mph (20kph) 'for a short distance' and these will clear, well they didn't but I cleared them when back home with my OBD reader. I have put the original Panasonic back on the Optimate now it is on the bench just for curiosity as it was at 7.9v in the end

[5thcivic]

My Civic discharged over Christmas when I was in hospital with Covid. Charging the battery up again and starting the car half the dash was not working or random led segments. I disconnected the -ve battery and reconnected but no change. I phoned my service dept and they straight away said leave the now good battery disconnected for at least 10-15 minutes. I did that and everything was back to normal. They said the micro circuits need some time for all the caps to discharge and make sure the software boots from zero. Could be worth a try.

[Kremmen]

I was told years ago by a Honda employee that it's important to fully lock the car if it's going to be left idle for more than overnight

As we know, our Hondas have double locking by touching the door handle twice in quick succession

He told me that double locking shuts down additional unnecessary circuits that a single lock doesn't so helps not drain the battery as quick

[olduser1]

FYI dating P battery:
120221A

February 21, 2012 On the day shift

... It's pretty much a code standard. YYMMDD then a letter for which shift made it, A being first day shift

[Mike 55]

My 12v “tale” - 2021 Crosstar. Went to use after an 18-day holiday, no power whatsoever so used the manual key to open the door and open the bonnet. 12v battery voltage read 2v on my mulimeter! Curiosity got the better of me so I connected my smart charger (Optimate) to see what would happen. It didn’t diagnose a faulty battery and went to charge mode. The Optimate doesn’t have a high current capability so after 4 hours the battery voltage had only risen to a mighty 2.8v! Faulty battery or charger not up to the job? No idea. Called Honda Assistance. AA patrolman turned up 20 minutes later. Jump started the car, full diagnostic check, everything OK including the 12v battery. His theory was that the 12v battery was not fully charged before our holiday break. As I’d only done a few short journeys in the preceding week I think he is correct. Time will tell if the 12v battery is damaged but this morning the car started and drove as normal. Great response from Honda assistance/AA. I asked him if the lithium drive battery charged the 12v battery – yes, but only when the ignition is switched on. With the ignition switched off the 12v battery is not charged, hence the small 12v battery in the jazz hybrid can flatten quickly when the car is not being used.

[Kremmen]

This is why I CTEK my 12v battery every 2 weeks as mine is now a very low mileage Jazz. I also do a half hour min drive every month for the HV battery

Still not got to 4k miles yet from Sep 21

Plus, as I've already posted, always double lock for extended periods

[Kremmen]

Charge the battery day ....

Somewhere under there is a Jazz :



Find the hardwired lead from the battery :



Find the other end :



Clip them together :



Let charging begin :

[5thcivic]

Same here, one year old and just 1000 miles, used velcro under the plug to keep it solid in the engine compartment.

[coravel]

I was told years ago by a Honda employee that it's important to fully lock the car if it's going to be left idle for more than overnight

As we know, our Hondas have double locking by touching the door handle twice in quick succession

He told me that double locking shuts down additional unnecessary circuits that a single lock doesn't so helps not drain the battery as quick

Many thanks for that.  We are away for a few weeks from tomorrow and taken your advice. 

[Whiteshark]

As previously advised on here , was away for April/ May this year in Aus. After reading the advice on here,  I made sure the 12v battery was fully charged via my CTek . I did not know about double click, so only single, but on return, car started normally and has continued normally since. The key to it all is fully charge if you are going to be away. Personally I cannot talk highly enough about CTek , I have an S Class Merc, and because I only use it for long journeys, and also because I love driving my wife’s Jazz, the CTek is pretty permanently on that, as there is a strong battery drain due to the electronics and security protection, plus it has 2 batteries.
Having said all of that , with 8 Hondas over the years, never had a battery problem through lack of use.

[His_name_is_robertpaulson]

Same here, one year old and just 1000 miles, used velcro under the plug to keep it solid in the engine compartment.

Hi, is the negative connection connected to the negative post? Does this affect the efb smart  battery management gizmo? I was under the impression this could cause problems with smart charge gizmo?