Start/Stop not activating (battery symbol)

[RobHam]

I have sorted the problem!!!!! 

This is what I needed to do;

1. Disconnect negative terminal on battery and leave for 2 mins.
2. Reconnect negative terminal to battery.
3. Hook up CTEK charger as before with the negative connected to the body cable side of the battery symbol sensor.
4. This time, instead of reporting done fairly quickly it took about 1 hour of charge.

I disconnected the charger and the next day took the car out. Start/stop working perfectly.

Thanks for all of the advice. It looks like the ECU needed a reset by disconnecting the battery.

A USA Honda Fit Forum has a method to reset the ECU without disconnecting the battery as follows :-

When you see the Auto Stop/Battery disabled symbol
1. With the engine running, pull the bonnet release catch - dashboard indicates that the bonnet has been released.
2. Turn the engine off.
3. Exit the car and open and close the bonnet.

Auto stop will then work normally again.  I have tried this procedure and strangely seems to work.

Today I tried to track down using Goggle the original forum posts as inferred above but cannot find them.  But have managed to find a link to a similar discussion for the Honda Odyssey.

https://www.odyclub.com/threads/auto-idle-stop-potential-fix-procedure.337977/

[1643]

Mine is temperamental sometimes starts to work quickly sometimes after driving all day. I noticed when I leave fan running on “2” all the time it helps to bring it on sooner. Using other power-consuming features (lights or accessories) don’t help such as not using any power at all doesn’t help either. Very strange. Anyone has similar experience and what can I put it down to? Can’t be a coincidence as tested it for months there is a link between fan running and kicking stop start in

[ColinB]

Mine is temperamental sometimes starts to work quickly sometimes after driving all day. I noticed when I leave fan running on “2” all the time it helps to bring it on sooner. Using other power-consuming features (lights or accessories) don’t help such as not using any power at all doesn’t help either. Very strange. Anyone has similar experience and what can I put it down to? Can’t be a coincidence as tested it for months there is a link between fan running and kicking stop start in

Your profile says you have a 2004 Jazz; never had one of those so can’t really comment on how stop/start works there. But on a Mk3 with manual a/c I’ve never noticed the fan strength setting having any affect, but then I very rarely have it set to anything other than “1” (too noisy!). However, the position of the dial that directs the air (to feet, face, screen, etc) is critical. If you have it set to screen, the car assumes you’re trying to demist the screen and won’t activate the stop/start. The multi-function display shows the a/c symbol as the inhibiting condition irrespective of whether the a/c is running or not. The handbook is wrong here, it states that having the a/c running inhibits the stop/start but thats incorrect, it’s the air-direction setting that’s important: stop/start works fine with the a/c running.

[Jocko]

Mk1 doesn't have Stop/Start.

[culzean]

Mk1 doesn't have Stop/Start.

IIRC stop-start came in with MK3 2015-->

[1643]

I have both 2004 and 2016 sorry for confusion. It’s regardless of A/C being on or off, fan seems to help. I will play around with different directions on the dial to see if it makes a difference

[Gzbev]

I’m glad you ave found a solution to your problem.

Unless someone has already mentioned it the stop start won’t work with the heater either on hottest or coldest (ac) position. I rang the Honda dealer when my wife’s Jazz wouldn’t s/s, he told me this, and he was right, for my her at least.

Just a note on connecting the -ive charger lead to the bodywork, I would be interested (I’m that dull) in what difference that makes. Since the -ive on the battery is attached to the body anyway.

Your Ctek charger is fine, it just puts current and over voltage across your battery, the same as an alternator. Just make sure it’s in the right mode, ie agm (gel battery) and maintenance mode.

Cheers

Cheers

[equaliser]

Just a note on connecting the -ive charger lead to the bodywork, I would be interested (I’m that dull) in what difference that makes. Since the -ive on the battery is attached to the body anyway.

If you connect the charger directly to the battery then you bypass the battery monitoring system which counts how much energy flows in and out of the battery to determine the state of charge. The system then gets confused about the state of charge and shuts down the stop/start system.

[culzean]

Just a note on connecting the -ive charger lead to the bodywork, I would be interested (I’m that dull) in what difference that makes. Since the -ive on the battery is attached to the body anyway.

If you connect the charger directly to the battery then you bypass the battery monitoring system which counts how much energy flows in and out of the battery to determine the state of charge. The system then gets confused about the state of charge and shuts down the stop/start system.

+1 

the charge / current flow sensor is near the battery negative terminal and is connected in the circuit between terminal and earth point.

[John Ratsey]

If you connect the charger directly to the battery then you bypass the battery monitoring system which counts how much energy flows in and out of the battery to determine the state of charge. The system then gets confused about the state of charge and shuts down the stop/start system.

Connecting the charger to the end of the earth strap where it connects to the battery sensor achieves the same objective and may be more convenient.

Regarding the heating / ventilation system and its effect on the stop/start, pressing the green Eco button increases the allowable difference between set and actual cabin temperature before the system decides to keep the engine running for cabin heating / cooling. I think that's all the Eco setting does.

[Downsizer]

My start/stop system has not worked since the Autumn lockdown, without any explanatory symbol, probably because of the colder weather and lack of travel.  However it is now working again after a 150 mile journey.  I'm relieved, as I thought I might soon need to replace the 5 year-old battery.  I’m hoping it will last another two years, when I expect to change the car.

[jazzaro]

My start/stop system has not worked since the Autumn lockdown, without any explanatory symbol, probably because of the colder weather and lack of travel.  However it is now working again after a 150 mile journey.  I'm relieved, as I thought I might soon need to replace the 5 year-old battery.  I’m hoping it will last another two years, when I expect to change the car.

Same for me: it stopped working in autumn and now started again, sometimes it works, sometimes not.
Yesterday I got the Honda Diagnostic System, next days I will check engine and battery parameters.

[Happyarry]

I've had my 2018 cvt ex-navi almost a year and the stop start has never worked. I have never asked Honda to look as not working is the way I like it .
I don't do mega miles these days so my battery is usually below what S/S requires. I ran my last Skoda Fabia years without S/S ever working.

[guest9236]

Yeah, it's pretty infuriating. Over the last 4 years of ownership, I've found the Stop-Start only works infrequently over the winter months, usually with the low-battery indication you describe. There are so many factors that will inhibit it that it's pretty well impossible to work out why it isn't working. I even took it back to the dealer when it was still under warranty and they confirmed it OK. However, as soon as I do a few long trips, or the weather warms up, it comes back.

Re the problem of low mileage during lockdown I was getting the same as you. I think the very slight battery drain from the alarm & immobiliser dropped the voltage just enough to fool the stop-start system, and the very short supermarket trips weren't enough to compensate. I've now invested in a solar battery maintainer ...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AA-Essentials-12V-Solar-Powered-Car-Battery-Charger-Solar-Panel-OBD-Version/233129991124?
Since then, no problems at all. The Stop-Start works as it should, even on short trips.

Yes we also have used these on our Jazz vehicles for the last 18 months or so now, it has solved the problem of SS plus other curiosities.
Would recommend without any doubt.

[Hobo]

The stop start on my Civic worked for a few months when the car was new though to be honest I began to switch the system off every time I got in the car as with the lock down I am only doing short runs and did not want to drain the battery, however it has now ceased to operate and I get a warning every time I start the car which saves me having to switch it off.

Will hopefully be doing a couple of 200/300 mile runs in the next couple of months to see great grandchildren that we have never been able to see yet, so will be checking to see if it starts to function again.