Flat battery

[JamtartJazzman]

So, the first issue with my 2016 Ex ... a dud battery!!!! I've been away for a week and left the car unused.  Some answers please ...

1.  Could I have left summat "on", thus draining the battery?  My assumption was, with the electrickery in the beast, everything of any significance would be switched off when I locked the car with the remote!

2.  Given all the electrickery, can I jump start the car, as I would have done with my old Civic?

The battery is out, being charged just now but it would be handy for future reference!

Thanks.

[JimSh]

So, the first issue with my 2016 Ex ... a dud battery!!!! I've been away for a week and left the car unused.  Some answers please ...

1.  Could I have left summat "on", thus draining the battery?  My assumption was, with the electrickery in the beast, everything of any significance would be switched off when I locked the car with the remote!

2.  Given all the electrickery, can I jump start the car, as I would have done with my old Civic?

The battery is out, being charged just now but it would be handy for future reference!

Thanks.

You may have left an internal light on.
The battery may have been low when you left it. Alarms etc. will drain battery over time.

Fingers crossed it will start when battery is recharged.

If the battery continues to let you down it should be OK to jump start. Check your manual.
It's worth buying a small portable jump starter.
If the battery is duff a new one is only the price of a tankful of petrol so not bad over five years and you can't expect them to last forever.

[culzean]

So, the first issue with my 2016 Ex ... a dud battery!!!! I've been away for a week and left the car unused.  Some answers please ...

1.  Could I have left summat "on", thus draining the battery?  My assumption was, with the electrickery in the beast, everything of any significance would be switched off when I locked the car with the remote!

2.  Given all the electrickery, can I jump start the car, as I would have done with my old Civic?

The battery is out, being charged just now but it would be handy for future reference!

Thanks.

Some devices that use a lot of power like aircon clutch, heated screens, heated mirrors, headlights are controlled by relays.  The coil of the relay in energised by power controlled through ignition switch - but the main contacts of the relay are connected straight to battery via a fuse.  If the relay contact does not open when power is take off the coil then power will continue to flow with ignition off... If a relay stays stuck closed it will normally flatten a car battery in hours rather than days or weeks..


https://www.explainthatstuff.com/howrelayswork.html

[Downsizer]

If the battery is duff a new one is only the price of a tankful of petrol so not bad over five years and you can't expect them to last forever.

The 2016 Jazz will have Stop/start, and therefore a replacement battery will cost a good deal more than for the Mk 2.

[embee]

The only really reliable way to check for drains is to put an ammeter (multimeter set to DC amps) between the battery and the car (I suggest on the -ve side to car body/"ground"). Be careful not to overload the meter, set to max range first (10A typically) and only reduce the range when you are sure it's not seeing high current.
If you're seeing less than say 50mA it probably isn't anything significant (personally I like to see significantly less, ideally 10mA or so, but some cars are a bit hungry).
If the current drain is significant, pull fuses one by one and see what affects it.
If there's no significant drain, it's likely a tired battery,  but first check that the charging voltage is actually OK when the engine is running, should be a little over 14V (14 to 14.5 typically). The battery should hold a bit over 12V (12.3V or similar) when it has been sitting unused for a few hours, less than 12V suggests it's not holding much charge.

[ColinB]

So, the first issue with my 2016 Ex ... a dud battery!!!! I've been away for a week and left the car unused.  Some answers please ...

1.  Could I have left summat "on", thus draining the battery?  My assumption was, with the electrickery in the beast, everything of any significance would be switched off when I locked the car with the remote!

2.  Given all the electrickery, can I jump start the car, as I would have done with my old Civic?

The battery is out, being charged just now but it would be handy for future reference!

Thanks.

The battery should not go flat after just a week of non-use. I left mine locked & alarmed for just under 7 weeks whilst on holiday a couple of years ago, and it started first time on my return. It did take a few journeys for the battery state to be good enough for the stop-start system to start working though, so there had been some current drain.

On the other hand, one of the map-reading lights was once left on and that resulted in a totally flat battery after a couple of days.

If you've removed the battery from the car to charge it, you might have trouble with the stop-start system. Others have commented in other threads about the need to include the car's charge monitoring gizmo in the circuit when charging, I don't know how that would work if the battery has  been completely removed. Or how to re-enable the system.

[JamtartJazzman]

Thanks all. The battery was charged to a bit short of 13v and replaced. The car started no probs.  If I'd left it longer, I suspect it would have accepted over 14V. Ergo, not the battery, methinks.

Left overnight and it started fine again today.  S|o I'm suspecting something may have been left on and not noticed due to the "white nights" up here!

I'll keep yopu posted.

[embee]

I would suspect something left on by accident.

A neighbour came round a few weeks ago, her Fiesta wouldn't start (click click). I had fitted a new Yuasa battery last autumn to replace the 12yr old original. Battery was pretty much completely flat (dropped to a few volts when the starter was engaged). Jumped it off a big battery, ran it for a while so she could safely go and collect the grandkids (checked it re-started unassisted). I charged it fully overnight (CTEK) and no further problems since. I'm pretty sure something was left on or plugged in, but it's just one of those mysteries.

[John Ratsey]

If you've removed the battery from the car to charge it, you might have trouble with the stop-start system. Others have commented in other threads about the need to include the car's charge monitoring gizmo in the circuit when charging, I don't know how that would work if the battery has  been completely removed. Or how to re-enable the system.

If the battery has been disconnected / removed then the system assumed that it could be a new battery and tries to fully charge it. I found that disconnection / reconnection was one way to get to get the auto-stop/start to work as it triggered a full battery charge.

[JamtartJazzman]

Grrrrrrr !!!!

That was on Friday when I picked the missus up at Waverly Station.  Since then, the car has been parked.  Tonight, I tried to start it - click, click ,click. Flat battery.  I now have it on charge and will replace it tomorrow morning and do a load test but I reckon it's fecked!

Now, let's check that Honda warranty!!!!!

[ColinB]

Grrrrrrr !!!!

That was on Friday when I picked the missus up at Waverly Station.  Since then, the car has been parked.  Tonight, I tried to start it - click, click ,click. Flat battery.  I now have it on charge and will replace it tomorrow morning and do a load test but I reckon it's fecked!

Now, let's check that Honda warranty!!!!!

Have you checked the boot light? There’s no manual switch so you can’t turn it on/off yourself, but I just wonder whether the tailgate-operated switch has got misaligned or is faulty so isn’t actually turning the light off?

[JamtartJazzman]

Thanks Colin.  I'll check that but I think it's likely the original battery and is now fecked.  On charge last night, it got to 14.2 volts when I disconnected.  This morning, it was back to 12.6v.  Snookered I think!

Anyone got a recommendation for a replacement?

[jazzaro]

Anyone got a recommendation for a replacement?

Yuasa YBX7053
Banner 55515
MIDAC Itineris EFB JIS  mod IT55J EFB
Enduroline 048EFB

Must be an EFB type battery, these are the models you can use.
I suggest to buy the Yuasa, the OEM one.

[culzean]

12.6 volts is not bad for a flooded battery,  it is above 90% charged ( a 'cell' of a lead acid battery is 2.1 volts,  so 6 cells x 2.1 = 12.6) .  Leave it for at least an hour after disconnecting charger though, to allow for 'surface charge' ( always higher than the normal voltage - that would be the 14.2 volts you first measured ) to dissipate. Flooded lead acid are deep cycle and will not be damaged by almost full discharge. It is not enough for the stop-start battery to be charged, the system has to know it is charged, the system used is coulomb couting, there is a sensor on negative terminal that measure what is flowing in and out of battery,  that is why negative charger lead should connect to the 'other side' of the negative ( not directly to battery post ) - or to the car bodywork.

https://modernsurvivalblog.com/alternative-energy/battery-state-of-charge-chart/

[Jocko]

Have a look at Tanya for suitable battery. Yuasa come highly recommended.