A peculiar thing happened...

[chrisc]

Last week, while driving during the day (with the aircon on) the radio suddenly cut out and came back on.  This happened twice during the 45 min drive on the highway, going about 100km/hr in light traffic.  I thought that it might be the radio's transmitter, although I was only about 10km away from it and it has a very strong signal, can be received 100km away

Then yesterday morning, I unlocked the car with the remote, inserted the key and turned it - nothing.  No indicating lights and nothing happened when I moved it to Start.  However, the interior light came on, as did the headlights when I flashed the high-beams

Thinking it may be a dodgy battery connection, I pulled the bonnet knob and raised the bonnet.  Nothing untoward to be seen.  When I got back inside the car, the engine, etc lights were on, but the clock was flashing and the radio's display stated "Enter Code".  The engine started immediately.  Today is is fine

Any comments from you knowledgeable folk will be welcome.  The car has covered 51000km and is a 2012 model

Thank you

[guest1372]

A 2012 battery should have a lot of life left in it (10 years), a dodgy terminal connection would probably be all circuits or nothing.  The primary 80A/50A/40A fuses might need tightening, and the others should be checked they are firmly seated.

It does sound like something that would set a fault code but not light the major fault lamp. 

I believe greased battery terminals are a good idea, and mine are tightened up to be an interference fit on the posts. 
--
TG

[Ozzie]

I reckon you have a damaged battery cell. My Jazz did an electrical hiccup, the heating display went weird for a few seconds, and ten I had a few starting issues, and had the battery checked,  and output was a bit low, and once the battery was changed all was fine.

[culzean]

A 2012 battery should have a lot of life left in it (10 years), a dodgy terminal connection would probably be all circuits or nothing.  The primary 80A/50A/40A fuses might need tightening, and the others should be checked they are firmly seated.

It does sound like something that would set a fault code but not light the major fault lamp. 

I believe greased battery terminals are a good idea, and mine are tightened up to be an interference fit on the posts. 
--
TG

a 4 year old battery can be on the way out - depends on what sort of life it has had - a 10 year battery is still a dream,  in hotter countries 2 years is good going   ---  An intercell weld can break at any time or a plate can short to its neighbour giving you a dead cell (then a 12v battery becomes a 10v battery) - the see through window in top of battery only shows the state of one cell,  the other 5 are on their own.  A snapshot of 1 cell is enough normally as all cells will have same state of charge or discharge,  but other 5 could be in any state on a 4 year old battery.   don't use ordinary  grease on terminals,  either vaseline or proper terminal grease (low film strength,  only there to keep oxygen away from lead and stop corrosion).

check voltage after battery standing for an hour after charging,  should be at least 12.4 volts

I normally check for dodgy battery or corroded terminals by leaving headlights on when you try to start car,  lights should dim but not go out.  Another trick is to try to start car and then feel the top of battery terminals straight away they will get warm (hot even) if there is a bad connection.

[chrisc]

I had a good look last week and tugged hard on the positive battery post.  The terminal came right off, so I tightened it with a 10mm spanner

An external battery test was part of the 50000km service done in late Feb, so whoever replaced the battery did it up finger-tight.  I complained to the Honda workshop.  Their attitude was "what do you expect us to do about it".  I was quite taken aback with this and wrote to Honda SA about it.  Looking at a consumer website, this particular dealer has been in hot water before for sloppy workmanship

[stesjazz]

A 2012 battery should have a lot of life left in it (10 years), a dodgy terminal connection would probably be all circuits or nothing.  The primary 80A/50A/40A fuses might need tightening, and the others should be checked they are firmly seated.

It does sound like something that would set a fault code but not light the major fault lamp. 

I believe greased battery terminals are a good idea, and mine are tightened up to be an interference fit on the posts. 
--
TG

does sound like a faulty battery to me . Honda were known for buying cheap batteries, which are known for having 1 dead cell after a while... ive  put a Bosch 4 year gaurantee one on my 2013 Jazz, so i know it'll always start!  and for £40 its peace of mind.

[guest3695]

^ +1. Bosch on mine too.
Buy cheap, buy twice.

[longlegpete]

[/quote]does sound like a faulty battery to me . Honda were known for buying cheap batteries, which are known for having 1 dead cell after a while... ive  put a Bosch 4 year gaurantee one on my 2013 Jazz, so i know it'll always start!  and for £40 its peace of mind.
[/quote]

Have had a few Hondas and i have found the opposite,  always have Yuasa batteries as standard which are highly regarded