Engine fails to crank when starting - but it's irregular!

[guest6154]

 I had been experiencing this problem for some 6 months.  A Honda service crew tried to replicate it for an hour but the engine started every time.  I started to doubt the sturdiness of the battery which looked OK from the outside.  I called the NRMA - like the AA in the UK - and a battery specialist came to visit with sophisticated battery testing equipment.  The engine was cranking well at the time.  He found the 370 CCA battery shwoing a resting level of 240 and confirmed that if I had not used the car for a couple of days, it would fall down to a level where it might have problems cranking the engine.  I replaced the abttery immediately - it was only 3.5 years old - and the problem has finally been resolved.  Best of all I didn't even lose my radio pre-sets.  The Honda is a Mark 2, MY2012.

[culzean]

I had been experiencing this problem for some 6 months.  A Honda service crew tried to replicate it for an hour but the engine started every time.  I started to doubt the sturdiness of the battery which looked OK from the outside.  I called the NRMA - like the AA in the UK - and a battery specialist came to visit with sophisticated battery testing equipment.  The engine was cranking well at the time.  He found the 370 CCA battery shwoing a resting level of 240 and confirmed that if I had not used the car for a couple of days, it would fall down to a level where it might have problems cranking the engine.  I replaced the abttery immediately - it was only 3.5 years old - and the problem has finally been resolved.  Best of all I didn't even lose my radio pre-sets.  The Honda is a Mark 2, MY2012.

hot weather can kill a car battery in less than 3 years,  cold weather is actually kind to battery chemistry.  it is hot weather that kills a battery but you normally don't notice until a cold spell requires a bit extra juice from it.  Modern low viscosity oils and electronic ignition have all made starting a car easier on the battery - but high under-bonnet temperatures still kill batteries

[VicW]

hot weather can kill a car battery in less than 3 years, 

I lived and worked in Kuwait for three years where summer day time temperatures in excess of 40C were normal.
It was common for battery life to be as short as a year although the batteries in the Japanese cars seemed to fare better than the American cars. It was standard procedure to always carry jump leads and stop to help out someone who was standing with a set of jump leads raised aloft, it might be you next !

Vic.