New Battery Dead (edit)

patrick197

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2017 Civic Hatchback, 16k miles. A few of weeks ago, the car wouldn't start. It had been sitting for a month or so. I jumped it and it started right away. Three days later I tried to start it again and it was dead.
So I put in a new battery, started it up and drove for a while. A week later I started it again with no problem, took it to a service station and got the oil changed.
It sat for another week and I started it again with no problem.
Now, three days later it's dead again. Checked battery with multimeter - read 5 volts. Started with jump.
Any ideas?
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tacthecat

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First battery was at it's end of life or not fully recharged after jumping.
Did you have a full charge on the new battery when you installed it? It takes a good bit of driving to recharge an uncharged battery. Trying to jump and just "clicking" could have been a bad connection between the batteries - jumper cables not fully clamped into the posts.
Try a battery charger to fully charge up the battery..
 
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patrick197

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First battery was at it's end of life or not fully recharged after jumping.
Did you have a full charge on the new battery when you installed it? It takes a good bit of driving to recharge an uncharged battery. Trying to jump and just "clicking" could have been a bad connection between the batteries - jumper cables not fully clamped into the posts.
Try a battery charger to fully charge up the battery..
Yeah, I think my first attempt to jump it today was just a bad connection. When I got the new battery I never checked its voltage. It was just fresh off the shelf at AutoZone. I've got the car running now but I don't have a battery charger.
 

tacthecat

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Most store-bought batteries need charging. If you have access to an electrical outlet, a charger can save your bacon - one use will pay for it.
 
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patrick197

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Thanks, Tacthecat,
Update: Battery was at 5 volts before jump today. I let it run at idle, and drove around for about an hour with radio and air off, didn't touch power windows. When I got back, battery was 12.69 volts.
I checked amp draw at battery and it was about .30 amps. So it doesn't seem like a parasite. Maybe just sitting for a week with that useless blue light by the rear view mirror flashing is enough to drain it? I've got a charger coming tomorrow just in case.
 


tacthecat

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Check battery voltage after letting it sit overnight - initial reading is misleading - charge hysteresis.
Not sure what the blue flashing light is - aftermarket security, remote for garage door opener?
Need to check with others but .3 amps sounds high - would have expected .1 or below if all doors & hood were shut.
 
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patrick197

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Check battery voltage after letting it sit overnight - initial reading is misleading - charge hysteresis.
Not sure what the blue flashing light is - aftermarket security, remote for garage door opener?
Need to check with others but .3 amps sounds high - would have expected .1 or below if all doors & hood were shut.
Will do. Thanks.
 

av31094

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.3 amps is definetly high, you want, <.050A or under 50milliamps, got anything staying in outlets?
 
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patrick197

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.3 amps is definetly high, you want, <.050A or under 50milliamps, got anything staying in outlets?
Thanks. I went out and checked this morning. Battery was at 12.35v. Checked the amperage by connecting multimeter in series. It still showed a bit over .3 amps.
But this time I waited a minute and watched it drop down and fluctuate between .02 and .03. I hadn't realized that some stuff takes time to shut down when I made the connection. I haven't done much maintenance on cars for about 35 years, so I've got some learning to do.
 

av31094

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Thanks. I went out and checked this morning. Battery was at 12.35v. Checked the amperage by connecting multimeter in series. It still showed a bit over .3 amps.
But this time I waited a minute and watched it drop down and fluctuate between .02 and .03. I hadn't realized that some stuff takes time to shut down when I made the connection. I haven't done much maintenance on cars for about 35 years, so I've got some learning to do.
:
Started right up? There is a special way to measure actual draw : , i got too used to using an ampmeter but this shows you how to w a multimeter . it might just have been the first battery sat for too long which we saw a lot when i worked for honda, specially on newer crvs :p, but usually jumping and putting more mileage after starting , batt needs to be charged by alternator, when the car sits for too long( especially a month) , even the "normal" considered draw can be enough to entirely drain the battery in that time. My Major tip would be take key out, lock doors, have hood latch in latched ( closed position as if hood was closed so security system is armed) then wait 10 minutes so systems go to sleep, and re check.
 

tacthecat

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You should be all set - If you can't drive it once or twice a week just use the charger occasionally to keep the battery peaked. I know a fully charged battery should read 12.7 volts at 68 degrees but I've never seen ours above 12.4 after a full charge and sitting overnight, admittedly with the hood opened to check.
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