Frequent dead car battery -- problem with wiring?

It could be a short letting current leak.

However, first check the tension on the alternator belt and the all available connections including the battery posts for corrosion (bad contact)

If you have found nothing it is possible you have a bad alternator. If the diodes in the alternator are leaking the battery will drain and might not even be getting a proper charge to start with. If the brushes or bearings are bad the brushes fail to make proper contact and you do not generate enough to charge either.

If you are on warranty then get the dealer to test it. If not on warranty and you suspect it is the alternator (have a mechanic check) you should be able to get a good one from a wrecking yard for under $60. They are not that hard to change really.

Car Battery Wiring

Hi,

I also have a 2005 Honda Civic EX coupe, not sedan and my battery died several times today. Once in a grocery store parking lot and several times on my way to the Honda dealership. I will keep an eye on my car, since this has happened several times to you over the past few months. They told me that it was the battery, but I encouraged them to check the alternator and the electical wiring too. This is my 3rd Honda and have never had any problems like this...espically considering the age of my car. It is the same age as yours.

Anyway, good luck with your car. Maybe they will issue some sort of recall if a lot of keep having problems.

I would take the battery back to where you bought it and have them load test it. Sometimes if batteries sit in a warehouse for a long time and then shipped to a retail store, then sit on a shelf until a customer buys it, they can lose their charge. If the battery is only 30 days old ask them to replace it at no charge. You will of course have to give them the one that doesn't work back. Cold weather is terrible for batteries. If the battery proves to be good than I would fully charge it and reinstall it in your car. If you are not going to use the car for thirty days at least start it and let it run every few days to maintain the battery. If the battery is indeed good, make sure no lights were left on inside the vehicle. Check the headlights, wipers, radar detector, gps, or anything that would cause a drain. It could be many other things but try this first. Best of Luck.

Get a 12 volt bulb form Radio shack and hook up two wires to it. One wire on the end and one around the middle. Remove your negative battery terminal wire. Place one wire on the negative terminal of the battery and one on the removed cable. If the light comes on bright you have a stuck switch some where or other cause the battery to drain. if it barely lights it is ok because the computer that run the engine uses a little current at all time key on or off. If it does light bright you need a VOM (Electrical meter) Replace the negative cable and start car. check across the battery with the meter on Volts DC. It should be 13.8 to 14.1 volt if it is not then you have charging problems. Loose belt bad alternator etc.

what if any after market accessories do you have. if you have aftermarket radio, amps, neon lights, that kind of thing look there first. yes it will likely be in the wiring. in the case of radio or amps if they are incorrectly hooked up that will drain your battery if left for extended time say 12/16 hours, especially in a honda as it uses such a small/ low amperage battery.

when i say wired in correctly there should be a power feed for amps and a small ?blue? wire from radio to amp this is the power on wire for the amp. If you only have battery feed going to both main power and to the power on feed that would be the problem inexperienced people often do this as it is a pain to feed that small wire from the head unit to the amp. same thing with the radio though not as common now that after market radio wiring has been standardized.

if the alternator is bad you shouldn't be able to drive at night very long without car dying for lack of power.

the one about negative terminal and open circuit if the underhood light is on when he takes the terminal off of course he has an open circuit, also the radio, cpu, and remote reciever require power when the car is turned off, that is not a good test. take it to autozone or some such they will test battery and alternator out put for free and accurately.

There could be multiple issues.

1) There is a wireing problem that is shorted somehow and is draining the battery.

2) The belt that powers the alternator which charges the battery is lose and the alternator is not charging or

3) the alternator itself might have gone bad.

if its less them 3 years old Honda should fix it I am sure it is still under warranty unless you have driven more then 36K already. in which case you might be looking at anywhere from 450 to 700 expense.

there is one of two things going on.. 1 you could have a short.. that would be two wires making contact and it creates a power drain all the time.. 2.. your alternator is not putting out enough juice to keep the battery charged.. drive it down to an auto zone store and have one of the parts guy check the output of the alternator.. he should also be able to tell you if you have a short or not.. it is not hard.. if the alternator checks out to be okay.. then most likely you have that short somewhere.. in that case take it to a repair shop.. here is a simple way to tell if you have a short.. disconnect the negative wire and then reconnect it.. if all lights are off including the under the hood light.. if all electrical parts are turned off.. then reconnect your battery.. if there is a spark.. then there is an open circut.. that is a short..

Yes, "leakage" is putting it mildly.

There may be something like a trunk light that is staying on, or perhaps the remote entry receiver is drawing too much current.

If you can get an ammeter, you can measure the quiescent current by disconnecting one terminal of the battery and insert the ammeter in series with the terminal and battery.

Then all you'll need is Honda's specification for how much current is required to keep the various features (radio, remote) alive. My guess is that it shouldn't be more than about 0.05 amps (50 milliamperes), but find out from the dealer or see if there's an online reference for that measurement.

A bad alternator can drain a battery. It might not show symptoms of going bad but the electronics get messed up and it will slowly drain the battery. Another thing to look for is a light in the glove box or trunk that are not turning off. You usually don't think to look because they have a door that blocks the light.