About a month ago I noticed our 05 EX-L was rather sluggish when starting. It has an Optima yellow top which I put in over 4 yrs ago when the OEM battery died after repeated discharges from the stupid overhead lights being accidentally left on when the kids head would hit them when getting up (yeah, great design Honda.) So I got out the charger and it seemed to take a decent charge, put it back in, and it was fine for about 2 weeks until the same symptom occurs again. So I figure that battery has just reached the end of its life (4.5 years isn't too bad considering how overloaded the electrical system is in this vehicle) so out to by another one. Installed it, things are back to normal but now two weeks later, back to sluggish starts. Had to get out the charger again and it did take a decent charge.
So obviously it must be the alternator, right? I don't think so, it checks out at 14.5V just like it should. Parasitic drain? Um, no, less than 30mA of residual current when off.
So I'm completely at a loss to explain how something could be apparently draining my battery yet the two main causes check out fine. Is there a charging circuit on these which could have a bad component? That's the only explanation I can think of that would explain normal alternator output and no charging when running. I don't think its actually the starter motor since clearly the battery is discharging significantly over the course of several weeks.
Any help appreciated!
So obviously it must be the alternator, right? I don't think so, it checks out at 14.5V just like it should. Parasitic drain? Um, no, less than 30mA of residual current when off.
So I'm completely at a loss to explain how something could be apparently draining my battery yet the two main causes check out fine. Is there a charging circuit on these which could have a bad component? That's the only explanation I can think of that would explain normal alternator output and no charging when running. I don't think its actually the starter motor since clearly the battery is discharging significantly over the course of several weeks.
Any help appreciated!