[adam1991]

Yeah, my boy turned on the interior lights yesterday and left them on. Today: dead battery.

I'm sitting here scratching my head wondering why Honda thought we needed a switch the size of the USS Minnow sitting right there dead smack in the middle of the dashboard like it's the emergency flashers or something.

Anyway, two observations:

1) the CD player had kicked out the CD and the tape player had kicked out the tape (02 EXL-RES). Something in there triggers that when battery gets low, I guess.

2) When I hooked up the battery charger, the alarm immediately went off. I had to use the key in the lock to stop it. Even using the key in the ignition switch didn't stop it.

I didn't try it, but I wonder if there was just enough juice to start the engine?

 

[Canodyssey]

Problem is Adam that that big light switch should turn off all the interior lights when off but you can still turn them on individually when that switch is off. As has been brought up before an off delay timer of 15 min when the van is not running should be standard equipment on a vehicle in this price range.

Hope she starts up for you.

 

[Intrepid175]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by adam1991:
When I hooked up the battery charger, the alarm immediately went off. I had to use the key in the lock to stop it. Even using the key in the ignition switch didn't stop it.
</font>

This is normal. If the battery goes dead while the alarm system is armed, it assumes that the cables have been cut while stealing the vehicle. As soon as power is reestablished, the alarm starts yelling. It sounds like a nice idea but I would imagine that the would be theives would have the vehicle in a location where it wouldn't make any difference at that point.

Hope I never find out!

------------------
Drive Safe,
Steve R.
'01 SS LX
Cargo tray, leather steering wheel, mud guards, alarm, fog lights, transmission cooler, in-dash CD player, Kelton subwoofer, under seat storage tray.

 

[A. B. Hair]

Most of us brain dead people have had this happen. I had it twice on my '99 Ex and will probably have it happen on my 02 EXL. However, my old '96 Ranger pu has a cut off for lights left on after some 15 min. so it is not the cost of the vehicle. Sure would be nice for Honda to do this!

 

[ckasper]

OK,

I'm a fairly new 02 LX owner but here is the behavior I have seen concerning the interior lights.

If the master switch is in the 'OFF' position I can't turn on any of the interior lights.

If the master switch is in the middle position, then the lights that I had previously tried to turn on in the back turn on (or off) and there is no indication that they will ever turn off even with all the doors closed.

Finally in the 'On' position, it turns on all the lights. This is how I remember it behaving from the other day.

My conclusion is that I will always keep the master switch in the 'OFF' position and turn it on as needed by exception.

 

[shindog]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by adam1991:
Yeah, my boy turned on the interior lights yesterday and left them on. Today: dead battery.

I'm sitting here scratching my head wondering why Honda thought we needed a switch the size of the USS Minnow sitting right there dead smack in the middle of the dashboard like it's the emergency flashers or something.

Anyway, two observations:

1) the CD player had kicked out the CD and the tape player had kicked out the tape (02 EXL-RES). Something in there triggers that when battery gets low, I guess.

2) When I hooked up the battery charger, the alarm immediately went off. I had to use the key in the lock to stop it. Even using the key in the ignition switch didn't stop it.

I didn't try it, but I wonder if there was just enough juice to start the engine?</font>

UGHHH!!! Well, it happened to me. Same exact story, battery charger and all.

One note: CD kicks out AFTER power is restored, not when battery runs low (battery unplug or drain).

One question: do you guys have the Delpi battery with green indicator dot? After recharging, it still does not come back on to say the battery is fully charged. Been driving around too. Battery charger manual says that "manual mode" charging must be done to "top off" such batteries, but it doesn't seem to be coming back on.

Anyone notice this? After the battery is discharged and recharged, is the green dot suppossed to come back? Never had an indicator battery on my cars before....


------------------
-Shin John
'01 DEP EX, and I'm workin' on it! (slowly)

 

[Maugham]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by shindog:
One question: do you guys have the Delpi battery with green indicator dot? After recharging, it still does not come back on to say the battery is fully charged. Been driving around too. Battery charger manual says that "manual mode" charging must be done to "top off" such batteries, but it doesn't seem to be coming back on.</font>

When removing some items from the front seat last night, I must have bumped the interior lighting switch into the on position. The battery dead this morning.

The battery charged up rather quickly, at least enough to start the car. I drove around for 30 minutes. The battery indicator is still not green - it remains black.

The alarm did not go off, but I had the ignition key in the accessory position when I hooked up the charger. I had manually unlocked both front doors.

I've had batteries with indicators before, and the indicators always returned to their green charged state. Maybe this one needs more of a charge...

Regards,

Maugham

 

[BrianB]

I too have had problems with the lights being left on.

I would like to put a timer relay to avoid this problem in the future. DOES anyone know of a standard auto timer relay? I would assume I would be looking for timer replacement GM part around the 1990 for a luxury car. Or a big truck/RV store for this timer shutoff.

Has anyone tried one of those low battery disconnects between the battery and cables. I don't care for this solution because all the electronics in the car would be reset, but I am curious if anyone has tried it.

I have not located a modification on this site to solve this problem. But with all the hard core mods, I most likely missed this simple mod.

Look forward to hearing a solution
BrianB

 

[shindog]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Maugham:

I've had batteries with indicators before, and the indicators always returned to their green charged state. Maybe this one needs more of a charge...

Regards,

Maugham</font>

Took a long drive today to go pick up a new carseat. Checked the indicator, it is green once more. So my battery charger manual is right. Even though it is charged enough to start the car, it needs more charging to get fully charged and turn on the indicator.



------------------
-SJ
'01 DEP EX, and I'm workin' on it! (slowly)

 

[ody]

I know this will happen to me someday! My kids love to read in the van at night and forget to turn the lights off sometimes. So far we have discovered it before the battery dies.
Doesn't someone make a battery that keeps a small reserve charge for starting the car? Some kind of automatic electronic disconnect or something?
On a side note, my '96 Windstar has auto shut-off interior lights-why couldn't Honda see this is a great idea? Auto off headlights are OK, but the interior lights would get my vote...

------------------
'02 RRP EX NAV
Mudguards,cargo tray,Weathertech mats, lampguards, gold emblems,
17" TSW Spirit wheels with 235/55 Dunlop Sport A2 tires
"Nothing you do for children is ever wasted" G.Keillor

 

[starlight]

Don't rely entirely on the Green Dot on the battery for charge status!! It is just an indicator on one of the six cells.

when any one of the other five cells fail, the green dot will indicate charged status. Although the headlights and other electrical devices would work, the starter would not crank as the combined CCA from all the good cells will not be enough to crank the engine.

 

[Chinook]

Master Interior Light Switch

I've had the same problem several times in our 99EX. That massive switch can easily and inadvertently be bumped by exiting passenegrs, purses, etc.

I wrote Honda Canada about it, suggesting that there should be a 15 minute timer that will override even the Master switch (presumably you could toggle it to get another 15 minutes of light...) but they said they had no such switch available but would consider my suggestion. Sounds like they considered it for a nanosecond only.

I pointed out that this problem, even though solvable with an inexpensive little switch, makes the vehicle unreliable.

Our solution: we've duct-taped the master switch so that it can't be toggled into the top position. Crude and ugly, but no more dead batteries at unexpected times!

 

[donlibes]

Doesn't someone make a battery that keeps a small reserve charge for starting the car? Some kind of automatic electronic disconnect or something?

Priority Start is a device that disconnects your battery if the voltage drops below a certain level. It's pretty slick - it only does it when the motor is not running. After running down my battery for the 4th time, I finally decided it was stupid not to order it. From my searches, I determined batterymart.com had the best price + delivery charge.

Alternatively, you can get a small "spare" battery that has enough juice to start the car. I looked into those too. The advantage is you can use them on other cars. The disadvantage is that it won't stop the battery from being damaged as it gets run down (and battery lives do get shortened that way). Plus you still have to open the hood and go through all the jump rigamarole. Also, they only guarantee keeping a charge for a year.

 

[Certek]

Priority Start

I also installed the priority start and it has saved me many times. Installation is a little tight but I don't worry about the family being stranded anymore because of a dead battery. Well worth it.

 

[kanadary]

this happened to me for the first time on the weekend. what a pain. question for those who invested in a priority start. which one did you get the one for $59.. or the one for $69? what's the difference? do you know? thanks ken.

 

[donlibes]

this happened to me for the first time on the weekend. what a pain. question for those who invested in a priority start. which one did you get the one for $59.. or the one for $69? what's the difference? do you know? thanks ken.

The website says that the more expensive one has some components to handle esoteric appliances that would fool the cheaper one. They specifically refer to stuff in policecars, security vehicles, etc. Sounds like overkill for your typical Ody. I bought the cheapest model and it's worked flawlessly.

 

[kanadary]

thanks for the info. i read from someone that because it has to fit between the original postive terminal and the positive cable that there might be some fitment problems. he experienced that with a toyota, did you notice that? ken

 

[donlibes]

thanks for the info. i read from someone that because it has to fit between the original postive terminal and the positive cable that there might be some fitment problems. he experienced that with a toyota, did you notice that? ken

No such problems. On the Ody, it was a breeze. Click on the link in my signature. I posted a description of what was involved and have a pic showing the unit installed in my Ody.

 

[kanadary]

thanks i saw the picture. i've ordered one. ken