QuestionHello,
I have an 08 Honda Accord and it wouldn't start yesterday morning. I jumpstarted it and then let it idle for about ten minutes and drove it around for another 5 minutes. I then came back, turned the engine off, and then turned it back on and it started right up. Today, it won't start again. Did I not drive it enough to charge the battery fully, or is it a sign of a different problem?
AnswerHi Jason,
There are many reasons that a battery will die, and then cause the problems that you are writing about. I will outline them below for you.
My first question is when the vehicle is running, do you notice any electrical malfunctions? Such as, dashboard lights not working headlights or tail lights dimming or not coming on at all, radio not working? If so there is a problem with your electrical charging system.
It is possible that you did not run the car long enough when you jump started it, it is recommended that the battery be allowed to charge either by idling or by driving it (Recommended over the idling method)for a period of 30 to 45 mins to fully charge the battery, depending on how dead the battery was. The longer it takes to jump start or "the amount of time needed to have the two cars connected by jumper cables before the dead engine will start again" the longer the car should be ran. I recommend to my customers running the car for at least 30 mins no matter what. That is a good rough estimate to go by.
I Would recommend jumping your car and driving it for about 30 to 45 mins to give it a good charge, while you are driving it i would drive it to advance auto or auto zone and have them check your cars battery and alternator, they can do this quickly and at no cost to you, and they will tell you if there is a problem with either of them. When you bring your car there, leave it running so it can continue charging, only shut it off when the employee checking the battery and alternator tells you to. Do this first, however below are some more explanations and further causes that could be occurring.
Sometimes, a battery is just old and in need of replacement, it depends on the battery and no two batteries are alike. On your battery there should be a sticker, with a number on it, the number will be either 3 or 5 digits long and it will end with something like the following "-3yr or -5yr or -7yr" this tells you the expected life of the battery. The number stands for the numbers of years the battery is expected to live for, and the yr represents the word YEARS. If your battery ends in -3yr then it is probable that it is time for a new one, since 08 to now is almost 3 years, however that also maintains that this is the original battery, you can tell by looking at the same sticker I mentioned above. It will have a series of circles on it, the month and date circles corresponding to the date it was installed will be scratched out or "missing" from the series of circles.
If the battery is within date, it may be that the car was putting more stress on the battery then normal. Some times a battery will die before its expected time, especially if you run a lot of extras on your vehicle electrical system, such as a high power subwoofer or stereo system or after market products like emergency lights (such as the ones volunteer firemen use in their front windshields, you know those blue lights or red lights they use to go on their fire calls) all these things can diminish the life of your battery, also if your battery has died a lot from leaving lights on or such. Every time your battery dies, you have to jump it, when you jump your car this is deep cycling the battery which diminishes the life of your cars battery.
If the battery is good then there is a different problem going on, this is why i asked my first question about things not working properly like headlights being dim or dashboard lights not coming on while the car is running. This is a sign that your cars alternator is no good, and needs to be replaced, because the car is not getting enough power from the battery to run all the electrical in the car. This happens when the alternator stops working or is about to stop working, the alternator stops charging the battery thus making the car run on the power in the battery alone, much like a flashlight, when the battery dies so does the car. If you go to auto zone be sure have them check your alternator also, again it is free to have them do this and will tell you quickly if the problem lies in the alternator.
I would start with this first and then let me know how you make out if you are still having troubles then we can go further into the diagnostic process.
Good Luck
Please let me know how you make out.
