Honda Repair: Honda Accord, honda accord lx, 2004 honda accord lx

Question
Dear Steve,

My 2004 Honda Accord (LX) won't start today.  Here is the whole story.  

1. In 3-4 month, there is a maintainance req ligh kept on.
2. This morning, I try to change the air filter, but can open the box, then I drove it back to garage (my house).
3. In the afternoon, I cannot start it.  The head light is also not on.
4. I check the battery, which is 7 years old, the reading is 12.4V.
5. I checked almost all the fuses. All of the fuses looks good.
6. The side lamp on the door is on.

So, in summary, the battery looks good, but headlight is not on, and the engine won't start.  There is no display when I try to start the engine, except there is an abs light is on and no sound, no click, no check engine/brake/battery display.

Thank you very much for the help.

Xiao

Answer
The first thing to do is clean and tighten the battery cable connections. If they are loose or corroded at all it will cause this problem. The battery voltage is also low. It should be at least 12.6 volts. You need to have it "load tested". This is a more accurate test than a simple voltage test.

7 years is a long time so it wouldn't surprise me if it was bad.