No electrical power - dead battery?

[BeachInsight]

Newbie - first post. Bought a used 2010 a couple months ago - love it (so far). Started checking out this forum before buying it - good stuff.

Problem: car sat for a week, started right up. Wife drove a couple miles to make a stop, left teen in car with radio on and while sitting in the car just a few minutes, it turned completely off (come to find out). Went over to jump it assuming battery simply was run down. Not a thing comes on even when hooked up to the booster battery - no lights, gauges, nothing. It was late, dark and didn't go over prepared. So haven't checked with a volt meter nor the battery color dot(s), and haven't tried checking fuses (but that seems unexpected). I did a search through the troubleshooting forum and didn't see anything similar amongst the various 12V battery posts but could have missed it. Anyone see anything like this? I suppose the battery could be completely shorted. Tomorrow will try a meter, check battery indicator, and check fuses.

[Jayemtee]

There are some things not quite clear in your post. Have you specifically checked 12v sources unrelated to the key position such as horn, dome lights, or headlights?

Is it possible that "something" happened with that key? Did you try another key? Have you tried cycling the alarm to make sure everything is on the same page?

Does the car have a dealer installed security system?

These are the paths I would take in troubleshooting. A completely dead 12v battery is unlikely. A typical engine start is through the IMA battery. Disconnecting the battery for a few minutes and hooking it back up might help.

You know that "teen", "wife", and "a few minutes" are intangibles, right? I'm guessing the teen accidently hit an alarm button on the key.

[BeachInsight]

Last night (and this morning) there was no sign of 12V anywhere - no horn, lights, dome, remote lock/unlock. With some daylight and multimeter found battery had 12V but indicator showed it needed charged (red dot, white outline).

That was suspicious, but hooked up jumper and still no indication of 12V in the car. Checked battery with meter, still 12V, disconnected battery ground and checked with jumper still on and got about 15V between battery pos terminial and chassis. That was a clue that open circuit somewhere.

Started looking at fuses on top of the battery pos terminal - okay. Unscrewed the yellow cap on another little black box curious what that was - turned and poked what was inside and heard a soft click. A circuit breaker?!?!? All lights came on, hazards, heater fan full, etc. Car started right up.

Is that indeed a circuit breaker as I presume? Didn't see that in the owner's manual. And suspicious that it would trip - maybe because the 12V battery was low and drew more current to compensate(?). I also see some suspicious looking connections to the positive terminal "box" that don't look stock as the red cover won't close properly. Does this look normal? I can't tell what it goes to. I'm not aware of any dealer installed alarm system or other equipment but perhaps there is.

If it is turning out that the 12V battery is going bad, I've seen the various posts on putting in a "better" battery and was anticipating making a change - opportunity may have arrived sooner than I thought.

...and the "intangibles" are still suspects too.....

[freezin4]

Beach,

Nice work getting it sorted out on the cheap!
Maybe prior owner had a remote start or an aftermarket alarm rigged?
I always cringe when I have to hand the keys over to one of my teens or my wife as well. In fact I would love to have others borrow the car to learn the benefits of efficiency, but I no longer trust anyone with my "treasure".

Close the loop and post your findings with the new battery.

All the best with your new ride.

[Jayemtee]

First of all, congrats on the fix. Good work. I hope I didn't offend you with the intangibles. It wasn't meant to be mean, but I stand by the fact that they are intangibles.

I am full of uncertainty regarding the little box with a yellow cap. I did a quick check and only saw 3 yellow things under my hood. A ring on an engine mount ground wire, the cap of the brake reservoir, and the CVT dipstick. Where was this alleged box located?

I know my local Honda dealer installs theft deterrent systems on all their cars and just pulls the black boxes if you don't buy it as an extra add on. They leave the wires. It's a system to keep someone from stealing the key and driving off.

There are a lot of battery discussions if you decide to buy one. I for one, am hoping I have enough advance notice to shop for a deep cycle battery when I replace mine.

Thanks for the update and let us know if you find anything else about it.

[BeachInsight]

Thanks all.

Got a chuckle out of the "intangibles" and my reply was in kind... No offense taken at all - so true.

I meant to include photos in my last post but the "intangilbles" were after me to run some errands so didn't get a chance to figure out how to do it. Still not sure I did it right. Hopefully they show up in this reply.

So this isn't stock?

Apparently I need check on some things with the previous owner...

[Jayemtee]

That's unfailiar to me. I'm guessing aftermarket. Let us know what you find out. It could be for aftermarket lights, alarm, stereo, or even an air horn. At least someone took time to put a circuit protector in it.

As sensitive as this car is to electrical variations, I'm still a little shy to venture into aftermarket modifications at this time. I like reading and learning about them though.

[Cobb]

That gizmo is not oem. I believe it helps to reduce phantom loads from killing the battery and disconnects when the voltage gets low.

Welcome aboard!!! A group 51 battery fits nicely in place of the oem.

[PHerder]

I have one similar to it on my truck (the truck doesn't get used very often). It is setup to disconnect the battery if the voltage gets low enough so you can still start the car AFTER pushing the button to reconnect the battery.

Mind has a remote control so I can get inside the truck, find that I have no power, press the remote and it reconnects the battery, start the truck and drive off.

That works great until the battery doesn't hold a charge. I now have a battery charger that keeps the battery up so I really don't need the switch any longer.

Aftermarket is the only way to get one that I know of. Usually from places that have campers, racecars, vintage cars, etc. (i.e. vehicles that don't use their batteries alot).

[Cobb]

I bet the dealer installed it so they did not need to keep jumping the car for people to test drive. They forgot to remove it.

Basically if this happens again Id request a new battery from the dealer.