2020 Honda Civic LX Sedan CVT
11,000 miles
I did my 2nd oil change on my own the other day, when I started the vehicle after the oil change there was half a second of hesitation before the car started normally. I figured it was just because of the new oil and the filter or something so I didn't pay it no mind. But the next day and day after, the half second hesitation continued so today I tested the battery and the result was "Bad Cell". I tested 3 times just to make sure, but the hesitation did not occur before the oil change.
When I changed the oil, I had the car jacked up from the side, do you think the battery being tilted for a prolonged period may have caused the bad cell? It also has been pretty hot lately here in North Carolina and I heard driving in high temperatures can cause a battery's cells to be damaged, but I thought it was too much of a coincidence the problem started immediately after the oil change. I'll include a picture of the angle the car was at during the oil change, thank you for any inputs.
Also, it's been about 3 days since this hesitation started, how soon should I replace the battery if there's only a half second of hesitation? Thank you!
When I changed the oil, I had the car jacked up from the side, do you think the battery being tilted for a prolonged period may have caused the bad cell?
Not likely.
It also has been pretty hot lately here in North Carolina and I heard driving in high temperatures can cause a battery's cells to be damaged
Lead-acid car batteries don't like high temperatures and it is not unusual to get only 3-4 years of life out of a battery under those conditions.
The battery should be replaced ASAP to avoid further problems.
do you think the battery being tilted for a prolonged period may have caused the bad cell?
No, hahah. There would be a lot of cars dying on banked roads, or even in sharp turns when everything sloshes to one side. The hot weather might have dried out the battery though, and maybe the tilt "tipped" one dry cell over the edge.
I got scammed by Jiffy Lube
yup. common story. Stay away.
I learned a lot going through this process
Good. Knowledge is power. Stay curious.
I stopped him and asked shouldn't you do the negative first? And he was like "nah, would you like to do it yourself?" So I did.
Nice catch. Autozone probably just wants low wage part slingers, and they shouldn't be trusted with anything mechanical.
I hope that solved your problem.
Thanks for the responses y'all. Yeah I figured it wasn't because it was tilted for a couple of hours but I just wanted to be sure since it was so weird that it occurred only right after I did the oil change. So that was kind of a strange coincidence.
Do you recommend any particular battery brands? Thanks again!
Do you recommend any particular battery brands? Thanks again!
ACDelco batteries have always served me exceptionally well. Awesome batteries. ( they might only come with side posts terminals so double check)
I just checked my local autozone and advance auto, both do not have AC Delco batteries in my size 😓 (51R). I'm also gonna have them test my battery in case something is wrong with my tester, but if I decide to buy from them, do you think it's safe to let them install it or should I install it myself? I'm always afraid of Jiffy Lube messing up oil changes like they have for people I know, which is why I do it myself. Is it the same with auto parts stores employees installing batteries? This would be the first time installing a battery myself if not. Thanks!
EDIT: If you had to choose between Duralast and Diehard, which would you choose? Also for manufacturing dates of the batteries, I forgot what Scotty says, is it like 1-2 months max for how long its been sitting there?
I'm always afraid of Jiffy Lube messing up oil changes like they have for people I know, which is why I do it myself. Is it the same with auto parts stores employees installing batteries?
I wouldn't let them touch my car. If you use a memory saver you can retain the car's memory while changing the battery yourself. Some cars do require that the dealer reprogram the computer for a new battery but that's probably not the case with the Civic.
If you had to choose between Duralast and Diehard, which would you choose?
Whichever is cheaper. There's probably not much difference between them. There are only a small number of actual battery manufacturers making all the brands that you see. I usually buy batteries at WalMart and they've worked out fine.
Also for manufacturing dates of the batteries, I forgot what Scotty says, is it like 1-2 months max for how long its been sitting there?
Sounds about right. You want the freshest battery possible.
both do not have AC Delco batteries in my size 😓 (51R).
they do exist and they do have top posts. You could try a GM dealership parts dept.
Also, sometimes there's allowance for different size batteries. It just needs to fit in the tray, and not be too tall (so the hood doesn't hit)
should I install it myself?
why not it's quick and easy. Just don't hook it up the wrong way and you'll be fine.
is it like 1-2 months max for how long its been sitting there?
They are supposed to be topping up the batteries. Bring your tester with you and before you pay, make sure it's full (~12.7V)
Hello! Following up with my battery problem. So before I went to Autozone, I tested my battery myself and it came up "Replace". Then I went to Autozone and parked, tested again and it said "Good Battery-Recharge". So I had Autozone test it with their tester and it came up "Replace" but they got confused because they said the state of health and state of life were above 90%.
So they hooked up an obd2 machine to see if there were any codes I think and it came back with: "U3003-68 battery voltage above threshold"
So the Autozone employee told me that because it's been so hot lately, it could have just caused some issues but he thinks my battery is fine but said if I wanted to replace it I could. So I told him since it starts right up now with no hesitation, I guess I'll hold off for now and get more opinions now that the situation has changed, so here I am again. When I got home I tested the battery again and it came up "Good Battery".
Then the next day, I tested it again, when I hooked up the battery tested it read 12 volts so I thought nice. But when I turned my headlights on to do the test, the voltage dropped to 10 volts and said "Bad Cell". So I turned the headlights off and watched the reading slowly go from 10 volts back to 12 volts like it was being recharged even though the car is completely off. I didn't think batteries got charged when the car is completely off, no acc mode, no engine running, just completely off. I remember hearing something about Honda's charging systems being different than other companies. I'm most likely going to replace it, but anyone have any thoughts on why this situation happened the way it did with different readings all the time? Thanks again for your help!
I tested the battery again and it came up "Good Battery".
Another example of how reliable and consistent these Chinese digital testers are. I think they're crap because they don't actually test anything. They guess.
I keep telling people to get batteries tested properly on a carbon pile tester. Batteries dealers SHOULD have them.
I turned my headlights on to do the test, the voltage dropped to 10 volts
that's probably a bad battery, and internal resistance is causing you to lose a few volts.
This is why batteries MUST be tested under load.
However, the 12.4V you saw might have just been a "surface charge". So put the battery on a trickle charger overnight (your alternator is suspect now), and then do your test with the headlights again in the morning.
The battery tester I used is actually one that was recommended by Scotty:
https://youtu.be/5GdIHf7RMIc?t=211
I think the tester has been accurate but the battery itself has been inconsistent. When Autozone used their battery tester to test it as well it was also getting wonky results. The alternator seemed fine, when the car was on it was reading 14 volts. I thought maybe if it was just a weird hiccup then I could replace the battery later but due to all this weird stuff happening, I think I'm just going to replace the battery itself on Monday. It is the original factory Honda battery and I keep hearing those ones don't last too long. I should probably stick with lead acid and not go AGM right? I heard AGM batteries, sometimes they don't get charged correctly cause the charging system wasn't designed for AGM on some cars, I assume mine is set up for lead acid but I'm not sure. I have a base model keyed ignition no auto stop/start. So I'll probably stick with lead acid, what do you think?
I forgot to add, on my tester before the tests begins, it tells me to turn the headlights on for 10 seconds to get rid of the surface charge. Prior to turning the headlights on, it was reading 12 volts but when I turned the headlights on it went to 10 volts. Do you think the cell itself is dying and reviving? Is that possible?
The battery tester I used is actually one that was recommended by Scotty:
Scotty recommends these because they're cheap, and the good ones weigh a ton.
Do you think the cell itself is dying and reviving?
No.
Prior to turning the headlights on, it was reading 12 volts but when I turned the headlights on it went to 10 volts.
exactly. 12V was the surface charge. 10V is the actual state of charge. Again, trickle charge the battery overnight and run the test again. If it fails, it's definitely bad.
Thanks again for sticking with me and answering my questions MountainManJoe! I don't have a trickle charger but just to be safe since it's been giving me weird issues, I'm just going to replace the battery Monday since I don't work until Monday so it's been sitting for 3 days. The Autozone tester was getting wonky results, I was getting wonky results, it's probably better to be safe than sorry. Even though the alternator tested good, you made a good point that it is kind of suspect now. I'm going to take a gamble and just bank on it being the battery and just pray that's the case.
I tried looking up information on why my battery would be slowly going from 10v to 12v charging by itself with the car completely off. I had both my battery tester and another device that reads battery voltage just to confirm and yeah, my battery was slowly recharging itself from 10v to 12v while the car was completely off.
Do you have any idea what's happening here? I'm so confused. But like I said, I heard like a couple of years ago on some Honda forum and vaguely remember reading that their charging system is set up differently so I thought maybe it could have something to do with that. I'm not sure how reliable that information was but I thought I would throw that out there in case that can help. Thanks again!
my battery was slowly recharging itself from 10v to 12v
It was not "recharging". Batteries do not charge themselves out of thin air.
1) Batteries have internal resistance. According to Ohm's law, the greater the current through the battery (load), the greater the voltage drop.
2) Batteries are chemical devices, and chemistry doesn't happen instantly. They have what's called surface charge. When you quickly charge or discharge a battery, the voltage you measure at the terminals is not true state of charge. It works both ways. The true voltage of the battery can lower OR higher and the only way to equalize it is to wait.
If I put a cup of water in the freezer, it will get a crust of ice, but the water isn't frozen yet.
If I put an ice cube out in the sun, it may look wet on the surface, but it hasn't become completely liquid yet.
https://batteryuniversity.com/
I don't have a trickle charger
This is a very useful thing to own, and can pick one up for $30.
The Autozone tester was getting wonky results, I was getting wonky results
They're just poor testers.
Thank you again MountainManJoe not only for taking the time to go over these things with me but teaching me as well. I just started learning about cars about 2 years ago after I got scammed by Jiffy Lube but I'm still trying to learn and wrap my head around car batteries and charging systems. Th example about ice freezing at the surface to explain surface level charge was a really nice way to put it, it helped me remember that. I learned a lot going through this process so thanks for sticking with me. So an update! This morning my car wouldn't start the first time but started with hesitation the 2nd time. Same thing after work. I then drove to Autozone to just replace the battery but right when the guy was about to replace the battery, he was about to disconnect the positive terminal first. I stopped him and asked shouldn't you do the negative first? And he was like "nah, would you like to do it yourself?" So I did.
1. I Disconnected NEGATIVE 1st, POSTIVE 2nd. Removed bracket.
2. Replaced the battery and put the insulator sleeve back on.
3. Connected POSITIVE first, NEGATIVE 2nd. Replaced bracket.
4. I made sure that the terminals were snug and the battery got seated back flat and proper. Everything started right up and everything went well!
About the Honda charging system thing, I found the video! He mentions it in the beginning talking about how the alternator is computer controlled and there's a battery sensor attached to the negative terminal so sometimes it's hard to diagnose charging system or battery problems because of the computer determining how much power to send.
Even though I didn't use a memory saver, the car displayed the message "Initializing systems, Drive Carefully" and went away after about a couple of minutes of driving, I drove 30 minutes back home, tested the battery, and everything is good to go. Thank you so much for everything and I'll definitely pick up a trickle charger on the next sale.