Knew this day would come... Was hoping to be more prepared for it though.

Tomorrow I'll be shopping for my replacement battery. (Thanks for all the helpful info in the many post before mine.)

Mostly stock '07 Fit sport... 94k miles... stock battery. Not dead yet... but soon

Love my "Ferocious Fit"

 

Registered to say thank you for this, OP.

 

Well, i'm gonna need this post too. my car is a 2007, bought in april 2007, 95 000 km. My battery is dying. I'm thinking of trying to plug a battery charger on it.
but it will just maybe delay the death. That useless little windows on the battery says it is fine. but yeah Here in Quebec we had a cold week between -15 and -25 Celsius all the time. kind of temperature that My honda never feared. i run synthetic oil. and I have a engine oil heater. it never really needed it to start. but i like to take care of my engine.

But since last year i felt that my was not starting as well under cold temperature. and this morning only -15 Celsius and it won't start. first time ever. second time this week :-(

Thank for that i always think that factory battery was a little weak. if a bigger battery is not to hard to install, that good.

Interstate are excellent battery, back when i had a E30 325I 89, i had battery problem, I replace the factory specs dying one by a interstate. never had trouble with t, even after the car spend a whole winter in storage ( battery was unplugged but not on a charger) !

p.s : For us people :-) 95 000 km is 59 000 miles, -15 to -25 celsius = 5 F to -13 F

 

My stock battery has lasted since 2007 on my Fit. If I go buy a 51R can I just pop it in? Or do I need to do a few cuts? I ask because it's so cold out and I just want to drop it in without modification. If it's right that's okay but will I have to cut or rearrange anything?

 

You'll probably have to cut the one side off, judging by the side by side of the 2 batteries, the 51R is wider than OEM

 

There are other battery threads you can read up on. Here's one posted by BigWonton with pictures of the mod he did with a 51R swap. https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...ml#post1167927

 

Hi Gino. Sorry to hear about your battery. The hard rubber/PVC plastic tray that fits under the battery could be discarded altogether but I decided to keep mine. It's main purpose is probably to prevent battery acid from leaking onto other engine parts or the ground if for some reason the case got cracked.

There is a 1/2 inch "lip" or ridge that goes all the way around the tray; the battery slides into this ridge. Since the 51r is probably about an inch wider than the 151r, I used my dremel tool to saw off the ridge on one side to allow the battery to slide into the tray fully. You can probably just fit the battery over the tray and not even bother with that, the only thing is that your battery will not sit flat and be slightly crooked.

The only real consideration is that the positive post on the 51r is skinnier than than the positive post on the 151r. The cheap, loop/ring style terminal on the GD will not grip tightly on the terminal no matter how much you tighten it because it is too large. The best solution is probably to replace both connectors with high quality military style ones from NAPA but I simply used a metal cap called a battery post shim. They are available in Canada from Pricess Auto for about 3$ and they ship real quickly. The battery will fit just fine without the shim, it's just that I wanted a more secure connection and the shim accomplished that.

I also recommend lubing the terminals with a little white lithium grease to prevent corrosion. My Kirkland battery is on its 2nd winter and it cranks like it was brand new! 500 cold cranking amps instead of 330!

 

PS Motomaster brand is sheit.

 

You have to be aware of this on ANY battery you buy.

I got an Interstate 51R to replace the 7 year old one in my CR-V (same size as original) and the negative terminal was too small for the clamp, as you describe.

I shimmed that terminal with three layers of aluminum beer can, 1/3 the way around.

Still works great a year later.



PS Be sure to drink the beer before cutting the can.

 

Well i just change my battery today, canadian tire had one in Stock, in fact it seem that now you can find 151R at others places ( at least in Quebec) than dealership. I decided to go with stock battery, for my car did not start today and it is cold, it was simple. despite the Low CCA rating for stock battery, my FIT had always started before even when i forgot to plug the oil heater. so bigger one it not a necessity. but the Motomaster battery is smaller somehow but taller, it look like a ATV battery lol. i discarded the top plastic cover since the battery was not shape exactly the same. i kind of regret not upgrading 51R last autumn, i knew my battery was dying. yeah i was lazy. with -23 Celsius outside today, i did not want to work too much on it :-)
Anyway Thank for the post.

P.S : 51R battery are CIVIC battery right?

 

Salut à toi, confrère de la belle province!

Yep. 51r is the size of the Civic battery.

 

My battery is officially dunzo now. Needed CAA again. Its okay I have a Costco battery in the trunk. Need to do the install.

Was able to take everything off except for the positive terminal. Is the positive a 12mm or a 10mm? Also I cannot seem to get my socket/ratchet to fit due to the red thing that covers the terminal as well as the other junk that sits around the terminal, ie grounding wire etc.

Oh yeah I lost my front bar that holds battery in place lol in the engine bay this morning before calling CAA. Was so late for work just drove, so now its probably on the road somewhere lol. Oh well $10 part from Honda.

it was -15 out this morning so no wonder she didnt start.

So going back to my question, what is the best suggested way to take off the positive terminal? Should I just use a wrench or is their a way to get that socket to fit in there?

 

Remove the factory intake and put a cold air intake in. It will allow a bigger battery. I have a 880cca yellow top in my fit.

 

I was wondering, since the ECU runs off the battery, is there any chance that a bigger battery could affect the ECU? I was watching a Scotty Kilmer video on YouTube and he mentioned keeping a good battery so the ECU would run right.

 

hi fit freak. i am a new owner of a pre-owned fit and changing the battery is one of the things that i want to do first. i came upon this thread and attempted to do this myself. i got a few question to ask those that have done this.
1) the battery vibrates along with the engine when the car is running. is that okay for the battery?
2) will a bigger battery be okay for the fit's alternator and the electrical throughout the whole car?

thanks in advance

 

1) Vibration is not good for a battery, check the hold down for tightness. The battery should not vibrate.


2)Yes

 

thanks for the reply spreadhead. ive checked the battery tie down and i have it as tight as i can get it. the vibration is from the engine since the bigger battery touches the intake.

 

The Battery is nothing more than another electrical accessory. It is a simple storage device. EVERYTHING electrical (except the starter) runs off of the alternator. So by installing a larger battery, all you are doing is adding to the capacity of the storage device.

Yes the computers, and anything else you turn on when the engine is not running, do temporarily run off of the battery. This is not for long as the storage capacity of the battery depletes fairly quickly. By increasing the battery size all you are doing is increasing the amount of temporary storage you have available. Nothing else electrically ichanges. The ECU/PCM or BCM have no idea what size battery is installed in your vehicle.

I have never installed a 51R but I have often thought that I would. I have never needed to replace the OEM battery in the 2009 Fit that my daughter totaled. The 2011 one that she has now also still has the OEM battery. In my other vehicles (pick up, 2 Blazers, motorhome, airplane, John Deere, etc.) I use the largest capacity battery that I can easily fit into them.

If the larger 51R is vibrating from the adjacent engine, you need to find some way to isolate it from rubbing on the engine. Otherwise you will find one of more of the internal plates will eventually break, obviously shortening the life of the battery.

 

You own a plane?!?

 

Yes, It is just a small Grumman AA5A, or Cheetah. I have owned and flown it for years. Probably 50% business and 50% pleasure. I have only flown it in the US (including Alaska), Mexico, and Canada.