I have a 100% stock '09 Sport and am running with the stock battery and have never had an issue starting it up. Not even a sign of the battery starting to get weak. Always started strong.

The car sat for 2 days and when my wife went to take the Fit today, she called me at work saying the battery was dead and my son had to jump start her. She is still out and about with the Fit with no issues since the jump so I haven't been able to look at it. But is this common? From one day to the next to be dead without a sign of any trouble?

 

If she left one of the lights on, even an interior one, 2 days could be enough to drain the battery. And she might not have noticed in the daytime.

 

But yes, failure from "one day to the next" is a common failure mode. Especially as ambient temps shift up or down rapidly.

4 years is beyond the average life of a car battery. I'm staring at a battery about to go bad in mine too. Do I spend a preventive $100 or a remedial $130 (careful shopping goes out the window with a bad battery)? hmmmm

 

She does that with her car but I am ANAL with mine and I know I didn't leave any dome lights, etc on and I was the last to drive it.

I'll just have to wait for her to come home so I can test the battery.

 

i leave my car for two or three days all the time, never have issues! i have left the hatch ajar over night once and it drained my battery to the point i had to use my jump box to start it, but it charged back up and no problem since

 

Well, it's pretty easy to accidentally bang into the lights around the mirror and leave one on, they're large targets, easy to hit by accident.

 

So...what's the best option for a new battery? Any specific vendors since dealers always want an arm/leg for parts? Does anyone know if options are available, since the stock battery seems to be somewhat unique?

 

Some people are going to the group code 51R battery. It is more common, larger capacity and size, and cheaper. The problem is you will have to saw the end of the battery box to get it to fit. Costco usually has them cheaper that other places.

Otherwise you want to price a 151R battery.

 

You can eliminate the "battery box" entirely- you don't need it. The Costco Kirkland 51R battery is a a hell of a bargain, and gives you plenty of reserve battery power compared to the lawnmower stock battery.

 

I always tell people to get audio batteries even if you don't have audio. They are smaller and have more power. Bonus, they can lay anyway you want it to(sideways, etc) I used to use one BT20 Shuriken, but since then I added 2 more. Had these batteries since March 2010 and I still run my audio on for hours and have it start up right away.

Here's some specs on it. Any online dealer can hook it up fairly cheap.
http://www.shurikenonline.com/12v-ba...ttery-p-2.html

Now you can get it bigger if you want, but prices can get high.

 

Can anyone provide any pictures of using a 51R battery? I've seen some past threads on using an upgraded size...but the mods did not look good. If I recall, there is more to it since the terminal has more than just a simple hook up. Also, I don't see how you can eliminate a battery box since it has to have adequate support. I have an 09 that was put into service late 2008, so its only a matter of time for current battery. Any help with photos on placing an upgraded battery would be appreciated.

 

No battery box. A zip tie holds the positive terminal wires stationary rather than the wire clip that was on the inboard side of the battery box. The hold-down rods and top cross bar keep the battery immobile, and I used a sheet of rubber from Ace Hardware placed on top of the metal battery shelf to eliminate any chance of corrosion of the metal shelf.




http://imageshack.us/a/img684/103/1000156k.jpg

 

mines starting to go bad

 

Maybe its me, but I can't see the photo since its very very small. I would really like to see clearly the terminal connection...thanks

 

Hell no!! 4 years is not an average life span!

I changed the original battery in my isuzu rodeo around 145k miles, it was a 1994 and was changed in 2011

My del sol was a 93, it saw its third battery at 190k miles according to the 8 previous owners I talked to (all family members of original buyer)

My mother had a 98 civic that kept the factory battry til 170k ish miles, she had me change it in like 2008 or 2009

All average vehicles, none of them had longer then a month to sit. and my moms civic was night duty for work, so stress of headlights and temperature from late evening, overnight, and morning heat

 

NAPA auto parts seems to have a reasonable 151R replacement. Locally it's $93.00 including core refund (I think).

Check other parts houses for coupons/sales. I've heard of 151Rs as low as $70.00. ( another thread but using the current price nets over $100).

The OE battery from Honda runs $117 list. show them this and maybe they'll cut the price (Majestic won't ship lead-acid batteries; I checked).

 

Each application varies. If it sits for long times it'll sulfate and lose capacity. If it's subject to temperature extremes and/or vibration, the plates disintegrate faster and the things short out at the bottom. Internet chatter has it about 3-5 years with lots of qualifiers. Actual average life is less than 2 years (confession of ex- Sears Die Hard salesperson). You're an outlier, enjoy it.

edit: this site quotes "a study" but doesn't cite it. shrug.

 

i thought the interior lights turn off on its own after like 15-30sec?

my 09 is 5yrs old now and still on original battery. seems to start up well so far and the eye (peek hole) shows that nice blue color so im assuming it's still good.

that said, if that battery dies, im just going to get the everstart (?) or watever the cheapo ones sold at walmart if they come in our size.

 

The "eye" is a hygrometer that measures the specific gravity of the battery for one cell (it has 6). It's an indication that it's charged, but it doesn't show the health of the battery.

A cold-cranking-amps test is better; performed by the guys with the handheld testers. I'm not sure how effective these are. When I was selling them, we'd test each cell's specific gravity, fail it if more than 15 points difference, then perform a load test (but only if fully charged), and measure the voltage of each cell (not possible on sealed batteries) and fail it if there was a variance (forget the tolerance).

Even then they could experience momentary shorts (if the battery is tilted and the sediment contacts the bottom of the plats) or breaks (physical break in connections between cells or with terminals, possibly intermittent).

Keeping a battery for long periods may earn you a place in Guinness, but it also might leave you stranded. I'm straddling the fence on mine. If I see a $70 deal I'll probably pull the trigger on replacing it.

 

yah those are called ammeters. they are effective to get you the cca.

but again, we're talking about my 5yr old dd. as long as it starts well, it's fine for me.