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Honda Odyssey battery issues

Discussion in 'General Chat Forum' started by luftinarr, Jun 22, 2010.

  1. luftinarr

    luftinarr Member

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    For those of you with the latest model of Honda Odysseys, is anyone having any issues with the battery draining sooner than it should?

    We bought a 2005 Odyssey EXL in November of 2004. We experienced the first battery drain in Dec 2006 and the battery was replaced then at Sears. In Feb/March 2009, the battery died again. We took it back to Sears and they replaced the battery for free since it was within the 3 year window of the original purchase. Today the battery died again. Took it back to Sears and they wouldn't replace the battery, but prorated the purchase of it (they also told me it's because of the heat that the battery died - sorry...don't give me that crap). We have had 4 batteries in 5 1/2 years. I think I heard once that the Odysseys had issues with battery drain, but am not sure. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this type of issue?
     
  2. Mr. Linux

    Mr. Linux Senior Member & Moderator Forum Staff

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    Are you certain that you are closing your sliding side doors completely shut? We had the battery in our Town & Country minivan die because the side door wasn't shutting completely.

    Also, do you have anything plugged into the power outlets continuously? Maybe there's something plugged in that is drawing power from an outlet that remains 'live' even when the car is turned off?
     
  3. PowerPlay

    PowerPlay Member

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    I bought a 2004 Odyssey in January of 2004 and still have the original battery. I was told a few months ago when I had the timing belt replaced that one of my battery terminals needed to be replaced, but it didn't affect the life of the battery. Perhaps an electrical issue??
     
  4. luftinarr

    luftinarr Member

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    Doors are always shut. Nothing is plugged in (any cell phone chargers are pulled from the outlets when the car is turned off - we've done that dance before). I am positive that it's not on our end. I've scoured some car forums and from I've noticed, it seems pretty common. But 4 batteries in 5 years???
     
  5. Kaosdad

    Kaosdad Will work for Rum

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    The one thing you left out was: was the battery truly dead, or just completely discharged? Did you get the dead bettery tested? If you just draining the thing over time, you have a bad electrical system - something is not shutting down. If you are truly killing the batery your problems are much larger.
     
  6. mikec

    mikec New Member

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    I like to go to edmunds.com and their forums to look up issues. Here is the link to the Honda Odyssey forum on edmunds. There's a lot of information there so you might have to dig a bit but might find some useful information. Hope it helps.

    http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.eea42d2/
     
  7. tyger31

    tyger31 Member

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    We have a 2001 Odyssey EXL and we JUST replaced the battery last month for only the second time since we got it in 2000. It's got 70,000 miles on it.
     
  8. Pluto

    Pluto New Member

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    do you listen to fm/cd or turn on air condition while waiting in parking lot for a prolonged period?
     
  9. luftinarr

    luftinarr Member

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    I think there's some kind of internal electrical issue. Sears checked the battery and it was fine. 10 minutes later they checked it again and it was dead. Something is draining the battery, but it's not "operator error." There's something more to it. We're not waiting for people and leaving the car on, not using it to listen to music while we're washing it, etc. It's just weird.
     
  10. tyger31

    tyger31 Member

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    Have you taken it to the Honda dealership?
     
  11. luftinarr

    luftinarr Member

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    Just wanted to bump this up again to see if anyone else has issues. Our battery that was replaced (in this post) has died. It won't hold a charge. We couldn't even get the car to jump start so it was towed to a mechanic. Mechanic looked at the car and said there is no other issue for why the battery would drain that drastically. Took the battery back to Sears and again, they checked it and it was dead. Tried to charge it and it wouldn't take a charge. I'm tired of getting new batteries!!!
     
  12. MightyMax

    MightyMax New Member

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    Don't know if people are still watching this thread....

    But I have an 05 Ody (bought in Jan of 05).

    As of today, I am heading to Adv. Auto to get his 4th battery.
    This van just tears up batteries.

    I have a Black and Decker battery charger, and when the batteries fail and I charge them, it comes back with a "Battery Cell is shorted"
    So something in this van causes an internal break down of the battery.....
     
  13. hometheaterguy

    hometheaterguy New Member

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    Electrical gremlins are the most frustrating thing to hunt down in vehicles. You haven't mentioned, but has sears offered to check your charging system? Advanced Auto will check it for free. Perhaps your voltage regulator is no good.

    Another thing you need to do is grab a meter and check the current draw when the vehicle is off. Normal draw should be roughly 30mA, enough to hold clock time and memory. Anything larger means something isn't shutting down. If you see a large draw, start pulling fuses until the draw is gone. If you need instructions for taking in-line current readings I can post instructions.

    If your battery is draining down to 11.5 volts, you probably would still be able to start the vehicle so you wouldn't think there's a problem. But then you'll be overworking your alternator for a couple hours. The alternator/voltage regulator is meant to trickle charge your battery, MAINTAINING 12.5 volts... It isn't meant to constantly RECHARGE your battery. If that's happening every time you run your vehicle, or if you're jump starting a few times every month, you're definitely killing your battery.

    I'm dealing with a similar issue on my Jeep Grand Cherokee. With mine the computer is not going into sleep mode. Imagine your desk top computer never going to sleep mode. If the computer screen stays on all night it will pull much more electricity than if it goes to sleep and shuts down the monitor. It's the same in your vehicle. So with mine, I'm in the process of disconnecting all the sensors that the computer monitors. Common issues are bad DOOR AJAR sensors, if the computer thinks the door is open then it will never go to sleep. It's also possible that the computer itself needs replacing.

    Good luck.
     
  14. pauleyc

    pauleyc Member

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    have your alternator tested (its responsible for maintaining your battery). Also, there is a relay on the AC that kept discharging my battery (Odyssey).
     
  15. MightyMax

    MightyMax New Member

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    I can try those things....and probably will.

    But it doesn't seem to be a matter of something not "shutting" down....

    There seems to be something else within the system that is causing this.

    Because what is happening is an internal short between the cells of the battery.
    So when this happens, I cannot start the van....I can however jump start the van, and it will run fine....until I shut it off. Then it will not start.

    When I came home from work yesterday and began checking the van, I noticed the dome lights were lit.....but only just barely.
    So I thought it was a dead battery...the kids left the lights on.
    But as I mentioned, not the case.....there is an internal short in the battery.

    I have had weird electrical issues with this van since I bought it...
    Like the light for the gear shift doesn't come on....but if I tap the side of the console just right, it will come on.
    Also the light for the 3 buttons next to the gear shift do not come on.....all the others do (so for fan speed, temp, mode, etc...)...
    But if I tap below the environmental panel just right, sometimes I can get it to come on.

    Occasionally when I shutdown the van, and remove the keys, and then open the door, I will get a "beep" or a "ding"....
    But it doesn't happen all the time.

    I just think for my van, something wasn't done right...or most likely some wires have been rubbed bare and they are shorting.....
     
  16. sri_n

    sri_n Member

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    Odyssey 06 owner, have the EX version. I had a battery issue recently, with a relatively new battery. The vehicle was draining overnight, recharges wouldnt hold, battery was in great shape when tested. Each time I got it recharged, I took it to the mechanic to get some diagnosis, but couldnt figure out what was going on.

    When it drained for the 3rd or 4th time, I had the van towed to the mechanic as is, to have it diagnosed, without recharging it first. It turned out that one of the switches in the van (I think it was related to A/C operations) would kick in during driving, and would never shut off even after engine was shut off. And that switch would switch itself off on ignition. Having gotten the van towed with the battery discharged helped them figure it out since it was stuck in the on position, and it did not have an opportunity to switch itself off on ignition. Once that switch was replaced, all has been well.

    The reason I'm posting this is to evidence that one might want to consider that there may be something else going on that is causing the battery issues as a consequence.

    As hometheaterguy mentions - electrical gremlins are, in many cases, not in the most obvious locations.
     
  17. Steve Campot

    Steve Campot Broadlands Real Estate Broker

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    Hello,

    Many newer cars electronics are set up with the intent for them to be locked when not in use. Problems can arise when the car sits in a garage unlocked, the on-board computers keep running, killing or stressing the battery.

    Hope that helps!
     
  18. MightyMax

    MightyMax New Member

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    But the problem I am having is not a battery drain.

    The internal cells of the battery are shorting....that is what my battery charger says when I attempt to recharge the battery (thinking it has drained).

    I do keep my van in the garage....
    So a lot of times (since I have kids), I will just leave the side doors open when they get out......
    Since the next time I use the van, they will most likely be getting in.
     
  19. pauleyc

    pauleyc Member

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    Your battery is just to start the car, its doesn't run on it. The alternator can carry a weak battery which is what is happening after you jump start it, but as soon as you turn the car off .. it won't start b/c your battery is too weak. This seems to indicate that your alternator is fine.

    The reverse is true also, you can drive a car without an alternator ... but only until the battery dies. Think of it as the battery is starting and the alternator is for running (and topping off the battery from the starting).

    I'd look into the AC relay issues more closely if you don't have any obvious 'gremlins'.
     
  20. MightyMax

    MightyMax New Member

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    Correct,
    I am aware of how the charging circuit works....

    That is why I am saying it is not the batter per say.....something else is causing the problem...the battery just happens to be a symptom of the problem.

    I will start looking at the AC Relays, and see if that turns up anything....
    But those console lights around the environmental controls and gear shift really make me wonder.
     

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