OV9

2007 Honda Civic 2.2 is suffering from a premature battery drain. Current battery went on about 3 months ago, and it’s now completely dead. Some googling suggests that this is a common problem and is usually caused by a circuit somewhere staying live (or something) even though it appears that electrics are off.

A multimeter looks to be a cheap purchase, and apparently the Civic’s fuses can be checked without having to remove them. My question is, is it a simple case of buying said device, finding out what the normal usage is for each circuit, and simply removing the fuse that’s using too much juice?

Being honest, I'm not very handy when it comes to things like this, but want to give it a try rather than just paying someone else to fix it.

Cheers!

Well that is a very confusing way to start a post! I’m assuming it’s the Honda you’re talking about not the BMw you start the post with!

Missed a word out. Edited.

Couple of videos on the subject:

Eric The Car Guy


South Main Auto


(both are good mechanical/diag channels)

I have a similar issue on the 330, and I had those two in tabs for when I had time to look into it in more detail

Can't help with the multimeter part, but when my similar age Civic did the same it was the Bluetooth unit they was causing the drain, if you want somewhere to start.

Open all doors, boot and bonnet so you have access to all fuse boxes. Close all the latches so the car thinks all openings are closed then lock it. Disable the alarm if required.

You need to try find which modules are staying alive, but you also don't know what the quiescent drain should be, probably not more than 40ma when all the modules have shut down, after about 30 minutes from the car been locked.

An amp clamp should show you what drain is been taken, you can use your multimeter if its rated for decent amperage incase you accidently wake the car back up.



May be of help, I didn't watch it though just a quick google.

Has it got any aftermarket bits, parrot, towbar, parking sensors etc?

Check the boot light. Make sure it goes off when closed.

Simon wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 2:17 pm Check the boot light. Make sure it goes off when closed.

This is where I think my problem is, apparently E46 Cis have a habit of chafing through the insulation and shorting out - lighting up the boot lamp, and draining the battery.

Also replace boot lamps with LED versions.

This has saved me from returning to a flat battery at least 2x

Beany wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 2:21 pm

Simon wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 2:17 pm Check the boot light. Make sure it goes off when closed.

This is where I think my problem is, apparently E46 Cis have a habit of chafing through the insulation and shorting out - lighting up the boot lamp, and draining the battery.

Just open the boot and close the latch, 10 second test!

16vCento wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 2:38 pm

Beany wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 2:21 pm

Simon wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 2:17 pm Check the boot light. Make sure it goes off when closed.

This is where I think my problem is, apparently E46 Cis have a habit of chafing through the insulation and shorting out - lighting up the boot lamp, and draining the battery.

Just open the boot and close the latch, 10 second test!

Unless it's intermittent, which it is, which means stripping the boot liner out to check it. Just not had time as yet (I had this thought middle of last week, but was working all weekend....)

Climb in the boot and close the boot. Make sure someone is outside to let you out again, unless you fancy an asphixiwank.

Simon wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 3:20 pm Climb in the boot and close the boot. Make sure someone is outside to let you out again, unless you fancy an asphixiwank.

...no?

Thanks all. Very useful.

The car does not have Bluetooth or a Parrot etc, but it does have dealer fitted parking sensors and a dashcam. The dashcam has been plugged in 24/7, but the lead to it has a little LED light that goes off when the engine's off. So I don't *think* it's that.

Good shout about the boot light. I've seen that mentioned a few times on Civic forums.

I'm going to get a multimeter, watch the videos and see if I can track it down without any disasters..

Cheers

Stick your phone in the boot recording video. Close and open boot - dead easy to see if the light is working correctly or not, without going all Goodfellas.

mik wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 3:42 pm Stick your phone in the boot recording video. Close and open boot - dead easy to see if the light is working correctly or not, without going all Goodfellas.

Also means you don't have to accept that you can't fit in the boot of your car because you're too much of a fat fuck, and look like a stranded sea lion as you try to get out.

I’m not sure I could even fit Kylie into the boot of the Evora. Even with the Chloroform doing its job....