As for the hybrid powertrain, Honda has done a very credible job of minimizing the impact of the various transitions to perceptual white noise. It operates with all of the smoothness inherent in the normal VTEC V-6, but always stands ready to kick in with a quick measure of added enthusiasm when called upon for a prompt passing maneuver.

 

So any clues on jump starting these? My alarm sets off as soon as the jumpers hit the terminals.

I do have a dealer installed remote starter but why should this Japanese marvel drain dead in 8 days? Problems with all my Jap cars since 1988...

 

Ok, jumped it and ran it about 1.5 miles and the alarm settled down.

Can I toss a charger on this car the same as any other car?

 

My guess, is your regular, not the hybrid need to be replaced ASAP. I had a simular problem without the alarming. I replaced my 12v battery earlier this year and havent had a problem since. I have no clue why the alarm would be set off with just jumping the battery. By reading all of the replies I get the hint that these batteries Honda used were probably the same and like mine they either had a bad cell or were junk. My problem was that the battery would go dead once when I accidentally left my keys in the ignition. I had fixed it so the lights were automatically turned on when I started and the go out when I removed them but since I hadnt they must of remained on. Therefore the battery went dead, thas my guess. I bought this car used and sot of wished I hadnt. This car rides rough and in the winter the wind blows me around like Im a leaf. They should have not put a aluminum hood on it whatsoever. Its very prone to rock chip gouges. I probably need to install new shocks but not really sure what would make it ride better and keep my gas mileage.

 

I think the springs are a decent stiffness for me and it's a stiff structure. Perhaps a progressively wound spring and a shock with more rebound damping would help you out.

These cars are easy to make handle quite well I think even with the video game steering feel.

 

The battery on my 2005 HCH dies periodically. It is NOT a slow drain, but will die doornail dead overnight without warning and with no apparent cause. The first time this happened, my wife was driving home from work and all the warning system lights on dashboard came on just before she got home. She forgot to tell me about it and the next morning, battery was dead. This was the original battery and it was a little more than 4 years old, so I replaced the battery. Two months later, the battery died completely while parked in our garage overnight. I re-charged the battery on slow charge and everything is working fine. There has got to be something electronically that is shorting in order to cause this drain so rapidly, but then does not reoccur once battery is re-charged. Does anyone have any ideas? This is more than a little unnerving having this vehicle sitting in the garage at night with an obvious threat of an electrical fire.

 

Hello Quist1, I'm new at this, but here goes. Your original post was a year ago. Have you arrived at a solution to the dead battery problem? Our 2005 Accord hybrid aux. battery dies during cold weather. Dealer looked at it and said the problem could be poor connection of the positive cable, so they would happily sell us a new one and install it. Instead I found a cheap solution which I won't describe. This doesn't get at the heart of the problem--why is the battery going dead? If you've found a cause I'd really like to know what it was. Thanks!

 

My car is actually a 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid and not an Accord. However, I am betting the much, if not all, the electronics are very similar on the two. My starting (12 v) battery was draining periodically with the intervals between occurrences becoming shorter and shorter. I took the car to the Honda dealer several times when the problem occurred. At first visit, they said they did not have a clue, second time said to replace the battery again (I did not since I had just replaced it and it held a charge fine), and then said the ABS modulator value was bad ($1,000.00 for parts plus labor to install). I told them thank you, but no thank you since I was not convinced that was the problem. I finally discovered the air conditioner compressor electromagnetic clutch was remaining engaged when the car was shut off, thus creating an amperage drain on the battery. The dealer tech was not convinced that was the problem and still wanted to replace the ABS modulator valve. The problem, it appears, was the air conditioner compressor clutch relay sticking. I ordered and replaced the relay myself and have not encountered the problem for approximately 3-1/2 weeks. The problem had gotten to where it was happening on a daily basis, so, with fingers crossed, I think the problem has been solved.

In reading the many entries at this site as well as others, my guess is that I as well as others have replaced starting batteries that were not faulty. Granted, electrical problems can cause you to pull your hair out, especially if they occur intermittently. This sticking relay was exactly that kind of problem. It was unpredictable and occurred at irregular intervals. Fortunately, it had remained stuck when the battery ran down and when I connected the charger, I heard the a/c clutch activate and snap engaged which should not have occurred with everything in the off position.

My advice to anyone experiencing this type of intermittent battery drain to check for relays that may be sticking in the engaged position thus keeping power supplied to the function even though the key is in the off position.

 

Thanks shutchinson48. Seems logical that if I just remember to turn off the air before shutting down the Accord, I will soon find out if this was the cause. Make sense?

 

Philgreen:

Even if you have the a/c on when you shut the engine down, the a/c compressor clutch should disengage since turning the key off will kill the power source of the a/c clutch. As long as your key switch is in the off position, the a/c compressor clutch should remain in the disengaged position. However, if the relay that supplies power to the clutch sticks in the "on" position, it will remain on regardless if the key switch is in the "on" or "off" position. With the key "off", if you hear a "click" as you connect the battery cables back to the battery post, you have a problem. There should not be any amperage draw with the key in the off position. If there is, you battery is going to be drawn down.

I hope you find you problem. I would be very interested to know if you have a similar problem to what I experienced. Please post results...