So here is a good one for you. 2005 Honda Civic which has been pretty reliable up to this point. Had all the suggested maintenance services up until the most recent which just passed. Last oil change and inspection: Early November.
Last month:
Went to start up the car and it basically went all blinky with power. But after letting it sit for a minute or two, it started up just fine. This happened three times. On the third time opened up the hood and found corrode on both polls of the battery. Scrubbed and cleaned the posts and connectors. Had the battery tested and it was just fine. After that no problems or occurrences. Only things that lingers in my head is that perhaps the driver door window rolls down slowly (thought the motor was going out and would have to replace soon) and the headlines would slightly dim and waver at times, but not consistently.
Now:
Just got back from vacation and car has been sitting about two weeks. Mostly in weather below freezing, but in a garage. Went to start up the car and the starter would rev but the engine would not turn over. Battery seems to be good still. Jumping did not help either.
Well, if the starter just spins but doesn’t turn the engine over it’s going to need a new starter. You might try banging the starter to see if that’ll get the starter drive to engage the engine
As far as the headlights dimming, there may be a problem with the voltage regulator under the cover on the back of the alternator, or the ECM is failing to control the voltage regulator in the alternator. But most likey the voltage regulator on the alternator.
So an update here. After disbelieving myself that it wasn’t the battery (had tested it twice and both times they said the battery was good), I went ahead and charged the battery for about 20 minutes instead of about 5. Boom. Started right up. Not exactly sure if it was the battery at this point or another problem temporarily fixed itself.
Went ahead and got a new battery as all problems have revolved around it. New battery in. Started right up. Gassed up. Battery going strong. We shall see if it was just a bandaid solution.