# 2008 Honda Civic intermittent starting issues - electrical problem **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [July 12, 2019, 5:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2008-honda-civic-intermittent-starting-issues-electrical-problem/144258 "2019-07-12T17:56:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![limbodog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b38774/32.png) [@limbodog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/limbodog)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 5:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2008-honda-civic-intermittent-starting-issues-electrical-problem/144258/1 "2019-07-12T17:56:57Z")
Hello all, A brief history, as it may be relevant: -I’ve got a 120k mile car with a 50k mile engine thanks to a recall. -I got side-swiped at about 10mph, and since then I notice water droplets in my turn-signal -My plastic (nylon?) undercarriage protector parts that go under the front grill, and driver-side wheel well were ripped off, and then slowly replaced (because dealership backorder) so, again, water may have been where it was not welcome. The issue: A couple months ago I noticed that the starter was occasionally struggling to crank when I started it. This is in temperate weather, nothing extreme. The first couple times, it struggled, but eventually started. So I took it to dealership and asked them to check battery/alternator. They said that if it were an alternator the light would come on with a code, which it did not. So they said to go to their ‘quick service site’ which does oil changes and easy stuff and have them check the battery. I did so. They said battery wasn’t young, but seemed ok. I left with no work done. Next time it happened at a gas station only it didn’t start at all. Seemed like battery nearly dead. Barely cranked on 1st try. Even less so on second try. I didn’t try a third time, I called AAA. They sent a guy, he tested my battery (maybe 3 weeks after previous test) and showed me the readout on his tester which put it a bit into yellow ‘replace soon’ category. I figured I’d just do it now. He put in a new battery and, of course, it started just fine. It was hot that day, and I’d just driven 45 mins with AC on before it failed to start. So now I have a brand new battery. And it happened a couple more times. Started, but seems just barely able to do so. I bought one of those lithium jump starter battery packs, and that seems to have magically solved the problem for a week or so now, but I fear it will come back again. Any ideas? I am wondering if my AC could be drawing way more power than it should be, or perhaps it is preventing the battery from properly charging while running. I am also wondering if water is in something that doesn’t like water and it’s causing a drain. ---
**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2008-honda-civic-intermittent-starting-issues-electrical-problem/144258/2 "2019-07-12T18:24:20Z")
> [@limbodog](#): > > They said that if it were an alternator the light would come on with a code, which it did not. So they said to go to their ‘quick service site’ which does oil changes and easy stuff and have them check the battery. It appears they dismissed the alternator as a cause and no one has ever gone back to check it. This is where I would start. A simple check to see if it is functioning correctly. It could be marginal but not set off a diagnostic light. Why they wouldn’t do a 2 minute test to rule it out is beyond me…