what level of draw is alowable on new cars?
I have a 09 Honda fit that has ruined its first battery at 4000 miles. Honda replaced the battery but says I must tricle charge the new one to prevent low or dead baateries. The battery will go dead in as little as 4 days. They can not find the drain.
What kind of answer is that to give a customer?
Did they perform a full (in vehicle) load test on the charging system?
Perhaps the problem is NOT a drain but a poor supply of juice from the alternator.
The alternatror may be new, but that doesn’t make it perfect.
Thanks for the response.
They tested the Car for 24 DAYS ON THREE OCCASIONS
On two occasions it tested with an excess draw.
They used two different testers both had same result.
On the fourth attempt the refused to look at it because they were going to schedule an expert form Honda America. Later they changed their mind about the expert and told me`the draw tested between .014 and .023 within specs. “Just use a trickle charger” they said.
Now is not the time to give up,study the lemon laws of your state, document everything,get American Honda involved, Make the service writer writes on the invoice what the problem is and keep complaining and taking it back. Telling a customer to keep a trickle charger on a 1 year old car is ridiculous, They didn’t give you one with the car did they?
To answer your question, 25 milliamps is about an average draw for most cars I think. Using a charger may be ok as a temporary fix but the dealer needs to fix this since it is a warranty issue.
“On two occasions it tested with an excess draw.” They couldn’t find the cause even when it was staring them in the face?!! It seems like some mechanics are expecting machines to THINK for them! What more would they need?!
The excessive battery drain might be intermittent. You might help there. At periods after you have shut the engine off, go to the car, and look and listen for any lights or sounds. If you see or hear any, tell some mechanic.
Lets get this straight. You have owned other cars and used them in the exact same way as the Fit and never had battery issues? Now Honda is somehow trying to blame you for the battery problem in the Fit?
Major BS