My car turned off as I was waiting at a stop light

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

Hi I have a quick question about my 2004 Honda Accord, it’s an LX 4 cylinder with 127,000 on the dash but possible a lot more. So I was waiting for a light and my just randomly shut off out of nowhere. So I got out popped my hood and moved my cable terminal wire and when I went back to my car it went back on. But I don’t really think we moving the wire helped, not sure. Maybe it just needed a few moments shut off. But it did go back on when I got back in my car. Now as I may know there could be many reasons this happened, I went to a advanced auto parts store to check my battery and the machine said it shows it needs to be replaced that it’s not giving out even volts or something like that and was it’s possible that it was getting the charge from the alternator earlier which I already delt with that in the past but my car never shut off like this. Actually one time but that was because this crooked mechanic disconnected some wire on my car. But someone fixed hat issued. But do you think my car shut off like that because the battery is pretty much dying? I know that’s what the computer said but could it be something different? It has not shut off again though, but honestly don’t want to move my car again until I figure something out

2

If you can move the battery cable on the battery post, the cable is loose and needs to be tightened.

Tester

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3

I am surprised your battery or alternator light did not come on.

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4

So you think I should just tighten the screws even though the computer said it needs to be changed?

5

Cars do not function correctly if the battery is on the fritz. If testing shows the battery needs to be replaced, common sense says to replace the battery. That’s the first step anyway. Batteries don’t last forever, 3 - 6 years is common battery life, toward the lower end esp in hot climates. Best & safest to have a pro mechanic replace the battery for you, esp if you’re not an experienced diy’er. Suggest to not fiddle around in the engine compartment, moving wires etc, unless/until you’ve learned how to do that sort of investigation, and what to look for. Otherwise could make a simple problem into a very complicated and expensive one.

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