Tegger wrote:
> gmccx <noone@notvalid.com> wrote in
> news:xcmhm.66972$0z7.49289@newsfe07.iad:
>
>> Around 3 times during the last 3 or so months, I have gotten in my car
>> to find the clock and radio had lost their settings, as though the
>> power had been off. It happened once overnight with the car in my
>> garage and once during the day with the car parked outside at work.
>>
>> It happened two more times within the last few days, but in these two
>> cases everything seemed fine until I hit the starter, then total power
>> failure.
>>
>> When it happened today, I popped the hood latch and got out of the car
>> to just have a look, with the ignition turned on. When I closed the
>> door after getting out, the vibration of the door closing turned
>> everything back on... I started the car and drove to work.
>>
>> Battery posts and terminals are pristine and tight, so it is
>> apparently somewhere else.
>>
>> Are there any known problem spots like this for older Hondas? The car
>> has about 70K miles on it, but of course is older in years than miles.
>> :-)
>>
> Have you actually checked the battery's voltage?
>
> Have you removed the bettery terminals and cleaned them?

Yes to both questions. But I may have found the problem this afternoon.
Although the battery clamps were tight, the + terminal clamp was being
prevented from seating all the way down on the post by a plastic shield
sort of thing that was around the + terminal and extends down the motor
side of the battery. The shield thing is still there, but I cut away the
plastic around the terminal to allow the clamp to fully seat. Before
doing this, I could actually rotate the clamp on the post even when
fully tight. Can't now. Of course only time will tell if this was the
actual problem.