Honda Car Forum

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. :-)

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?

--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

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.