Hey any one upgrade the battery from this anemic little power wheels battery? It always sounded kinda weak when I cranked the engine, but I figured that was just the starter sound, but the first day it went to the 20s and the battery would not crank.

Mine has not gone dead yet, but it is showing a real weakness in the past two days of below freezing temps.

Seems that Honda should pony up a new one. I have less than 300 miles on my 'E'

It's a wimply little battery. Soon as mine starts giving me problems, I'm going to get one of those Optima batteries (the kind that looks like a sixpack of beer). The one that fits the Element can handle being discharged without getting damaged.

I had cast a jaundiced eyeball at the Optima battery at our local Discount Auto parts store.
The only thing that's kept it out of my E so far is the $170 price tag!
That, plus some sense that Honda should pick up the tab for an adequate battery.
We are planning a Christmas trip to Cincinnatti in the E, and with their typical winter temperatures, and the fact that the vehicle will be outside for a week, I foresee problems.
Bob

As I am a stones throw from Cinci I can tell you that if my Element is not started for 3 to 4 days in the cold winter days, DEAD it goes. Before this it took 5 to 6 days for it to die.

I expected at least 2 weeks of sitting time. I now have one of those porta jumper/power source and air pump to help me keep it operational!

I managed to leave the back hatch wide open last night, with temperatures in the low 20's and the hatch light on. To my surprise, it started just fine this morning. :)

[quote:114114f404=" "]As I am a stones throw from Cinci I can tell you that if my Element is not started for 3 to 4 days in the cold winter days, DEAD it goes. Before this it took 5 to 6 days for it to die.

I expected at least 2 weeks of sitting time. I now have one of those porta jumper/power source and air pump to help me keep it operational![/quote:114114f404]

Huh. I suspect that either there's something wrong with the electrical system in your Element *or* one of the add-ons (non-OEM alarm or remote start module?) is pulling too much current while the car is off.


The car should be able to sit for weeks and/or months and still start just fine.

Still, I too keep a jumperbox in the storage area always, just in case I do something silly like leave the lights on...

-brendan

I do have an after market remote start and security system, they checked it to make sure it was ok. It does have an extra bright LED that flashes and the electronics that monitor the various sensors.

I do like the remote start and the ability to use a unified control for keyless entry, security system and start.

The gizmo even has a thermometer in the car so that you can see the temp in the car before you get there! Keeps my arthritic hands from suffering too much in the cold.

Is there a simple way to measure the drain on the battery? I suppose I could monitor the voltage, would be nice to measure the actual amps or hopefully milli-amps.

[quote:9a57ca20b8=" "]Is there a simple way to measure the drain on the battery? I suppose I could monitor the voltage, would be nice to measure the actual amps or hopefully milli-amps.[/quote:9a57ca20b8]

Simple? Hmm...

An ammeter between the battery terminal and battery cable would do (one that can handle the # of amps the system would pull with the car off). But there's a bunch of danger there, and you'd have to do things like reset your car radio security and the driver's side window.

You would never want the ammeter in-line while starting the car, unless it was very heavy duty and connected using cables about the same size as the battery cables...

Hmm, I bet some of those clamp on (inductive?) ammeters are used in automotive applications, but I'm not sure if they're sensitive down to the mA level.

I'll take a look around jc whitney.

-brendan

I came out one day and the car was just dead. Got a jump went to the dealership, they replaced the battery no problem. It has been below freezing here in Oklahoma and my sweet E cranks right up :P i am sorry to hear that some of you have problems with your dealers. Mine has been great. A little slow but always willing to fix anything at no charge(Warranty)

>I bet some of those clamp on (inductive?) ammeters are used in automotive applications

You're going to "forehead slap", Brendan...

...the clamp ammeters use inductive coupling, i.e., transformer effect. Direction of magnetic flux has to change to induce a current in the clamp. That means AC.

Oops. :oops:

And no, even with AC these things are intended to measure whole Amps. Measuring milliamp-level loads requires a direct connection.

I don't think we're looking at a milliamp trickle loss issue here. The stock battery is rated at 45 Amp-Hours. It would take a 4- or 5-Amp load to discharge it overnight presuming it was fully-charged. I would be more inclined to think that there might not be enough drive time to recharge after starting, and that we're gradually accumulating a "net loss" to the point where it finally doesn't have enough juice for cranking.

Replacing the battery usually "fixes" it because the new battery has a fresh charge. In all cases where the battery "dies" in a relatively new vehicle, you should have it checked out before just replacing it. The battery may be fine and you might be looking at either too little drive time between starts, or in the very rare case, battery clamp, wiring or alternator problems.

[quote:0075cd4240=" "]>I bet some of those clamp on (inductive?) ammeters are used in automotive applications

You're going to "forehead slap", Brendan...

...the clamp ammeters use inductive coupling, i.e., transformer effect. Direction of magnetic flux has to change to induce a current in the clamp. That means AC.

Oops. :oops: [/quote:0075cd4240]

Yeah, I'd figured as much after posting, never did correct it. :(

-brendan