New battery required

[JeffL]

I know it's not a Lexus but it is Japanese! and as I don't want to sign-up to a Honda forum, thought I'd ask you friendly guys and girls about a new Battery for my wife's 2005 Honda Jazz 1.4 Petrol CVT. She usually only uses it twice a week for a 4 mile journey to the shops, then back home again. (cheaper to use a taxi, I know, but that's another matter). Due to the low miles the Battery eventually goes flat, so I was charging it every 6 months, more recently every 3 months. This time it's lasted 2 months. Obviously need a new one. Do we buy the standard one for the car or is there a heavy duty one available and would that be a benefit or not?  The handbook says the spec is 12V - 28 AH/5 HR or 12V - 35 AH/20 HR (don't know what the difference is, not mechanically minded myself), but the one we bought 7 years ago, (mileage 12,000), the invoice says H31 500 SAA E02 and 38B19L-MF. The car has now done 20,000 miles. Which type and make of Battery should we buy? Thanks

[cruisermark]

Hi - Cannot help with your question but have you considered one of them solar trickle chargers?

[Malc]

hey, I have a 2006  ........  latest Honda Legend  3.5 SH-AWD  and there's an on-line Honda spares/parts provider that sells Honda parts, batteries included, that are way way cheaper than the main dealer.

Go google search and you will come across it very quickly, name escapes me right now

Malc

[sorcerer]

3 hours ago, JeffL said:

I know it's not a Lexus but it is Japanese! and as I don't want to sign-up to a Honda forum, thought I'd ask you friendly guys and girls about a new battery for my wife's 2005 Honda Jazz 1.4 Petrol CVT. She usually only uses it twice a week for a 4 mile journey to the shops, then back home again. (cheaper to use a taxi, I know, but that's another matter). Due to the low miles the battery eventually goes flat, so I was charging it every 6 months, more recently every 3 months. This time it's lasted 2 months. Obviously need a new one. Do we buy the standard one for the car or is there a heavy duty one available and would that be a benefit or not?  The handbook says the spec is 12V - 28 AH/5 HR or 12V - 35 AH/20 HR (don't know what the difference is, not mechanically minded myself), but the one we bought 7 years ago, (mileage 12,000), the invoice says H31 500 SAA E02 and 38B19L-MF. The car has now done 20,000 miles. Which type and make of battery should we buy? Thanks

You probably know that Honda, like most other car manufacturers, don't make parts like batteries, exhausts, tyres etc., etc. All they do is to buy them in from the people who do make them and probably put on a markup for acting as middleman before selling on to you. You don't need to go to the main dealers for any parts like these, so I suggest you just look for a decent brand of battery like Yuasa, Varta, Bosch or Exide to name just a few, and buy from any motor accessory shop or specialist Battery shop if you have one near you (we have Longton Battery Services near us). You can go in and talk one-to-one to the guys who deal in/with batteries all day, every day and benefit from their knowledge and expertise.

[JeffL]

Thought I might go to Halfords as they have one very near to us. They have their own brand for £70, HB154, AH33, 270 amps, 3 year warranty. Also Yuasa (that John mentioned) for £89, HSB154, AH40, 340 amps, 5 year warranty. The Yuasa apparently has a window set in it which displays the condition of the Battery. Just remembered I got a replacement Battery for my GS300 from Halfords 2 or 3 years ago and it has been fine (Halfords own brand H030). Just have to decide which one £70 or £89. I could buy cheaper online but would rather by locally for convenience if it were to become faulty within the warranty period.

[Britprius]

23 minutes ago, JeffL said:

Thought I might go to Halfords as they have one very near to us. They have their own brand for £70, HB154, AH33, 270 amps, 3 year warranty. Also Yuasa (that John mentioned) for £89, HSB154, AH40, 340 amps, 5 year warranty. The Yuasa apparently has a window set in it which displays the condition of the battery. Just remembered I got a replacement battery for my GS300 from Halfords 2 or 3 years ago and it has been fine (Halfords own brand H030). Just have to decide which one £70 or £89. I could buy cheaper online but would rather by locally for convenience if it were to become faulty within the warranty period.

Jeff as you already realise the problem is the lack of use of the car. Lead acid batteries "those used in cars" are damaged by not being kept fully charged.

No matter what Battery you buy it will die in the same way. The Battery needs to be charged with a trickle charger immediately after each run in the car "unless it's a long run." The best option if the car is parked outside is as has already been stated is a solar panel in the car facing south. This should be rated at at leased 6 watts preferably more, and can be left permanently connected.

A Battery that is only partially charged gets a coating on the cell plates called sulphasion, and this coating reduces the working area of the plates till there is insufficient working area left. The only way to prevent this is to charge the Battery fully, and keep it charged.

A Battery with a higher AH will last longer, but only because it has more storage capacity to start with. It will still suffer if not charged soon after use.

John

[JeffL]

18 hours ago, Britprius said:

Jeff as you already realise the problem is the lack of use of the car. Lead acid batteries "those used in cars" are damaged by not being kept fully charged.

No matter what battery you buy it will die in the same way. The battery needs to be charged with a trickle charger immediately after each run in the car "unless it's a long run." The best option if the car is parked outside is as has already been stated is a solar panel in the car facing south. This should be rated at at leased 6 watts preferably more, and can be left permanently connected.

A battery that is only partially charged gets a coating on the cell plates called sulphasion, and this coating reduces the working area of the plates till there is insufficient working area left. The only way to prevent this is to charge the battery fully, and keep it charged.

A battery with a higher AH will last longer, but only because it has more storage capacity to start with. It will still suffer if not charged soon after use.

John

John.  Something like this?     https://www.amazon.co.uk/AA-Solar-Powered-Car-Battery-Charger/dp/B00AC1LLQY      In the questions and answers section on this product, one person commented 'There is NO on/off switch.. BE AWARE - ALWAYS DISCONNECT BEFORE STARTING CAR... Mine is linked via EOBDII and I blew fuses and my Engine Management Sytem light came on and car went into limp-home-mode'.

 Are there ones that can be permanently connected to the car?

I presume with this type of charger that I would have to find a way of routing the cables through the bulkhead (under the bonnet) into the inside of the car so that the solar panel can then be secured to the top of the dashboard?

Someone has suggested a Battery conditioning float charger (CTEK)?

The Battery I'm considering is the Yuasa HSB154,  AH40, 340 amps from Halfords with a 5 year warranty.

I appreciate what you've said about the new Battery will die in the same way as the old one through lack of use of the car, BUT, the existing Battery was fitted to the car just over 7 1/2 years ago, approximately 8,000 miles ago, so a new Battery fitted now should last for several years without installing a trickle charger, shouldn't it?

Comments and answers to my questions most welcome. Many thanks.

 

[Britprius]

Jeff.

There is no reason why the solar charger cannot be left connected permanently to the car even when starting. The panel shown will only give out about 1/2 amp in good sunlight. 

A plug in charger is better than a solar charger because it charges 24 hours a day where the solar charger only charges in daylight hours, but this should still be sufficient to keep the Battery in good condition.

The problem with plug in chargers is remembering to both connect the charger when parking, and disconnecting before driving off. If you can do this without hassle it is a better way to go. 

A new Battery should last some years, but unless you charge it on a regular basis there will come a time when you go to use the car, and it will not start. The Battery you are considering is suitable for the situation. It's a bit like a water butt. You cannot keep taking water out even if it holds 40 gallons instead of 30. Unless it is refilled it will become empty.

If you still have questions just ask.

John

[JeffL]

44 minutes ago, Britprius said:

Jeff.

There is no reason why the solar charger cannot be left connected permanently to the car even when starting. The panel shown will only give out about 1/2 amp in good sunlight. 

A plug in charger is better than a solar charger because it charges 24 hours a day where the solar charger only charges in daylight hours, but this should still be sufficient to keep the battery in good condition.

The problem with plug in chargers is remembering to both connect the charger when parking, and disconnecting before driving off. If you can do this without hassle it is a better way to go. 

A new battery should last some years, but unless you charge it on a regular basis there will come a time when you go to use the car, and it will not start. The battery you are considering is suitable for the situation. It's a bit like a water butt. You cannot keep taking water out even if it holds 40 gallons instead of 30. Unless it is refilled it will become empty.

If you still have questions just ask.

John

Thanks John. No more questions. What I'm going to do is buy the Yuasa from Halfords and charge it with our existing mains charger every 3 months and hopefully it will last for several years. We'll also try to do a longer trip in it every so often but to be honest I naturally prefer to use my GS300 for longer trips :-). However it has been a good exercise discussing the situation and I feel better informed for it. Thanks to you and all the other forum members who replied. Very much appreciated.

[JeffL]

Bought the Yuasa (Japanese) Battery today from Halfords and got them to fit it and dispose of the old Battery. Really pleasant and polite staff. I was lucky, I arrived when it was quiet, put the car in one of the two fitting bays and all done and paid for in 20 minutes. Result!