Hi,

I have a 2003 Accord EX that has so far been running without a hitch (*knock on wood*). Yesterday every time I got out of the car, the alarm started going off some indeterminate amount of time later. I was able to turn the alarm off with the clicker on the key, but then when I went to get back in the car the clicker wouldn't open it and I had to actually turn the key to open the door (gasp! [8D])

I have some suspicion that the clicker battery may be dying because it was intermittently working throughout the day. I used my other key this morning and to the best of my knowledge, the alarm has not gone off (yet...). So I have 2 questions:

1. Would the clicker battery dying cause the alarm to go off for some reason?
2. If this is the problem, how do I go about replacing said battery?
OK so I lied... there's a third question too:
3. If this is *not* the problem, what else might it be?

Thanks a bunch!!

 

Im assuming that you are using stock key w/ remote built in.
Easy way to check the battery is to see if the LED located next to the lock button lights up while pressing it.
If not you battery is dead.
But i dont think a dead battery would set the alarm off. I think there could be an issue with your panic button.
It could be in contact due to humidity or dirt....(maybe [&:] )

 

Correct -- stock key with built in remote. The little LED does come on when I press the buttons. I wish I had thought to check this last night when it wasn't opening the door ... but ... is the LED made to be a low batt indicator? Because it probably takes a lot more juice to transmit a signal than to light a little LED, so the battery could be low but still enough to light the LED?

Can I open it up and get in there and clean it? There's a little screw but it seems it's also glued around the edges and opening it may have a permanent effect. I guess what I'm wondering is if there's a way for me to fix it, or if I have to just buy a new key...

Thanks

 

well the led is not a perfect indicator but nothing is perfect these days.
If you dont trust the LED , next time you try to open the car and it doesnt work move close to the vehicle and try again.
If it opens ,, u found your problem.

About opening it,,, there is a screw like you said, but there is no glue... if i remember it right there are plastic hinges that
need to be taken apart. If you look closely there will be a place on the side where you can stick a small screwdriver and pry
two halfs open.
Oh and if you are already planing on buying a new key ( think its $80) then you might as well try and fix the old one.

best of luck

 

Thanks for the help earlier.

New developments:

I got in my car one day to drive away and it wouldn't start. Didn't even try. I would turn the key and there would be silence. No lights came on either. And it wouldn't jump start. Measured the voltage across the battery terminals and it was <2V. So I bought a new battery and replaced it two days ago, problem solved ...

Until today when I went to get in and once again the clicker wouldn't unlock the doors. And when I tried to start the car, the starter was cranking but the car did not start the first time. The second time, it started fine. I locked with the clicker and a few hours later opened it again with the clicker.

Should I be worried? Should I take it to a dealer for diagnosis? Or wait and see if I kill another battery...? [&:]

Thanks

 

i think you may have a major problem with your electrical system. Something is draining your battery.
Maybe your alarm maybe something else
Id turn off everything in the car ( lights, radio etc..)
Disconnect negative terminal from your battery. You will see arching if anything is draining the system..
Then proceed to take out fuses one at the time until you see no sparking.
Hers a list off all the fuses and their function ... This it for 04 but should be same as 03.
Post back with resoults so we can further diagnose your problem.

 

or mesure valtage for drainage as you are taking fuses out ,, that should save you some time ...
stupid me [&:]

 

Thank you I will try this asap and post back with findings. Can you explain your last comment -- measure battery voltage for drainage? You mean that as the car is running the batt will drain until I take out the right fuse?

Do I need any tools to pull the fuses out or how do they come out?

 

Also any clue which of those fuses disables the alarm?

 

ok here the theory ,,, when you turn your car off your alternator of course is not supplying power therefore anything
that requires power will drain battery. Alarm will drain some but will never drain battery to nill. It could be some kind of light bulb,radio unit etc... So here is how you would check drainage with voltage meter. Have someone remove fuse one by one (engine off) while you are checking battery voltage. If you remove the fuse thats causing the problem voltage meter will jump since there is no more usage.
Fuses are standard ones that you will see in any car ,, they are found under the dash and can be removed without any special tools ( human hand is best of tools )
as for your second question .... really cant say... 6 or 7 maybe