2007 SE won't cold start but AutoZone said battery is good...?
#1
02-05-2023, 03:41 PM
2007 SE won't cold start but AutoZone said battery is good...?
2007 SE, 195K mi
Video/Audio of Car Not Starting
Car wouldn't start this cold morning. No lights, no sounds, nothing happened when I tried to crank the engine. No clicking sounds, no lights came on when I opened the door.
I removed the battery and took it to AutoZone. Left it there for 30 minutes and they said they were able to fully charge it after 30 minutes and their tester said the battery was good.
Came back home, put in the battery, still no action.
I brushed off the terminals, tightened the terminals as much as I possibly could, scrubbed off a little corrosion from the part of the positive cable that was somewhat exposed (though, there still seems to be some corrosion in the cable. But I'm not sure it's enough for the battery to not power the car... but you would have to tell me... see here).
I've gotten some suggestions to check the fuses but according to this fuse diagram for Honda Accords, there is no fuse for the battery (scroll down to "2007 section). Or should I be considering another fuse that's involved with powering the car...? Again, you'd have to tell me!
I have a multimeter coming in the mail now so I can start properly testing things...
Could I be dealing w/ a bad starter? Alternator? Or is it likely a bad battery? If I do find out out that it was a bad battery, how on earth did AutoZone equipment charge and test my battery but still give a false reading?
Thanks for reading this and responding!!
UPDATE: multimeter arrived. If I'm using this correctly, this video is showing that the battery has .53 volts... Either AutoZone attempted (or lied about) the battery charge and it still needs charging or they did charge the battery but the battery is still no good... In the meantime, I'm going to use my to see if the battery will charge overnight...
UPDATE 2: someone said I've likely been testing with the multimeter incorrectly b/c a ".53" battery charge makes no sense whatsoever... Anyway, I've got the battery on my portable charger. Will check it in the morning. In the meantime, I'm looking into the engine fuse box. I want to pull out the main fuse to inspect it but the screws holding it in are stripped... I have a screw extracting kit but I'm hesitant to use it...
UPDATE 3: Battery still isn't working this morning and I'm still not sure if I'm using this multimeter to measure the charge correctly. I also inspected the main fuse up close and it's not blown. I need to watch this YouTube video to make sure I'm using this multimeter correctly... But it all seems to come down to this battery and whether its good or not but I'll keep trouble-shooting.
Video/Audio of Car Not Starting
Car wouldn't start this cold morning. No lights, no sounds, nothing happened when I tried to crank the engine. No clicking sounds, no lights came on when I opened the door.
I removed the battery and took it to AutoZone. Left it there for 30 minutes and they said they were able to fully charge it after 30 minutes and their tester said the battery was good.
Came back home, put in the battery, still no action.
I brushed off the terminals, tightened the terminals as much as I possibly could, scrubbed off a little corrosion from the part of the positive cable that was somewhat exposed (though, there still seems to be some corrosion in the cable. But I'm not sure it's enough for the battery to not power the car... but you would have to tell me... see here).
I've gotten some suggestions to check the fuses but according to this fuse diagram for Honda Accords, there is no fuse for the battery (scroll down to "2007 section). Or should I be considering another fuse that's involved with powering the car...? Again, you'd have to tell me!
I have a multimeter coming in the mail now so I can start properly testing things...
Could I be dealing w/ a bad starter? Alternator? Or is it likely a bad battery? If I do find out out that it was a bad battery, how on earth did AutoZone equipment charge and test my battery but still give a false reading?
Thanks for reading this and responding!!
UPDATE: multimeter arrived. If I'm using this correctly, this video is showing that the battery has .53 volts... Either AutoZone attempted (or lied about) the battery charge and it still needs charging or they did charge the battery but the battery is still no good... In the meantime, I'm going to use my to see if the battery will charge overnight...
UPDATE 2: someone said I've likely been testing with the multimeter incorrectly b/c a ".53" battery charge makes no sense whatsoever... Anyway, I've got the battery on my portable charger. Will check it in the morning. In the meantime, I'm looking into the engine fuse box. I want to pull out the main fuse to inspect it but the screws holding it in are stripped... I have a screw extracting kit but I'm hesitant to use it...
UPDATE 3: Battery still isn't working this morning and I'm still not sure if I'm using this multimeter to measure the charge correctly. I also inspected the main fuse up close and it's not blown. I need to watch this YouTube video to make sure I'm using this multimeter correctly... But it all seems to come down to this battery and whether its good or not but I'll keep trouble-shooting.
Last edited by majesticoj; 02-06-2023 at 10:53 AM. Reason: updage
#2
02-05-2023, 07:44 PM
Try the multimeter on the two leads from the charger to verify your multimeter is working/set properly.
Corrosion is difficult to determine by visual inspection. You can try a voltage drop test. It is really simple. Connect the volt meter to both ends of any wire, try cranking the engine to run current through the wire you are testing. A good wire will have almost zero voltage. A corroded wire will have resistance and give you a voltage reading. You may need an assistant or some extension wires so you can see the volt meter while you are turning the key inside the car. There are many youtube videos on how to do this.
The big fuse in your fuse box (most likely 100A or 50A, can't remember) will be the main battery fuse. It will be the largest amp fuse in your fuse box.
Corrosion is difficult to determine by visual inspection. You can try a voltage drop test. It is really simple. Connect the volt meter to both ends of any wire, try cranking the engine to run current through the wire you are testing. A good wire will have almost zero voltage. A corroded wire will have resistance and give you a voltage reading. You may need an assistant or some extension wires so you can see the volt meter while you are turning the key inside the car. There are many youtube videos on how to do this.
The big fuse in your fuse box (most likely 100A or 50A, can't remember) will be the main battery fuse. It will be the largest amp fuse in your fuse box.
#3
02-05-2023, 08:49 PM
Try the multimeter on the two leads from the charger to verify your multimeter is working/set properly.
Corrosion is difficult to determine by visual inspection. You can try a voltage drop test. It is really simple. Connect the volt meter to both ends of any wire, try cranking the engine to run current through the wire you are testing. A good wire will have almost zero voltage. A corroded wire will have resistance and give you a voltage reading. You may need an assistant or some extension wires so you can see the volt meter while you are turning the key inside the car. There are many youtube videos on how to do this.
The big fuse in your fuse box (most likely 100A or 50A, can't remember) will be the main battery fuse. It will be the largest amp fuse in your fuse box.
Corrosion is difficult to determine by visual inspection. You can try a voltage drop test. It is really simple. Connect the volt meter to both ends of any wire, try cranking the engine to run current through the wire you are testing. A good wire will have almost zero voltage. A corroded wire will have resistance and give you a voltage reading. You may need an assistant or some extension wires so you can see the volt meter while you are turning the key inside the car. There are many youtube videos on how to do this.
The big fuse in your fuse box (most likely 100A or 50A, can't remember) will be the main battery fuse. It will be the largest amp fuse in your fuse box.
#4
02-05-2023, 09:33 PM
Try the multimeter on the two leads from the charger to verify your multimeter is working/set properly.
Corrosion is difficult to determine by visual inspection. You can try a voltage drop test. It is really simple. Connect the volt meter to both ends of any wire, try cranking the engine to run current through the wire you are testing. A good wire will have almost zero voltage. A corroded wire will have resistance and give you a voltage reading. You may need an assistant or some extension wires so you can see the volt meter while you are turning the key inside the car. There are many youtube videos on how to do this.
The big fuse in your fuse box (most likely 100A or 50A, can't remember) will be the main battery fuse. It will be the largest amp fuse in your fuse box.
Corrosion is difficult to determine by visual inspection. You can try a voltage drop test. It is really simple. Connect the volt meter to both ends of any wire, try cranking the engine to run current through the wire you are testing. A good wire will have almost zero voltage. A corroded wire will have resistance and give you a voltage reading. You may need an assistant or some extension wires so you can see the volt meter while you are turning the key inside the car. There are many youtube videos on how to do this.
The big fuse in your fuse box (most likely 100A or 50A, can't remember) will be the main battery fuse. It will be the largest amp fuse in your fuse box.
#5
02-05-2023, 09:56 PM
The easiest way is to test for power at the smaller fuses. You can do this without removing the small fuses. Search youtube for quick way to test car fuses. Good video.
If any of the fuses have 12V, then the big fuse is not blown. The only way to blow the big fuse that I've seen on here is to accidentally hook up the car battery backwards.
If any of the fuses have 12V, then the big fuse is not blown. The only way to blow the big fuse that I've seen on here is to accidentally hook up the car battery backwards.
#6
02-05-2023, 10:19 PM
UPDATE 2: someone said I've likely been testing with the multimeter incorrectly b/c a ".53" battery charge makes no sense whatsoever... Anyway, I've got the battery on my portable charger. Will check it in the morning. In the meantime, I'm looking into the engine fuse box. I want to pull out the main fuse to inspect it but the screws holding it in are stripped... I have a screw extracting kit that has bits you would normally use on a power screw driver but I'm hesitant to use it...
#7
02-06-2023, 12:01 AM
I'd leave the main fuse alone for now. You can easily test the smaller fuses for power. If the big fuse is blown, none of the smaller fuses will have power, because the big fuse protects them.
#9
02-06-2023, 10:55 AM
UPDATE 3: Battery still isn't working this morning and I'm still not sure if I'm using this multimeter to measure the charge correctly. I also inspected the main fuse up close and it's not blown. I need to watch this YouTube video to make sure I'm using this multimeter correctly... But it all seems to come down to this battery and whether its good or not but I'll keep trouble-shooting and researching.
#10
02-06-2023, 05:59 PM
Final update: it was the battery after all. Bought a new one and the car is running fine. Thanks again!!
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