Dead battery

[chiph]

I had the battery in my new-to-me Honda Ridgeline die over the weekend. Always awkward, it was especially so because I was away in Raleigh, going to visit friends.

What did it was I drove over a speed-bump in the Costco parking lot. The VSA warning triangle flashed (ok, I was going a little fast and the wheels might have slipped a bit..), but when I came out the truck refused to unlock with the remote, much less start.

I suspect the bump had knocked one or more of the worn-out lead plates inside the battery loose, leaving their cells able to produce their normal voltage, but not produce enough current to actually run anything.

Being Costco, I knew they sold batteries, so I hiked down to aisle 127 to pick one up. Uh-oh. The battery in the truck was a group 24F, but they were saying their replacement was a group 35. Yes, it was 12 volts and had 550 CCA, but it was physically the wrong size and would have slopped around in the battery tray.

http://www.rtpnet.org/teaa/bcigroup.html

So I called up a friend and he came over and gave me a ride to a local auto-parts store. $94 later and I was back in business.

The battery was the OEM from Honda, and was 3-1/4 years old, so it was right at the minimum length of time I would expect a factory battery to last, especially given all the electronics on the new cars that draw current.

Chip H.

PS. Helps to have had a 10mm wrench in the car.

[Eric]

I had the battery in my new-to-me Honda Ridgeline die over the weekend. Always awkward, it was especially so because I was away in Raleigh, going to visit friends.

What did it was I drove over a speed-bump in the Costco parking lot. The VSA warning triangle flashed (ok, I was going a little fast and the wheels might have slipped a bit..), but when I came out the truck refused to unlock with the remote, much less start.

I suspect the bump had knocked one or more of the worn-out lead plates inside the battery loose, leaving their cells able to produce their normal voltage, but not produce enough current to actually run anything.

Being Costco, I knew they sold batteries, so I hiked down to aisle 127 to pick one up. Uh-oh. The battery in the truck was a group 24F, but they were saying their replacement was a group 35. Yes, it was 12 volts and had 550 CCA, but it was physically the wrong size and would have slopped around in the battery tray.

http://www.rtpnet.org/teaa/bcigroup.html

So I called up a friend and he came over and gave me a ride to a local auto-parts store. $94 later and I was back in business.

The battery was the OEM from Honda, and was 3-1/4 years old, so it was right at the minimum length of time I would expect a factory battery to last, especially given all the electronics on the new cars that draw current.

Chip H.

PS. Helps to have had a 10mm wrench in the car.

You were lucky to have it die on you near a store (and a friend)!

I forget where the battery is located in the Ridgeline; was it was it easy to access/remove?

[chiph]

It's under the hood by the driver's headlight, so not hard at all. Just the usual awkwardness of lifting a heavy object up and over the fender, twice!

Chip H.