Check Charge System-Honda?

2016 HONDA FIT
1.5L • AUTOMATIC
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MORIO
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I drove home in my Honda Fit Sunday evening. It has 143k miles and drove 43 miles home, my commuter vehicle. Come Monday morning the car would not start. I have a battery scanner, it told me the battery was operating at 30% capacity but was still holding a charge at 12+ volts. All electrical components seemed to turn on. When turning the key, the starter would not respond. I drove my gas guzzler to work that morning. I attempted to start the Honda Fit again in the afternoon and this time the starter responded but the engine would not turn over. Dash error reads “check charge system”.
I bought a new battery and cleaned both the positive and negative terminal connectors. Same issue. I checked all fuses, in the engine bay and under the steering wheel, all were good. I replaced the negative battery terminal sensor(used) but no change, same error. I replaced the negative wiring terminal and cleaned the grounding point to the car with a wire brush, no change. I verified the positive terminal was getting power with the key turned to the on position. The fit has 3 large fuses on the positive terminal, seemed to be working fine without and visible damage. Multimeter stated voltage was fine. Car will not shift out of park. I gave up and had the car towed to a shop.
They tested the alternator and starter, both are getting the correct voltage from what I’ve been told. The car has been in the shop about a week and the mechanics have yet to find the issues.
My next step would be to have it towed straight to Honda and give up my kidney to pay for the repair costs. Does anyone have experience with this issue?
Aug 14, 2026 at 1:58 PM
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KRAKENAUTO
  • Experienced Mechanic
  • 73 POSTS
Did the shop retrieve any codes? They should have scanned for Honda OEM "B" and "U" Codes: Ask if they scanned all modules (PCM, BCM, Meter) for communication errors.

If those all show good, then I'd look at the starter. Starters on this generation are notorious for internal brush and solenoid degradation around the 100k+ mark.

Severe voltage drop can cause the PCM to reset, locking out the shift-lock solenoid, and throw the "Check Charge System" warning because communication across the LIN bus drops.

Even if the shop tested the starter bench/static voltage, if the starter solenoid is failing under load or binding mechanically, it will cause this exact electronic freeze.
Aug 14, 2026 at 9:52 PM
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MORIO
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Thank you for the info KrakenAuto. The shop called me today and informed me they are not seeing any data coming from the PCM. They suggested i have the vehicle towed to the dealership. I think I will have the shop replace the starter since I believe that was the root cause of all this. Let me know if you have any other recommendations before having the vehicle towed to the dealer to resolve the PCM issue. Thank you again!
Aug 15, 2026 at 10:21 AM
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STRAILER
  • Experienced Mechanic
  • 55,214 POSTS
Yep, I have seen a bad starter cause this issue. But, I would make sure the engine turns over by hand as well, if the engine is locked up it will cause the voltage to go low when cranking, here is a video to help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN42gZN6gOE&t

Let me know please.
Aug 19, 2026 at 6:19 AM
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