My needs a jump daily to start it

MCSWEETS83

MEMBER
1989 HONDA ACCORD
AUTOMATIC
180,000 MILES

It was not driven often so I noticed that I should start the car every couple days just to keep the battery going and everything good with the car. I recently got all the lights fixed in the car. After that it has needed a jump every single morning. Now it is not even making the sound that it use to when trying to start the car and now my lights are not even coming on. Once I do get a jump-then my car runs great, as long as there are not several hours in between driving it, it starts just fine. I am not car savvy in the least bit and I am in desperate need of help. I have no one that can jump it in the neighborhood it is parked in. Please help!
Thank you for your time!
Marie

1 Reply

WRENCHTECH

MECHANIC
20,761 POSTS

The first step would be to have your battery tested to determine if it is even capable of holding a charge. The most likely cause is just a bad battery. If you determine the battery to healthy, then you would have to test for a parasitic draw on the system when parked.

There is a procedure for finding a battery draw like that.

You will need a digital ammeter and a jumper wire with clips on the ends to do this.
First rig any door switches so you can have a door open without triggering the interior lights and unplug the hood light. Remove one battery cable and attach the meter in series between the battery cable and battery post. Take the jumper wire and also attach it the same way. Leave the jumper wire on for at least thirty to forty minutes to expire all the automatic timers. Now remove the jumper wire and read the meter. Anything over 50 ma is too much draw. The way you locate this is to start removing fuses one at a time until the meter drops to normal level. This will be the circuit with something staying on. Determine what components are part of that circuit and check them individually until the problem is isolated.