Janeway Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 Again, husband calls from work and says car won't start. Again, he wants me to drive to his work to jump start him (I know, I know..why the heck won't he have someone else there help him). I tell him have someone else there help him or call roadside assistance. In the end, he gets it going. The car is a Honda Civic and is 15 yrs old. It has about 150-160K miles on it. It has only ever been used for commuting. He says it needed jump starting. The connectors have always had an issue for a long time where something is wrong and they get corrosion on them and have to be cleaned or they stop connecting on the battery. This was an issue years ago. I remember my dad helping him out in 2014. Do you think this is an issue where we need to be thinking something is seriously wrong? How long can this go on? Clearly this can go on for 5+ years. Should I just not worry about it as not like anyone is going to give us much of anything for our car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicentra Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 Could be that the battery is old and leaking and is causing the corrosion. When is the last time you put a new battery in? Vehicles probably need new batteries every 5 years or so (well - in my climate they do, i.e. really cold winters). From a chemistry standpoint, car batteries are like any other rechargeable battery - the alternator recharges the battery while you drive but the recharge is never 100% so, eventually, batteries need to be replaced. Having said that, it could also be a problem with the alternator. Try replacing the battery first and see if that helps. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 10 minutes ago, Dicentra said: Could be that the battery is old and leaking and is causing the corrosion. When is the last time you put a new battery in? Vehicles probably need new batteries every 5 years or so (well - in my climate they do, i.e. really cold winters). From a chemistry standpoint, car batteries are like any other rechargeable battery - the alternator recharges the battery while you drive but the recharge is never 100% so, eventually, batteries need to be replaced. Having said that, it could also be a problem with the alternator. Try replacing the battery first and see if that helps. The battery was replaced twice last year and the alternator was replaced in January. The battery was tested today and was fine. It does not need to be replaced. It was last replaced in August 2018 and before that, just a few months before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicentra Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 18 minutes ago, Janeway said: The battery was replaced twice last year and the alternator was replaced in January. The battery was tested today and was fine. It does not need to be replaced. It was last replaced in August 2018 and before that, just a few months before. Hmmm... Okay - just talked to my dad who was a Class A mechanic for 40+ years (which is why I know a little about cars :)). He says to give the connections to the battery and also the connections on the starter a good cleaning and then coat them with dielectric grease. That should stop further corrosion from happening. If that doesn't work, he also suggested replacing the fuel filter - if the filter is gummed up, the engine won't be getting the right fuel/air ratio and may have trouble starting. If that doesn't work, he suggested having someone look at the timing. He also said it could be an electrical issue - maybe a loose connection somewhere other than at the battery connection. That might cause some fluctuations in voltage in the system and be causing some of the battery issues. Finding a loose connection can be a notorious pain in the hind end, though - it could be ANYWHERE in the electrical system of the vehicle and it's difficult to find and pin down. Hope that helps! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 1 minute ago, Dicentra said: Hmmm... Okay - just talked to my dad who was a Class A mechanic for 40+ years (which is why I know a little about cars :)). He says to give the connections to the battery and also the connections on the starter a good cleaning and then coat them with dielectric grease. That should stop further corrosion from happening. If that doesn't work, he also suggested replacing the fuel filter - if the filter is gummed up, the engine won't be getting the right fuel/air ratio and may have trouble starting. If that doesn't work, he suggested having someone look at the timing. He also said it could be an electrical issue - maybe a loose connection somewhere other than at the battery connection. That might cause some fluctuations in voltage in the system and be causing some of the battery issues. Finding a loose connection can be a notorious pain in the hind end, though - it could be ANYWHERE in the electrical system of the vehicle and it's difficult to find and pin down. Hope that helps! Thank you so much!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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