Wow, Jim -- I really appreciate your post. Between you and Tegger, I
am now practically certain that my problem is indeed the battery
rather than the alternator or charging system. You know, I have
finally learned that important lesson about staying away from the
dealers, but only after I bought a battery from Honda (actually, it
was this incident plus a lot of other suspicious stuff). I guess I was
just naive, but I'm a southern boy and come from an area where people
are friendly and honest, and I was able to trust my NC Honda mechanic
for over 20 years. Toronto is a great place, but like any big city it
has its fare share of shifty charlatans and the Honda franchises up
here are full of them (and full of something else as well...). Nice
people work there too, but the shifty ones unfortunately dominate.
Now that I know a bit more about automotive batteries, it will be
interesting to check the date code and compare it against the date on
my original invoice. Since six months is the max. recommended
freshness interval for auto batteries, my guess is that this one may
be older. Either way, it's electrolyte under the bridge at this
juncture and I will move on to bigger and better batteries from
independent sources. Many thanks again for your very helpful
information. - Paul

IIRC,a fully charged lead acid battery is about 13.5 volts.
I'd never buy a battery from the DEALER;who knows how long it's been
sitting on a shelf(nobody buys batteries from the dealer...costs a lot
more.);I bet the plates are sulfated and the battery is no good. It could
even be low on electrolyte!
Like Tegger said;buy a battery from Wal-Mart,save some money and get a
fresher batter too.

BTW,most "maintenance-free" batteries are not really sealed,they have
access caps that can be removed and distilled water added to top off the
cells(and they ALL have to have vents to release the hydrogen gas
generated.) Even "sealed maintenance-free" batteries lose electrolyte over
time and that helps kill the battery even quicker.

Paul <paul@hotmail.com> wrote in news:sqtg03ttotnd619922icd779bq7uf86k8e@
4ax.com:

Have you checked for charging voltage across the battery terminals? At idle
it should be 14.4V.

If the battery is running down even though you have the cables
disconnected, then you truly have a weird problem. I suggest trying the
different manufacturer. Wal-Mart's Eveready batteries are pretty good.

It's NOT weather-related. If anything, Canada's cooler weather helps
contribute to longer battery life.

Greetings To All:

I have a rather mysterious issue with the battery in '92 Accord LX (4
dr. 2.2 liter) which I have been trying to resolve. In a nutshell, the
battery voltage keeps dropping to less than 75 percent (down from 12.6
v freshly charged) to about 12.25 to 12.35 v after only a few hours of
sitting. This voltage drop occurs whether the battery is connected to
the cables or not, and a "probe light test" revealed no hidden drain
such as a trunk or glove box light. I guess my basic question is: do I
need to buy a new battery? I know this may seem obvious, but a
mechanic did a full electrical test on the vehicle a few months ago,
and the only thing he found was that the 10 amp alternator fuse had
corroded terminals. This fuse was replaced, but the alternator itself
tested as good. I just tested the alternator again yesterday with a
Motomaster Elminator unit from Canadian Tire, and it showed operation
at 100 percent. I also charged the battery in the 12 amp mode from
about 12.25 v up to 12.6 v in short order, but it quickly lost voltage
down to 12.35 v within a few hours. Please note that the surface
charge had been dissipated prior to all testing. The battery itself is
a sealed, "maintenance-free" dealership OEM model and is less than a
year old. It is the second new battery (in a row) to run low or bad in
this car within the past three years. If the car sits in the garage
for just a week, the voltage goes down to 11.5 v and of course the car
then has to be jumped in order to start. I am relatively new to
Canada, so I was wondering if part of the problem with short battery
life up here may be weather related. In any event, thanks in advance
for any information or suggestions. - Paul