Honda CR-V II (2002 - 2006) - 03 2.0 petrol - battery failure ?

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Fri 22 Aug 2008 22:22
03 2.0 petrol - battery failure ? - Woody37
We have had a faultless Honda CRV for 5.5 years.

Two weeks ago my wife got in the car, turned the key and nothing happened; it wouldn't turn over at all. An hour later it started ok.

Two days ago, again it wouldn't turn over. We bump started it (instantly fired up to the relief of the CAT no doubt) and off we went. It started fine the rest of the day but whilst out I bought a new battery at Halfords (£60).

Fitted the new battery this evening and it started fine, but sounded no different turning over to yesterday. I am not convinced it was the battery?

Wife now confesses that two weeks ago she used a pump plugged into the cig lighter to blow up our kids' paddling pool - and left the ignition on 'for a while'.

Any thoughts?

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 23/08/2008 at 00:41

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Sat 23 Aug 2008 10:36
03 2.0 petrol - battery failure ? - Simon
Are you actually sure that it wouldn't turn over because the battery was flat, or it could it be something like an intermittent starter motor fault?

Its a shame your wife didn't confess about the paddling pool/pump before she let you spend £60 on a new battery, whether it is related or not remains to be seen.
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Sat 23 Aug 2008 10:42
03 2.0 petrol - battery failure ? - mfarrow
Sounds to me like Simon says the battery was exhausted by blowing up the paddling pool and just needed a good charge.

We had a Rover 400 which wouldn't start even though it turned over at a normal rate. That too was a low (albeit actually knackered) battery which was delivering enough current for the starter but not at an appropriate voltage for the ignition. So the fact that the new battery turns the engine over at the same rate as the old one could mean nothing.
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Sat 23 Aug 2008 12:27
03 2.0 petrol - battery failure ? - Woody37
Thanks for the replies; I guess only time will tell.

My fear was that the ignition coil had burnt out, but is that still relevant for modern cars?

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Sat 23 Aug 2008 13:40
03 2.0 petrol - battery failure ? - Screwloose

No worries on that score; electronics stay comatose until the crank sensor tells them it's turning.
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Sun 24 Aug 2008 21:55
03 2.0 petrol - battery failure ? - Deskpilot
I can't help regarding the battery, but whenever I use an electric footpump to inflate my CRV tyres, I run the engine at the same time,as quoted in the footpump instructions.

I found this out too late when, in the winter when the pump was in the boot and the weather was cold and I blew the lighter fuse!
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