lol.. Okay.. so it seems the battery on my wife's '06 Honda Civic decided to die.. it's not a Ford, but bear with me here.. I thought Honda was supposed to make some reliable stuff? the car is only 3 years old.. seems a bit quick for a dead battery, then again, we only drive it 2-3 times a week, and it only has about 25,000 miles..

anywho, I've pretty much narrowed it down to being the battery.. the car wont start, lights/radio dont turn on.. heck, the car won't even unlock with the key fob. So what do I do next? Is replacing a battery something I can do without killing myself? I checked the terminals, and everything looks okay.. no corrosion or anything. How much do batteries cost nowadays?

 

I just bought a optima red top from costco today for $129. there are cheaper alternatives but i finally got me one that i wanted.

 

ugh.. $129 for a car battery? lol.. geez..

anywho.. how hard is it to replace a battery on my own? I don't want to get fried, so what do I need to do? How do I know what kind of battery will go in my car?

 

I just got a yellow top for $180. I probably could have found it cheaper ordering it online but I needed it ASAP to get my truck running again. A direct replacement shouldn't be much, though. Call the parts store and have them run it through the computer. Should be a quick swap. Probably run you anywhere from $40-60. Just disconnect the negative cable then the positive. Unbolt whatever is holding the battery down and remove and reverse order.

 

Simply disconnect the terminals, disconnect the battery bracket (9mm?) take old battery out---put in new battery, tighten battery bracket, reconnect terminals. do not touch + and - at the same time...

AS for a battery, my truck sat for two months last year after I had double knee rpeplacment surgery---the battery was close tobeing shot anyway---i wentand got a DieHard from Sears...$100.

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Dude seriously, With the kind of coin you got in your truck i would think that a measley buck twenty would be the last thing on your mind but that could be another mod! as far as a honda battery you can get a decent one for around $40-$80 and install is a breezeBTW if your asking how to change a battery who did all the work on your truck? I thought you did the work.

 

lol.. I was kinda being sarcastic as far as the price.. I'm just suprised it died so soon.. I'm assuming because it's not driven enough, or long enough, that it doesn't get a good charge..

I left most of the heavy duty work to the pros.. I have a friend who manages one of the local discount tires that bolted on the lift and stuff.. only work I've done myself is bolting on the air intake, roush grille, and decals and etc.. plus spray paint a few other things.. I don't even change my own oil..

anywho, thanks for the info guys..!

 

Umm, that would be 5 times longer than my Ford batteries last. My last two F150's both can't keep a battery longer than 6 months. Stock trucks, one was an 05, the other is an 08.

 

Wow--that is an issue---that isn't right---I just put a battery in my '03 Taurus---almost 6 years

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Before you run out and possibly waste money on a battery, put some jumper cables on it. Don't try to start it, just see if the lights will come on. I suspect they won't. Honda has a inline fusible link on the battery and if it blows, the entire electrical system is dead....which is what you have. It still could be the battery but I'd try that first. FWIW, I buy Walmarts best batteries and normally they don't last as long as the warranty. I haven't bought a battery in decades because Walmart keeps replacing batteries for me. It's been by far the best investment I've ever made.

 

hmm.. that's the first I've heard of that.. what should I go about doing if the lights turn on with jumper cables? Is there a way to fix/replace the fusable link you speak of, or do I still have to buy a battery either way?

I really think the battery may just be dead.. the car has had a couple of rough starts in the past couple weeks from what I've noticed.. the lights on the dash flickered and the car hesitated to start.. then again.. there might be some other underlying issues..

 

Z get yourself a yellow top if you need to replace it, the thing is indestructable and has a ton of crank.
Make sure you get it from Costco too, in the off chance you get a lemon, you'll always have a no BS return policy.

 

Costco is great with there return policy as i just bought a Red Top today from there and their yellow tops where just a little too much for me. Red Top $129 with core $119, Yellow Top's were $174 W/core $164

 

My buddy's '06 Civic battery died this past summer. He called AAA, and they ripped him a new one at $159 for an Interstate battery.

Seems like manufacturer batteries are cheaply made or something.

 

Just take the battery out and take it to an Adavanced Auto or AUtozone and have them test it. If it's really dead they'll put it on a charger for an hour or so and then test the battery for you free of charge. Then you'll know for sure if it's bad or not.