Honda Jazz - smart charge faults

[graybear]

I have a Honda Jazz that I bought new in 2008. It has been pretty good up until now, but for the past 6 weeks or so I've been having a problem with the battery. What happens is that sometimes after car stalls the battery seems to go instantly flat and it won't start up again.

A couple of weeks ago this happened while I was giving a driving lesson (I am a driving instructor) and was very embarrassing for me.

When the AA guy arrived he said that he was experiencing more of these sort of problems with Hondas and said that in his expert opinion, he was also a lecturer in automobile electronics, the fault lay in the smart charging system (or the avalanche diode, as Honda refer to it). He said that the on board computer was not receiving the correct information from the smart charger and was closing down when it should be charging up - hence the instant flat battery. I took the car to my Honda dealer and they ran extensive tests on it before concluding that there was nothing wrong with the battery of the charging system. I wasn't entirely surprised by this as the AA guy had told me that was what they would say.

They said there was nothing wrong with the car, but it has since happened again - so there must be.

Any suggestions as to what the problem could be and where I stand legally if the car cannot be relied upon to do the job for which it was purchased would be welcome.

[Conniff]

I know this isn't the way it should be, but in the absence or failure of a diagnosis, I would pop into Halfords and get me a battery guage. You don't have to fit it permanently (unless you want to), just run a couple of wires and tape it to the top of the dash.

 

Autogauge Voltmeter With 7 Colour Display from Halfords Price £24.99

 

This way you will have an indication when it happens again of exactly what is happening and if the charge does in fact drop off and can talk to the dealer with knowledge.

[Conniff]

Any news for us graybear?

 

Just having another read through your post, if you bought it new in 2008, it must still be covered by a warranty, so if the dealer can't find the problem, take it to an autoelectricion for diagnosis and give the bill to the dealer.