Jumpstart

Hi all,

A few days ago, I had to jumstrat my 1991 Honda Accord because I forgot to
switch off some lights when I parked the car overnight. The battery was
almost completely drained at the time of the jumpstart ( I guess some charge
was still left because the dashboard lights came on dimly and the clock was
showing the correct time).

After the jumstart, I had driven the car around for a couple of hours in an
attempt to recharge the battery. However, since the jumpstrat, I have been
noticing a couple of issues:

1. Sometimes during idling with the (automatic transmission) gear in
parking, the engine rpm keeps going up and down. This rpm fluctuation
usually happens when I return from a short drive in the night. The
fluctuation typically goes away after I switch off the headlights. What does
this mean? Is this because the battery is not getting recharged well? Is it
necessary for me to take the battery to a shop and get it charged
completely, or can I rely on the car alternator to do the recharging slowly
as I drive everyday?

2. The stero is not working. I think that some power is coming into the
stereo because some of the display lights inside the stereo comes on when I
turn the ignition on. But, nothing happens when I try to press the button to
play some music.

I would be grateful for any advice you can give on the above matters. Thank
you.

Fijoy

 

-----------------------

Your ECU needs to be retrained with the "Idle Learn Procedure". You will
solve a couple of your problems by disconnecting your battery for 20
seconds so the radio and ECU can do a clean reboot.

Google "Idle Learn Procedure Honda"

'Curly'

 

if the battery is not accepting charge properly, there is a feedback
loop with the "electronic load detector" where the ecu attempts to
charge the battery by adjusting the idle speed. unsuccessfully. the
best solution is to replace the battery. especially as having flattened
it, there will be internal damage and it's life will now be severely
limited.

 

<snip>

Your battery is damaged from the deep discharge. It was weak to begin with.

Replace the battery. And replace it soon.

Your alternator is not designed to attempt to charge a weak battery.
Continued use of the old battery will damage the alternator.

 

Thanks for all your replies.

Fijoy