My Accord wouldn't start yesterday; my battery is one year old.
 

Mom likes to leave me behind just before I am ready. I got to Church right after she did, but walked through the door at the same time that she did. Two hours later, my car wouldn't start. I have had slipping belts on and off for a year. I have adjusted both several times and replaced both when I changed my timing belt last year.

Both are from a dealership.

I figured that it was the alternator belt that was slipping. I grabbed my jumper cables and asked Mom to back up her boat, but someone pulled up with his Accent.

I said that I was hesitant to use a smaller car to jump mine, but he pointed out that I just needed a little help. She started up right away, I thanked him, and put my battery on the charger when I got home. The battery supposedly topped off last night, but I kept it charging all night, just in case.

This morning the alternator belt seemed tight, but the power steering belt was loose. I tightened it, disconnected the charger, and she started right away without any belt squeal.

According to The National Weather Service, while it was around freezing this morning, it was a tropical 61° when I had issues.

I guess that I will have AutoZone check the battery before I drive to the reservation this afternoon (if the family confirms).

My battery has 800 cold-cranking amps...

Batteries do not last that long in Arizona, but my car spends very little time in the bad part. I would expect the cheapest battery last over a year in Phoenix, let alone 800 CCA.

The average high temperature in Show Low in July was 88° .

Here in the south batteries in new vehicles last about 2 years. All the batteries in newer cars in recent memory have just died, no slow to turn over, just like yours park it next time wont start. Suspect under hood temperature biggest destroyer of batteries here.

May want to have the alternator output checked also, can cook or under charge a battery.

How are the electrolyte levels? The lead plates should not be exposed to air at all.

The custodian told me to start the engine and disconnect the negative terminal. If it dies the alternator is bad.
I replaced the alternator on my last Accord!

Wouldn't the negative terminal be required to run the car at all, circuits and all?

A quick Google search says to not follow that recommendations, it can damage the electronics. Everyone on CarTalk seemed to agree and the next search result was a page on Troubleshooters.Com called "Don't Disconnect the Battery with the Engine Running."

Trying that would be simple enough, but if I am already going to AutoZone... :)

A voltmeter would tell you if the alternator is bad.

That reminds me though, check your grounds.

I wonder if I still have the wiring diagram somewhere from when I was chasing the misfires. Checking the grounds was on my list and it still is. It is a good practice.

What is curious is that Mom's battery gets corroded, so I bought a bottle of Walmart's Diet Battery Cleaner. She said "Oh great, each time you clean my battery it dies."

I do not know how many times I have cleaned her battery, but it only died once afterward, and I believe that it was old...

Curious that I cleaned her battery and mine died.

My terminals look clean, though.

If it's dead, why not replace it with a lithium LiFePO4 12V battery and relocate it to the trunk or under your seat?

Loose power steering belt and failing starter, so I needed a jump?
 

Failing starters may require more amps than my battery can provide?

AutoZone said that my battery and alternator were fine, my starter was bad. I never asked about my starter!

This makes it look pretty easy:

Edit! That did not specify the year! Apparently it was for my old Accord, not the current one! This one is my model! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgwHZGhRqU0

1. Remove everything in the way of the starter.
2. Remove the starter.
3. Install the new starter.
4. Replace the other junk.

Did you buy a valucraft or econocraft battery? Those batteries have a nickname by the employees. "Valucrap" is one of them. I would recommend going to napa if you want a nice battery for a good price. If you need a cheap battery I would go to walmart and get a everstart. 2 year warranty and about $20 cheaper than a valucraft.

Just my experience.

How to get quality Chinese parts for cheap Chinese part prices.
 

Since AutoZone checked my stuff I thought that I would go ahead, buy a starter from them, and hopefully fix my car by a reasonable hour. The employee looked left and right, leaned in, and said "Psst! Ya wanna save some dough on a startah?"
"What if I do?"
Suddenly he was wearing a jacket, which he opened, showing an assortment of Chinese knockoff starters.

No, wait, he told me to find a starter with lifetime warranty on RockAuto, and ask them to price match.
"They don't carry the same brands."
"It doesn't matter as long as they have the same warranty."
Napa, AutoZone, and O'Reilly's each sell remanufactured starters for around $150. However, RockAuto sells a Remy starter for $97.59 with shipping, but not tax.
So, he sold me the part for over $50 off.

You just need to remove the battery and battery tray to access the starter. The first bolt is incredibly easy to remove, but you need to move, but not disconnect, the upper radiator hose and disconnect one end of the intake. At just the right angle and just the right light you can see the other bolt. You need a 14mm deep socket on a 3" extension, as well as a great deal of patience to introduce the two, and then it is challenging to keep the ratchet in position and loosen the bolt.

As you can see, I removed the starter:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1572336007

Edit: I posted that on my phone because it made vastly more sense than taking a picture with my webcam and writing with my laptop, but for some reason the virtual keyboard stopped responding. I uploaded and switched to Lappy.

I moved the bracket over, took it off again, and attempted to bend it back into shape. I do not look forward to putting that bolt back, but the whole area is as greasy as the old starter. I want to stuff a rag into the transmission hole, spray liberally with Simple Green or something, and scrub enthusiastically, although I cannot help but feel that I should put my new cookie sheet oil pan underneath first. I also cannot help but feel that I need to determine where that errant vacuum hose is supposed to go.

Wait, does the intake have vacuum hoses?

Could it be that simple?

If the hose is supposed to go back into the intake then that one bolt is my major obstacle. Otherwise this may get quite frustrating.

What are the chances all of that oil is from the distributor that I replaced? Can an oil leak ruin a starter?

Google indicates that it can.