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.

Rockauto collected tax on a purchase last week. Maybe it varies by state?

It may. RockAuto would have charged me tax, but so did AutoZone, and I didn't need to wait a week for my part.

Someone on reddit suggested that it was a transmission\crankcase breather hose. Google showed me a picture much like mine, so I guess that I can bolt in the new starter with confidence!

I mix up where I get stuff from, CV axle for a the 11 Rogue 2 weeks ago I got at autozone, pads last week rockauto, same brand $20 less including shipping. CV paid little more but much easier to take back if I have to, didn't know they do price matching.

I’m four years into my current battery for the 06’ V6 Accord living in Hotlanta! It seems close to end of life, but I just did a little tune up on it, which should help extend useful life. Here is my engine blanket setup, it helps shield the battery from the heat. Next battery I’m going to shim with foam to brace it from vibration as well. If I can find some cell covers with remote gas venting, that would be a further bonus. The positive cable frequently grows some corrosion.
https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...0&d=1572386351


Thanks for reminding me! I kept meaning to do this. Just checked and the first cell closest to the positive terminal was just high enough to keep the plates covered, but all other cells appeared to have the correct level. I also discovered that my negative cable was loose. The car was taking longer to start than usual, this little tune up should really help. Hoping for 5 years!

The last batteries in my personal cars have lasted 5 years. One would have gone longer if not for the breaking the terminal when removing the clamp to clean. I also check that the plates are covered. All the early failures have been in company vehicles.

I installed the new starter before work this morning. I want to track down an Eric the Car Guy video where he showed a tool that looked like an oversized ruler. You attach a socket on one end and the wrench on the other. I would use it all the time!

Especially on that second mounting bolt...

Us cheap DIY mechanics use a piece of common grade water pipe that fits over the end of the wrench. I have various sizes from 2 ft to 6 ft long. Downside is limited swing typically underneath. If that won't do it, I have a $15 HF come-a-long that will do 2000 lbs. Typically I shear off the head of the bolt, particularly left hand threaded ones.

So, I take it it's fixed now??

Yes my car is up and running again. This is the tool that Eric the Car Guy reviewed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZjqpQPYOos

The 3/8" version is $55 with free shipping.

I have a set of those, bought them at Sears Roebuck maybe 35 years ago for a stupid bolt on a car I no longer own. Never broke one, but I am skeptical that they could handle the torque my breaker bar and 3ft pipe cheater will.

Eric says they are rated for 400 foot-pounds and he used an impact wrench on it, although he had mixed results. It sounds like it reverses direction--when he went to loosen, it tightened.

Well the 1/2 " drive breaks generally around 600lb ft, have gone as high as 2500 on the 3/4 drive, don't EVER expect to break the 1"

Yes an impact wrench would beat you up using those.

Years ago on cars of the 70's and earlier before computers and so many electronics disconnecting the battery would tell you if the alternator was bad and didn't hurt anything. If the car continued to run it was running off the alternator. If it died well you know the rest of the story. I think a lot of the problem is they're just not making batteries as good as they use to. When I replaced the battery in my mom's Grand Marquis several years ago I was getting top of the line batteries with a 3 year replacement warranty. I think it was replaced either 3 or 4 times before I finally got a good one. Some were only lasting a few months. My son just replaced a battery that was still under free replacement warranty in his Dodge truck a few weeks ago. Also for the last few year I'd been having to replace the battery in mom's riding mower about every year. Sure enough when I went to start it this spring it was dead and wouldn't take a charge. I cut the ends off the cables and replaced them with terminals for a car battery and put a car battery in that sucker. Haven't had a problem starting that 15.5 HP engine since. I figured paying $55. for a car battery at Rural King and it lasting several years would be cheaper than paying $20-$25 every year and would be a lot less aggravation. If I remember correctly the battery that I put in it has a 2 year free replacement and 5 year pro rated warranty.

I'm getting an average of 7 years on the factory F250 batteries, and have had only the first set result in a no start on a cold winter day. Mind you they are 350 @ set, but....

I live in a hot climate, so I put louvers in the hood of my Mazda and a couple of other vehicles in order to vent off engine bay heat. I also have a small scavenger fan blowing hot air out of the louvers when the temperatures get too high. I use the fan when needed in stop-and-go traffic and when I shut the engine down in hot weather. All this helps give some relief to such items as the battery.

I've found that with the louvers, the engine bay does not rise above outside ambient temperatures while running on the highway. In stop-and-go traffic with the air conditioner running and when stopping the engine after a run, engine bay temperatures can climb sky-high, and that's when I turn on the scavenger fan.

I've found these measures significantly reduce the high engine bay temperatures which can be detrimental to a lot of under-hood equipment, including batteries.

I've read that more auto batteries are killed from high under-hood temperatures than from any other single reason. I'm doing what I can to alleviate those temperatures and keep the battery from suffering a young and tragic end.

Huh. Warm engines are good for fuel economy--to a point.

Hear "don'T rump" will be at a Louisiana-Alabama(?) game today. After hearing "Lock him up", at the World Series, "don'T rump" has to withdraw to a racist, sexist, environmentally racial unjust region to lick his wounds.
Do you think, "don'T rump" will like impeachment or imprisonment best? His only option is to declare himself dictator for life & then invite authoritarian dictator putin to take over the U.S.

litesong, have you turned this into a political rant, again?

Your statement qualifies for entry into one of the asylums that used to be available until the intellectuals decided they'd be better off living on drugs under a bridge or squatting and shifting on the sidewalks of Seattle.