Hi,

I have a Honda Civic DX4 (2002, automatic, 4 doors) and in the past few days it causes me a lot of problems .
About 2 weeks ago the car started to have difficulties to start. To be more specific, after I leave it one - two days in the parking, whithout using it, it doesn's start anymore (I live in Montreal, and the average temperature is -10 celsius these days).
I hear the engine doing some noise, like usual, then the lights are turning on and then it dies.
I purchased a booster from WalMart and I managed to start it few times like that (4-5 times). But today even using the booster I can's start it.
The booster is brand new (was purchased 2 weeks ago) and it's fully charged , I charge it last night.
Any ideea what the problem might be?
I'm sure the battery needs to be replaced. But why I cannot start the car with the booster?
I'm afraid that I will buy a new battery but the problem will not be solved with that.
Do you think that the alternator also needs to be replaced?
Thanks!

Note: This is my first post on this forum. And I don't have too much experience with cars.Thanks for your patience .

 

You can diagnose with a voltmeter. Here's the basic alternator / battery / starter test drill.

Get the car started (if booster pack doesn't work, try a stronger boost with jumper cables from another car with the engine of the other car running-- if that still doesn't work, skip to the starter test below). Disconnect booster and measure voltage at the battery with the engine idling but everything else electric turned off. It should be about 14 volts. If you have less than 13 volts, alternator is not charging the battery.

If that test OK, turn the key off and then have someone try to restart it with the key while you measure voltage at the battery (probes on the lead posts that are part of the battery, not the terminals that are part of the car). If voltage drops below 9 volts, battery is bad.

If voltage at the battery stays up but starter doesn't turn it's often a bad connection to the battery or ground wire, or a bad starter. Remove the terminals from the battery posts, clean up and reinstall making sure they are on tight.

To specifically check starter, measure voltage from the starter big wire to starter ground while someone tries to start with the key. If voltage stays up above 9, yet the starter clicks but doesn't turn, bad starter.

If starter doesn't even click, try jumping the starter -- disconnect the small wire and connect a jumper from the small wire to the big wire. Leave the key OFF. You don't want it to actually start this is just to see if the starter will turn. During this test the car could move if it does turn and it was left in gear -- make sure it's not. If starter does turn doing this but not with the key, starter is OK, there's a problem with the interlock switch or car wiring.

 

Thanks for your help. I fixed the problem.
I bought a new battery from Wal-Mart (Energizer, 100$) and everything works fine.
I have only a small issue with my car radio.It's asking for a code now.
I will use google to find a fix for that, hopefully.I can't find where I put that code.