Honda Accord 2002 digital clock drains battery.

[jack]

I have an accord 2002 4 cylinders, and I have been having problem with the battery drainage issue. After doing the suggested method of fuse pulling, I realize that the fuse 13 on the passenger side which protects digital clock circuit draws 70 mA. So i thought of a quick fix by pulling that fuse out, the amperage draw dropped down to a reasonable range, hovering between 10 mA. However, my power door unlock and lock stop working. I double checked on the fuse 12 (protects power door locks) and found that the fuse is intact. And after I put the fuse 13 back in, the power door locks work again. I thought the fuse 13 should not in anyway connected with fuse 12, and the power locks should work fine. Now I am puzzled. Please help!!!

Topic

[valde]

Something in remote door lock circuit may still use fuse 13. Lists of fuses normally don’t mention everything that’s connected to fuse. It would be better to look from wiring diagram but I don’t have it.

[jack]

Thanks valde for your effort. I will have to fish around for the wiring diagram then. I hope that there would be a way that I can fix this thing without bring it to the shop.

[george gonzalez]

The monkeys that hook up car stereos and amplifiers and alarms and neon running lights will tap into any hot wire that they can find.

Also 70 milliamps is not that much of a drain. The car battery can handle that kind of a load for at least 500 hours, 21 days, continuously, and still have like a 40% charge left to start the car.

[jack]

Thanks grg8888, the drainage issue started sometime in June last year, and I thought that it was the battery fault. So I bought a new one from Autozone. The new battery last for 1 month. Again I thought of the same thing and had Autozone replaced it. Well this battery I am having is the second new one, and the same thing is happening. So I don’t think the battery has issue at all. I also checked for my alternator and it has been working fine. Also after watching the Eric’s youtube channel, 70 mA is a lot for an Accord 2002. So I figure the digital clock must be the problem. I am still looking for the diagram but no luck.

[Jeff Ketchem]

If I’m thinking correctly I believe your clock fuse also holds the backup for your ecm memory. That could be part of your door lock/window deal when pulled. An easier method I’ve found is to perform a voltage drop test across the tabs on the back of the fuse its less intrusive and by pulling that fuse in particular you could cause a circuit to “go to sleep” that’s associated with ecm memory etc. Try that and let us know what you find.

[jack]

Thanks for the tip. I will try that this weekend to see what I find.

[Jeff Ketchem]

Almost forgot here’s a link I have saved where someone has done the math on converting millivolts to mA over the particular fuses http://www.angelfire.com/pa2/lberger/Vd_Fuse_Chart.pdf Make sure you are in millivolt setting and block off your door switches so you don’t measure any draw by doors being open. You may want to wait a few minutes to let anything “go to sleep” after blocking switches. Good luck!

[EricTheCarGuy]

Finding the effected fuse is only the first step. There are several circuits on that fuse besides the clock circuit. As you’ve found out, your door locks are also a part of that circuit. BTW, door locks on Hondas are known issues. I’m not saying that’s what your problem is, but the next step is to find a wiring diagram and trace out all the effected circuits that fuse controls. Once you’ve done that, plug the fuse back in, repeat the test, but unplug each component in the fuses circuit to find the faulty circuit in the same way you found the fuse. Only then can you say that you’ve found the problem. More information in this article.

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-electrical-problems

Keep us posted.

[Jeff Ketchem]

Very good point Eric! Hard for me to remember at times that schematics are harder to get for the general public at times lol

That being said you may be able to register with AutoZone to get diagrams etc for personal vehicles I believe at one time you could register up to 2 personal vehicles for free and get technical data. That may have changed I don’t zone myself lol Once you have the diagram from them or a service manual (perhaps someone here can help with a source that I’m not familiar with) and see what is on the circuit you can jump between components and fuses and fusible links to see where the flow is going. Much faster to navigate this way and also eliminates many branches so you can diagnose faster.

[Author]

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