My Honda Jazz's car battery goes flat if left for four weeks. Why?
Your motoring problems solved
Q. If we leave our 09-plate Honda Jazz 1.4 for four weeks the battery goes flat. Why is this?
CW, Swindon
A. Modern car alarms drain the battery slightly, but a battery in good condition should still start the car after four weeks. However, the ones in the Jazz 1.2 and 1.4 are small in capacity. Batteries also lose capacity as they age and as your Honda’s battery is small, it has to work hard and will tend to wear out more quickly.
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Before you replace it, though, ask your garage to check whether something else is draining the battery — a boot light left on, for example.
A Buy a solar-powered trickle charger at Halfords.com (or a plug-in one if your car’s in a garage) is a good idea if you’re away for a while.
TIM’LL FIX IT
Tim Shallcross used to train AA patrols to fix cars. Now he advises the Institute of Advanced Motoring — read more from Tim here.
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