Does the 9th gen Accord have an immobilizer?

[Bottom_Feeder]

As the title states, does anyone know if the 9th generation Honda Accord has an immobilizer?

My car has been having occasional starting issues and behavior recently. The battery, an EverStart Plus 24F, is only 20k miles and 2.5 years old. I want to put it on a charger overnight but since I live in an apartment complex I have no way to run an extension cord out to it. I just want to remove the battery and charge it on our deck and reinstall it tomorrow.

My concern is what problems I may cause doing so. I'm not worried about resetting the clock or radio stations, easy stuff like that. Resetting the ECU may even be a good thing in this case. I'm more concerned that I may trigger some anti-theft controls or whatever that will make me wish I never touched it.

 

[Analog-1]

My 08 Civic has a immobilizer so i assume yours does as well. That said what you want to do is fine you won't have any issues. The radio may require a numerical code to work after a total power loss. Mine is printed on a sticker in the glove box.

 

[Nukeman7]

Honda started installing immobilizers on vehicles in the late 90's and all of their cars had the system by 2003. Removing the battery will not reset or cause issues with the immobilizer in your 9th Gen. Accord.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Right. The Honda immobilizer is 100% automatic and is operated thru the key and ignition. There is no manual or settings that can be adjusted , fooled with or turned off. They have been proven pretty much trouble free. You will not experience any thing at all with the immobilizer... Changing out the battery usually only requires a reset of the clock and the radio. Most folks have the radio reset code inside the car's manual on a sticker that comes with the car.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Thanks, all. Much appreciated!

 

[Nukeman7]

Right. The Honda immobilizer is 100% automatic and is operated thru the key and ignition. There is no manual or settings that can be adjusted , fooled with or turned off. They have been proven pretty much trouble free. You will not experience any thing at all with the immobilizer... Changing out the battery usually only requires a reset of the clock and the radio. Most folks have the radio reset code inside the car's manual on a sticker that comes with the car.

Thanks, all. Much appreciated!

If you lost your Honda's radio and/or navigation code, you can retrieve it from this website:

My Garage / Honda

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

So... the battery seems fine. I pulled it out and brought it upstairs. Meter says 12.7V and my Noco charger quickly determined it was charged and put it maintenance charge mode. I'm going to leave it on all night and reinstall in the morning. Hopefully removing power to the ECU for a day will reset something.

The problem I'm having is just occasional weird start behavior. The other day it turned over easily but never caught, like it had no spark or fuel. Second try it came alive but wasn't happy about it for a few seconds and it's been fine for a few days. This morning I ran out quick and it started fine, turned it off once I got there, and tried to start it about three minutes later and it did but then died. A lot of amber dash lights came up. Third try it started but the CE, TPMS, airbag and traction control amber lights all came on and stayed on. I got home and parked it for about six hours, tried it again and it started fine but those four amber warning lights are still on.

The only other time I've seen that was when the last battery died and the dash lit up like a Christmas tree and struggled to turn over. Once the battery was replaced all the lights disappeared. I'm hoping for the same luck tomorrow once it charged all night and I get the terminals and cables cleaned up. The only thing I've come up with searching is a weak failing battery or a bad ground or something.

It's very frustrating not being able to trust it.

 

[Mechanician]

12.7 volts would indicate a fully charged battery, but not necessarily a good battery.
Even a smart battery charger has limited capabilities to determine battery health.
Get a tester / get it tested / replace the battery as a guess, are your options.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Good point. I may just replace it so it's done and see where I'm at afterward. $150 won't kill me and the peace of mind would be nice.

 

[researcher]

Good point. I may just replace it so it's done and see where I'm at afterward. $150 won't kill me and the peace of mind would be nice.

might want to get a battery tester, the ones most of us have weren't that expensive. The least you could do is have it tested before you rip it out, advance auto has a nice midtronics tester, autozone is a joke just an led light (who knows if they corrected that lately) that says pass/fail.. the midtronics will give you a nice detailed analysis. the ancel ba101 is the tester I have, just as good as that $2k midtronics.

but to test it just to make sure it really is the battery going bad

looks like ancel has a newer version out there.. about the same price too..

https://www.amazon.com/ANCEL-Batter...&qid=1771153862&s=merchant-items&sr=1-16&th=1

EDIT:

here's a cheaper one from Ancel.. about $24, looks very similar in results to my ba101
https://www.amazon.com/ANCEL-BST100-Automotive-Alternator-Motorcycle/dp/B0C5HT8XB9

 

[Mechanician]

Good point. I may just replace it so it's done and see where I'm at afterward. $150 won't kill me and the peace of mind would be nice.

As a note - today's common battery testers work well about 95% of the time.
They will pass a bad battery, and fail a good battery on occasion.
The old fashioned load testers were more reliable. Three times the AH rating for 15 seconds, should stay above 9.5 volts.
The cheap load testers sold for DIY can't have the load dialed in, so they aren't as reliable either.
A new battery, from a high volume dealer, (that has a fresh date) is often the best way to move on in life.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

I replaced the battery this morning with another EverStart Plus 24F for $109 since that's what Walmart had in stock, and it's an East Penn (my preference) rather than a Johnson. I put it on my Noco for a few hours for good measure, installed it after cleaning up the cable clamps and it fired right up. The dash lights are gone thankfully. I assume it was the battery after all but the ECU reset may have helped something, who knows.

The East Penn Maxx I installed initially lasted five years but this Johnson Plus that replaced it lasted only two and a half. I'm hoping this new East Penn Plus gives me a longer service life.

Thanks for the recommendation and links for a battery tester. Seems like an inexpensive, informative tool that I may add to my stash.

 

[researcher]

As a note - today's common battery testers work well about 95% of the time.
They will pass a bad battery, and fail a good battery on occasion.
The old fashioned load testers were more reliable. Three times the AH rating for 15 seconds, should stay above 9.5 volts.
The cheap load testers sold for DIY can't have the load dialed in, so they aren't as reliable either.
A new battery, from a high volume dealer, (that has a fresh date) is often the best way to move on in life.

and the problem is, no one has those old carbon pile load testers around. Most of the places that test batteries now are using the newer resistance type testers. I've looked even at repair shops no one has the older type, I agree it's more reliable but it is what is.. the biggest thing to look at is the resistance numbers on the newer testers, anything over 9 or 10 is bad. With that litmus test it's easy to predict which batteries are going bad.

I like being able to pay $20-40 for a tester and get 95% correct results, those carbon pile testers back in the day were $$$$

 

[Mechanician]

and the problem is, no one has those old carbon pile load testers around. Most of the places that test batteries now are using the newer resistance type testers. I've looked even at repair shops no one has the older type, I agree it's more reliable but it is what is.. the biggest thing to look at is the resistance numbers on the newer testers, anything over 9 or 10 is bad. With that litmus test it's easy to predict which batteries are going bad.

I like being able to pay $20-40 for a tester and get 95% correct results, those carbon pile testers back in the day were $$$$

Agreed the new testers are a good alternative.
The battery manufacturers will only accept documented test results from them. Probably because diagnosing professionals that are competent, and caring, are much less common than 95%.
However the battery manufacturers don't care about real world customers, or their problems. They only care about their bottom line.
That is why some competent techs keep a battery that will fail a test stashed. That way a customer can be happy, and on their way in short order.
Carbon pile load testers are still available, but not commonly used these days.