Can a bad battery alone cause these codes?
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Melting Slicks
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Can a bad battery alone cause these codes?
This is on my '90 coupe, btw.
C31
C33
C35
C37
H31
H33
H35
H37
Also the SYS was flashing.
I've never had these particular codes before since I've owned the car.
The car has only been driven once since June. Maybe twice. Short drives, no less.
The 4 year old battery has been very slow cranking of late and won't hold a full charge overnight.
I do keep a tender on it.
Auto Zome tested it but not sure if I trust the guy who did the test to have load tested it, even though I was specific to say it needed to be.
It'll drop down to around 11.4 volts if don't keep a tender on it overnight.
It cranks slow but then the crank seems to speed up as I keep the key turned.
Starter is only a couple yeaes old.
Then when turn it off and crank it again, it cranks regularly as it should.
But then the same thing happens all over again the next day if I go out and try to start it.
If I let it go for a few days, it won't crank at all, just dead battery clicks.
C31
C33
C35
C37
H31
H33
H35
H37
Also the SYS was flashing.
I've never had these particular codes before since I've owned the car.
The car has only been driven once since June. Maybe twice. Short drives, no less.
The 4 year old battery has been very slow cranking of late and won't hold a full charge overnight.
I do keep a tender on it.
Auto Zome tested it but not sure if I trust the guy who did the test to have load tested it, even though I was specific to say it needed to be.
It'll drop down to around 11.4 volts if don't keep a tender on it overnight.
It cranks slow but then the crank seems to speed up as I keep the key turned.
Starter is only a couple yeaes old.
Then when turn it off and crank it again, it cranks regularly as it should.
But then the same thing happens all over again the next day if I go out and try to start it.
If I let it go for a few days, it won't crank at all, just dead battery clicks.
Last edited by Natty C; Oct 15, 2023 at 08:41 PM.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
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I did go out today and put a brand new battery in it. And now it cranks as it should.
Was reading around 14.8 while running/idling for about ten minutes..
Was at reading 12.8 when I checked it after turning it off.
Will go out in the morning and put a meter on it again to see how much voltage it loses overnight without a tender on it.
Not sure exactly what would be considered normal/acceptable drain though.
But...I'm mainly just wondering if a bad battery might have caused those particular codes.
I've since cleared them and will take it for a good hard run tomorrow.
Thanks for any input.
Was reading around 14.8 while running/idling for about ten minutes..
Was at reading 12.8 when I checked it after turning it off.
Will go out in the morning and put a meter on it again to see how much voltage it loses overnight without a tender on it.
Not sure exactly what would be considered normal/acceptable drain though.
But...I'm mainly just wondering if a bad battery might have caused those particular codes.
I've since cleared them and will take it for a good hard run tomorrow.
Thanks for any input.
Last edited by Natty C; Oct 15, 2023 at 08:37 PM.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2019
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From: Mid-Atlantic
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Well, after browsing around with the search function, there were several threads asking about the same codes with the same slow or no crank symptoms. Though, predictably, nobody ever came back to update their threads.
I'm just going to assume the battery was bad and write off the battery test as a waste of my time at the chain store and just keep an eye on it, rechecking for codes and voltage/parasitic drain every so often.
Probably should start driving it a bit more, too.
I'm just going to assume the battery was bad and write off the battery test as a waste of my time at the chain store and just keep an eye on it, rechecking for codes and voltage/parasitic drain every so often.
Probably should start driving it a bit more, too.
Last edited by Natty C; Oct 15, 2023 at 10:37 PM.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2019
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From: Mid-Atlantic
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Those 4 codes are all Module 1 (CCM) pertaining to the LCD speedometer display. At the time you pulled them, they were all "Current", meaning the problem existed right then. A "C" code also shows as a corresponding History code. If the condition corrects itself, the C code goes away, but the H code remains.
This is curious to me because if the LCD display control has C codes, how can it function to display the codes? From time to time I have seen posts on here that "A flashing SYS message means battery trouble". There are no CCM codes directly related to battery or charging system maladies, so I've always rejected these posts as BS. But with your experience, I wonder if "low voltage" manifests itself as the CCM interpreting problems with the LCD control circuits?
Generally, you can not clear a Current code. When you check the codes again, A C code will still be there as a C and H. If you were able to clear these codes, and all you did was restore the system voltage to nominal by charging the battery, there may be merit to a SYS message indirectly indicating voltage problems.
Take care.
This is curious to me because if the LCD display control has C codes, how can it function to display the codes? From time to time I have seen posts on here that "A flashing SYS message means battery trouble". There are no CCM codes directly related to battery or charging system maladies, so I've always rejected these posts as BS. But with your experience, I wonder if "low voltage" manifests itself as the CCM interpreting problems with the LCD control circuits?
Generally, you can not clear a Current code. When you check the codes again, A C code will still be there as a C and H. If you were able to clear these codes, and all you did was restore the system voltage to nominal by charging the battery, there may be merit to a SYS message indirectly indicating voltage problems.
Take care.
I did put a brand new battery in it yesterday. And I took it out and gave it a good run today. I drove it for a good half hour, at least. Probably closer to around 45 minutes. I checked codes afterward and nothing was returned.
I flirted around with the idea of getting a group 78 one just for the 800 CCA, but didn't feel like hacking the tray up. So just went with the stock 75 one
On paper the one I just bought is better than the one I had and was only $129 with a 3 year warranty. But that's just on paper. Will see how long it lasts. Didn't appear to be any out of the ordinary parasitic drain overnight when I put a meter on it this morning before heading out.
The one that I replaced, that I'm assuming was shot, even though it supposedly tested good has alwas taken a long time to start the car, even when it was brand new. This new one starts right up as soon as I turn the key.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
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As an aside, I'm starting to reconsider leaving it on a trickle charger. I'm not so sure those things don't do more damage in the long run than good.
I had been using a ''Battery Tender'' for a while and it never did function right, so I don't know if that may have caused a problem. it would always stay red unless I fiddled around with unplugging it and replugging it a bunch of times. So I never really could tell what it was actually doing and therefore the true state of the battery.
A forum member turned me on to a better trickle charger and that's been good and has operated as it should, but I still go back to wondering if the regular "Battery Tender'' that I was initially using messed up some internals of the old battery.
I had been using a ''Battery Tender'' for a while and it never did function right, so I don't know if that may have caused a problem. it would always stay red unless I fiddled around with unplugging it and replugging it a bunch of times. So I never really could tell what it was actually doing and therefore the true state of the battery.
A forum member turned me on to a better trickle charger and that's been good and has operated as it should, but I still go back to wondering if the regular "Battery Tender'' that I was initially using messed up some internals of the old battery.
Last edited by Natty C; Oct 16, 2023 at 04:16 PM.
