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2011 Honda Civic Sedan DX 4dr Man

2011 Honda Civic Sedan
Trim Info:
Front Wheel Drive, 4 Door Sedan, Compact
26 mpg city / 34 mpg hwy
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October 25, 2012, 7:10 pm

Rachel N
 

Question: Bad Odor After a Jump Start

I had my car jump started two days ago and almost immediately started noticing a bad odor (maybe burning). It comes and goes, but after two days, I worried it was dangerous and stopped driving. Does anyone know what the cause of this could be? I checked the battery and alternator, and the voltage was right where it should be: 12.8 V (turned off) and 14.5 V (turned on).


November 3, 2012, 8:48 am

Ron W
Expert Mechanic

I'd have a shop check it. Unless I can smell the odor it's pretty hard for me to tell you what it might be.

It could be the battery is bad and the alternator is overcharging. Open voltage testing like you described only tells what the battery voltage is without a load. The charging system and battery really need to be checked under load to see if both are working correctly.


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