starter drains battery

Could be a bad spot in the starter and the extra amperage will make it jump ove the bad spot. If when it happens and you hear one loud click when you turn the key to crank then it is the starter, but if you hear a series of clicks then it is a voltage problem like a battery or battery cables.

I didn't think batteries had diodes , I doubt the alternator you have is " mitsubishi " because it's a rebuild but if it were and I had to replace it I would go with a honda OEM alternator that'll cost about $500** . It's steep but you can also depend on it . Same with a starter , it's just a harsh reality . Lot of crappy car parts out there

Thanks all. My regular mechanic insisted it's the battery, after testing again [different diagnostic too than O'Reilly's has]. What the heck? The battery was still under warranty so put in a new one. Seems to be doing well, but so did it for a month after the refurb alternator [as it did for 90-some% of the time in the previous months]. Diode failure has to do with the alternator, not the battery. My guy explains that the stock Honda battery is way too underpowered for what-all it has to run. Unfortunately, we can't get a larger one because the shelf is too small to accommodate it. It's not the starter since it always cranked; it just didn't catch. Even a few cranks drained the battery. Once jumped though it ran like a top. So. We'll see if I have the same problem again. Meantime I'm keeping jumper cables in the back.

I keep one of those capacitor type jump boxes in my rigs cause you never know, batteries don’t last like they use too. Even new ones can fail in a month or two.

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