I'm no pro but I'm hoping you fine folks can help me troubleshoot a prob I'm having with my CRV.
Basically it struggles to turn over with a fully charged battery and seems to drain it instantly.
I bought a new battery a month ago and worked OK, then last week it refused to start in the mornings. Charged it up - no dice, swapped for a different charged battery - still no luck.
Any ideas on what I should look into next?

 

Did you take a volt meter and check the voltage?
Did you clean the battery posts and cable terminals?
Did you clean the ground?
Did you see if there is a parasitic drain?
Did you take off the accessory belt and then try to crank engine?
So still unknown what is up.

 

I cleaned the posts, terminals, and ground, but before going too far noticed the voltage is staying the same before and after trying to start it.
It still sounds like it's having a really hard time turning over but stays between 12-13V even after a couple attempts.

 

So, your battery is not drained.

What is the voltage while cranking?
If the voltage drops below 9.8 volts then it is possible engine might not start

Now trying to determine whether the starter is faulty or one of the accessory pulley is faulty.
This requires taking belt off and cranking engine to see the speed of cranking
If there is no difference then suspect starter
If there is a difference then suspect one of the pulleys.
Try turning to see which makes noise or is tough to turn

 

While cranking the voltage stays at just above 12V, and with the accessory belt removed there was no change in cranking.
Should I begin looking into swapping the starter?

 

Starter should have taken a lot more current and dropped the voltage reading while cranking.
The starter now becomes suspect.
But, before you change starter, you might want to clean up the battery posts and cable terminals to the starter (at starter)
If there is corrosion then it can prevent the starter from getting enough current to crank engine properly.
Also check engine grounding strap.
This can be done with volt meter (voltage drop test)
Negative on battery post (not chassis or cable terminal)
Positive on engine block. Take voltage reading while cranking engine.
If there is any voltage reading above 0.8 volts then cleaning grounds is needed.

There is one last test if you can do it.
Take wire and attach to ignition wire going to starter (not the battery cable terminal) solenoid.
Then take other side and touch it to battery positive.
It should crank engine.
The speed should tell you whether you need a new starter or something else in ignition starting system needs testing.

Of course, many people just remove and replace starter and hope for the best.
Starter may cost around $200 and there is a core charge until you bring the old one back to store.
Oh, the starter is in one of the toughest places I have ever seen.
Some go from the top and remove about half the engine
Others go from the bottom and have less to remove but a heck of a time replacing starter.
So, labor (if you have a mechanic do it) will be costly??

Good luck

 

Indeed it was the starter and yes labour was costly, but at least there was no diagnostic charge.
Thanks for your help, she works great now.

 

Thanks for the update.
Glad you got it fixed.