Hi. I wonder if I should always turn the engine on before raising and lowering the top to save the battery.

 

Ummm-I think that you would have to literally sit there engine off and raise and lower the top several times over and over to drain the battery. Unless of course you already have a weak battery to begin with.

 

It will drain the battery, but as the man said, as long as you're not just raising and lowering the top, the drain is minimal - you won't notice any problems until the battery is weak - you don't have to turn the car on to operate the top.

 

Any electrical operation of your car will "drain" the battery if your engine is off, because your alternator is not running your electrical equipment. This goes for the radio, headlights, interior lights, and yes, even your top. However if your battery has a full charge, you'd probably have to raise and lower your top several HUNDRED times before you completely killed your battery.

So the short answer is no, putting your top up or down without turning on your engine is not a problem at all.

 

with all the answers above.
(so why am I posting )

Oh yeah...

 

does it drain the battery,to leave the lights on,while the engine is off ???

 

Did you know that in your owner's manual, Honda has advised that you operate the top ONLY when the engine if off?
BTW, IMO, this is Honda's lawyers talking.

 

If I'm going to drive off, I'll turn the car on first and then put the top down to minimize the strain on the battery. If I'm not going anywhere and just want to put the top down, I won't turn the car on just to put the top down.

 

But the top will not move UNLESS the car is turned ON.

I think what you are trying to say is you don't start your engine just to move your top.

 

Thanks for the help guys, thanks for clearing it up that it's not really a problem.