Car won't start. Just hear a clicking noise when I turn key..
 

Hello fellow Acuraziners,

My 2005 TL has been working fine. Drove it last night, put it in the garage. This morning, the car wouldn't start, when I turn the ignition all I hear is a click. I don't believe its the battery as I put a new one in 6 months ago, also I tried jumping the car and that made no difference, and my lights and navi work.

Going to have it towed to the shop tomorrow. Has anyone had this problem before? What do you think it could be?

Thanks

Starter went bad?

you may have left something on over night. Just cause lights work doesn't mean it has enough juice to start the car. use a voltmeter and check the battery. I would use a trickle charger and charge it overnight. Also when you jump it you should have the other car running and give it gas. This happened when my buddies battery was really low. The radio and everything came on. Even jump starting wouldn't work. Starters rarely go bad. Take it to autozone. They do battery checks for free.

^ did you try it?

let us know if it did the trick :)

good luck!

never give the running car gas while trying to jump a car. The alternator has a voltage regulator in it that wont allow the voltage to jump above that 14.4v we are used to seeing. So no matter how fast your engine is spinning the voltage will never increase over engine idle speed. Plus it justs bad for your engine.

^^^ I concur....

I blame your battery....check out the connections (terminals) and let us know....

Starter.

I had this same problem over the summer. It was a bad starter motor for me...

Its your battery/starter!!!
 

Its easiest to check the battery first. I thought the same as you....can't be the battery as I replaced the battery two months ago........Checked the charge with a Voltage meter. I bought a new battery and no more problems. ( mental note: stay away from LTH batteries from Mexico)

Then again I also had to change the starter because sometimes it would start and sometimes not. So if your car starts no trouble the next day, its probably the starter. I got one at the junker for $25 bucks (while I got mine rebuilt) and no probs so far.

It was the starter. I got a new one, genuine Acura part, put in at my local Acura mechanic shop. Cost a pretty penny. I didn't think of going to a junk yard and saving some cash. Good call on that one buddy.

This exact things just happened to me this morning, everything worked fine last night and then this morning lights and navi come on but won't start.

I was about to call my local dealer and schedule an appointment, but came to good ol' Acurazine trying to find a solution first. Now that you mention a pretty penny, I'm not sure I want to schedule an appointment at the dealer. If you don't mind me asking, what range am I looking to spend on the new starter and labor?

:rofl: at some of these comments.. Turn on your headlights.. if they go dim when you try to start it, check the battery. If not, take a pipe and bang the armature case of the starter. You're welcome. :)

DIY - $100/150 plus 30/45 minutes.
Dealer - $350/500 - wait +2hrs
Indieshop - $200/300 - 30 minutes to ?

Thanks, sounds like DIY is the way to go!

yeah banging at the starter does work sometimes. either way starters are easy to replace.

Is there a diy thread on changing the starter? I searched and found many threads about the problem but not a diy.
Thanks for any help

Remove battery, remove battery tray (~10 ft lbs), disconnect starter cable and clamp bolt, remove starter (47 ft lb lower mounting bolt, 33 ftlb upper mounting bolt). :shrug:

You'll need a ratchet, breaker bar, and metric sockets w/ extensions. I suggest using impact sockets w/ extensions for the starter bolts.

same thing happened to me yesterday after work. im going to have to change the starter in my work parking lot.

anyone know what size bolts are on the starter and what length extensions i will need?

i had the smae problem and it turned outto be my terminals...but there was one more thing about my car, the accesories (radio, AC, ect ect) had power, but i would get the same click

Always start by simply checking your battery voltage. Everybody should have a volt meter, even if just a cheapie........ :2cents:
This starter looks like one of the easiest I've ever seen to change.
Non-turbo diesel Mercedes were very easy also. Turbo diesels were not near as fun.......

If its clicking but not starting the FIRST thing to check is the terminals to make sure they are clean ... not just look clean .. but clean them and the cable ends.

It doesn't take a lot to have the negative terminal not supply enough ground to start it but enough ground to run the low draw items.

I have seen more that one guy have the battery or starter replaced and in addition the shop cleans the terminals and your out the $$.

swapped out my started this weekend, car is back in action! starter only toom 5 min to swap out, but that battery tray is a PITA! neways, all is good. thanks for the help guys.

I still feel that the starter was not required....

When you hear clicking noise it means the battery....but well, glad you got it fixed :thumbsup:

well, I did not get a click click click, just a single click. this did happen to me once before, but hitting the starter got it going again. i did clean my terminals before i swapped it out, and having 160k on the origonal starter helped to narrow down the issue.
Thank you for the advice for other users.

I had a similar problem recently....I have an 05 with 156K miles....

Click and nothing....I tried giving her a jump and nothing....I thought the starter had gone....

I was gearing up to remove the battery and replace the starter....When I realized that while connecting the jumper I didnt see any sparks....I used another jumper cable and boom car fired right up....the other cable was gone....who would have imagined that !!!

Took it to Advance Auto Part...they do a battery/alternator/starter/electrical system check....he did the check and said everything seems fine, other than the CCA for the battery....I told him the battery was dead and I just jumped her so maybe thats why....

But yeah all in all it was the battery....starters usually dont go out that easy and 160K miles is nothing on the TL....

it was only a single click he was getting and no headlight dim............ starter
same as mine 2 weeks ago

^^^ true....

Well the lights/horn are not the best way to conclude as the startup needs more amps than those electronics....

my horn/headlight/interior lights/radio were all working....but battery was dead....

Either way am not saying the OP did wrong....am saying check the Owners Manual....its written if you hear clicking, the battery is gone....if you hear no sound, the starter is gone....

I honestly don't think I've ever opened my owner's manual, but i'll have to check it out now that you mention it. I did just replace my battery last year tho so i didnt bother getting it checked

i have been having the same problem from the past couple weeks. sometimes its start and sometimes i just hear a click. hopefully its a starter which is a easy fix like you guys say. i'm guessing to get the oem starter straight from Acura?

happened to me a couple months ago... left the lights on while the car was getting washed.... went to go start it up and nothing but clicking. The people at the carwash tried to jump it, but it didnt seem like they knew what they were doing and i was nervous they were going to damage something else.

Anyways, i left the car and went back with my own set of cables... jumped right up. Took it to vato-zone the next day and bought a new yellowtop.

^^^ yeah I have heard from a ton of members here that the Acura stock battery sucks ass....

but as I said my car seems to be different....2005 model and running on the same battery :thumbsup:....It drained out this one time on me that I mentioned above...I dont really know what drained the battery....I just saw a ground wire unconnected (by the side engine mount). Maybe that did it ? No idea....

Stupid question, but bare with me. I'm having the exact same issue as the OP.

I have a digital voltmeter, but I have no idea how to test my battery. Can someone explain how to use this thing and what setting it should be on (and what a "good" reading is)?

06TL, won't start. Rapid clicking noises. Had to get a jump yesterday to make it home. Today it's dead again.

First off ... with a rapid clicking noise it doesn't always mean the battery is dead. A good portion of the time the terminal(s) are dirty . Usually the negative.

There will be enough ground to run the lights/radio etc but when you try and start it it just ckicks.

Undo both terminals , negative first and clean not only the terminal but the cable ends with emery paper or a wire brush etc. Then reconnect and try.

While they are off inspect the cables for corrosion on the wires etc.

Then if it doesn't start look at the battery / alternator.

You can't do a load test with a multimeter but you can check the battery voltage.

Set the multimeter to DC and 15V . touch it to the battery terminals and it should read 12V. Then start the car and with it running do it again .. shouls read 13.8v or better , usually over 14. If not then the alternator isn't putting out enough.

For a load test go to AutoZone etc. BUT I'd suggest cleaning everything up first so you don't get "sold" on a battery you don't need.

Thanks, doing this now. 7.8V on the battery. Car will not start. Will post back in a while...

Update. 7.8V when the car is off. I jumped it from another car and the alternator was keeping it at a constant 14.39-14.4V. Now when the car is off, the battery is at about 12.38V.

Is there any way to tell that the battery is definitely going to go? I do remember the dealer telling me a few months back that they had to charge it up...

BY EXPERIENCE, I HAD CHANGE THE STARTER ON MY 04 TL 3 TIMES, WHY? MAYBE BECAUSE I SELECT THE AFTERMARKET INSTEAD OEM PART. A MISTAKE BUT AT THE SAME TIME, GOOD BECAUSE IT HAVE LIFETIME WARRANTY AND SIMPLE TO CHANGE. I GET THIS DONE 2 DAYS AGO IN 1 HR. THE FIRST TIME MAYBE TAKE ME 3 HRS. BUT BEFORE ANYTHING , TAKE YOUR CAR TO AUTOZONE OR ANY OF THOSE AUTOPARTS AND LET THEM TO CHECK THE BATTERY VOLTAGE THE STARTER VOLTAGE AND ALTERNATOR VOLTAGE. IF YOU PREFER TO GO FOR OEM PARTS , I WILL RECOMMENDING TO CHECK THIS ACURA PARTS WEBSITE FIRST BEFORE YOUR LOCAL DEALER. $277 FOR OEM STARTER. http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.org/

BY EXPERIENCE, I HAD CHANGE THE STARTER ON MY 04 TL 3 TIMES, WHY? MAYBE BECAUSE I SELECT THE AFTERMARKET INSTEAD OEM PART. A MISTAKE BUT AT THE SAME TIME, GOOD BECAUSE IT HAVE LIFETIME WARRANTY AND SIMPLE TO CHANGE. I GET THIS DONE 2 DAYS AGO IN 1 HR. THE FIRST TIME MAYBE TAKE ME 3 HRS. BUT BEFORE ANYTHING , TAKE YOUR CAR TO AUTOZONE OR ANY OF THOSE AUTOPARTS AND LET THEM TO CHECK THE BATTERY VOLTAGE THE STARTER VOLTAGE AND ALTERNATOR VOLTAGE. IF YOU PREFER TO GO FOR OEM PARTS , I WILL RECOMMENDING TO CHECK THIS ACURA PARTS WEBSITE FIRST BEFORE YOUR LOCAL DEALER. $277 FOR OEM STARTER. http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.org/

Similar symptoms, but my car will start sometimes. Took it to the dealer hoping it was a solenoid, but they said it was the starter. I'm really surprised because the car only has 86,000mi.

Starters seem very difficult to find for the TL-S. Nobody I sourced online had one in stock.

Luckily, I have a 6spd, so I just have to find hills to park on until I can get the new starter delivered and install it.

I'm having similar issues now. Sometimes my car starts normally, then sometimes it clicks and sometimes it clicks and will turn over and start but it a slow start.

Did you take your terminals off and clean them?

make sure all of your connections are tight and that the cables are in good shape. Also as a FYI if your car keeps getting batt drain after sitting for a while. the Hands Free Unit may need to be replaced....