for some reaason my car didnt start up and the lights were blinking.. i got it to start though somehow.. took me 20 - 30 mins or so.. what could be the problem? is it the alternator? i dont get why it would blink and then stop and then blink and on and on..

 

was it turning over?

 

The starter

 

it made a click noise but didnt start... car seems to be fine now.. really weird that the lights would blink though.. buddy said it might be the alarm but mine doesn't beep, is my car suposed to have a alarm? i noticed there was an alarm blinker at night time but thought it might be fake. buddys were waitin in the car for me, could that be why the alarm was sent on? i didnt lock the doors when i left from the car

 

starter

 

Acura CLs do have an alarm system from the factory. The red LED is not a fake. When the alarm sounds, the headlights will flash and a siren will sound.

 

If it clicked and eventually started, it means that the threads are ground on part of your starter, the clicking sound is the relay for the starter. Your starter is dead

 

Sounds kinda like when my first alternator died?

The first time it failed I tried to start the car and all it did was make a series of loud clicking noises accompanied by rapidly flashing cluster lights appearing as though the vehicle was possessed. However, after letting the car sit for a few minutes, I was able to start the car up just fine. Car ran as normal for another month or so until it just basically died on me in the middle of a Burger King drive through lol

So yeah, I'll just toss the 'possibility' of it being your alternator. Would be a good time to go and get it checked free at a shop, especially since our oem alts are so shitty.

 

Yeah it could be the starter or a battery that have poor connection like when they have a lot of dirt and acid stain (dunno how to described this ) check at that too in the past I have those problem with an old car . + it a cheap reparation

 

It's the starter not the alt, the starter is what causes the clicking sound, also if it was the alt, the car would be dead, not firing up 30 mins later, that just means that the starter got past the bad area and was able to start again trust me been there done that

 

^^ wow really? So you think my starter is shot too? Because since replacing the alternator, I've never had any issues of starting since. and it's been several months

 

I didn't read your description, mine didn't go like that when the alt went. Like flip said have them both checked, however I still hold to my belief about the alt no offense flip

 

haha no offense taken dude, I honestly know very little about electrical systems...I just wanted your input on what you thought may have caused my problems, because it could have been a compounded issue

 

Sounds identical to when my starter died. I'm with black ack on this 1, its your starter

 

does our cars have an immonbilizer? im thinking maybe when i left from car, the auto lock went on, then dude(was sittin in the car waiting for 4-5 mins) went to grab pizza - which set the alarm on with blinking lights(not rapidly) on but my beep doesnt work cause its broken and then the immobilizer was set on so i couldnt start the cat.. then i asked some dude for help and he pressed the buttons on my remote, checked the engine and said it might be starter and wait 20 mins.. so he left and i started the car and it worked.. so im thinkin maybe immobilizer... or it could be the starter and how much do starters go for anyways?

 

oh yeah by the way does our alarm only set off when we press the lock button... my lock button is broken so i never use it.. i lock from the inside then close the doors.. think i needa get that remote fixed... and is it common for our cars alarm beeper to stop working??

 

the 98-99 has an immobilizer the 97's don't, def sounds like u need to get the remote fixed. Never saw the CL immobilizer in action though so i dunno about that one

 

I believe I engaged the immobilizer at one point, the car doesn't even attempt to turn over. No clicking or anything. I was able to restart the car after closing all the doors, pressing the unlock button a few times on the remote and disabling the alarm.

 

I think this might have something to do with the washer fluid...
doesnt sound like what happened to my alt. That happened after my alt went out . obviously cuz i had no juice to the engine

 

It's not the immobilizer because you don't need your remote to disengage the immobilizer system . The system have a circuit on the key and the system block the starter if he don't recognized the key. If you want to check use another key and try to turn the ignition , the green immobilizer dashlight will blink. Defenitely a starter or misconnection at the battery terminal

 

oic k thanks guys

 

STARTER.............period

 

I hate when people doubt me

 

k so i went into the shop today.. they want 475 include installatioin for a remanufatured one, 280 for the starter and rest is labor.. is this the right price? and for a new one they said double the price of that.. also today i noticed when i started up the car it lagged for a bit, took about a sec or 2 to start up after i switched the key so this be the starter for sure? maybe could it be the spark plugs?

 

and what is the diff between a reman and a new one? would a new one last longer?

 

oh yeah think i could install this my self? or should i jus let the pros do it.. anyone know where i can get a starter for cheaper and jus get them to isntall it?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/REMAN...spagenameZWD1V

has anybody ever bought their parts from ebay and is it any good?

 

wow, that is a terrible price. autozone has remanufactured starters for 120. I can't picture where the starter is, and I'm in my bed so I won't go outside to check it out, but I've never had a problem installing a starter in the past....they're just usually a bitch to get to. Even if you aren't confident in your abilities, your shop should install the starter you bought from autozone, reducing the cost by about 160.

I know I'm just inflating his ego even more, but as usual, blackack is right.

 

holy hell, I just found my starter receipt under my my seat when I was cleaning out my ack, $200 flat, that is a ridiculous price, mine was an oem replacement plus labor... plus he put a new pos bat terminal you got stroked

 

No I don't have an ego

 

haha, I removed my front seats to clean underneath them, and I found 5 year old receipts...tons of them. I also found quite a bit of food. Chips, crackers, nuts, fries, etc. It was gross. It's amazing what you find when you thoroughly clean your car out.

 

 

Yes it is

 

For real. When I had to replace my power seat track, there was everything BUT money under there.

 

I got way under the seats with my new shopvac attachments, I couldn't believe what came up

 

k so my cars still fine so far but the thing is that sometimes it doesnt start on first try then second try starts but with lag.. it does click really lightly but isnt it suposed to always click? by the way you mean click is it suposed to be loud click or quite click.. since it lags to start maybe could this be spark plugs? and since it doesnt start up on first try?

 

take off your starter and bring it to autozone to get it tested. Its the only way to know for sure.

 

hmm its not easy to take out the starter is it? today again it lagged even longer for 3 seconds but its always diffrent, sometimes right away

 

maybe i should try replacing the spark plugs my self and if it still has a problem it should be the starter? but then i geuss i could wait till the car completely dies and it will be the starter for sure.. also is replacing spark plugs an easy task or should i bring it in to get it done? im geusing it should be pretty cheap since the plugs are so cheap.. also which sparkplugs should i go for? thanks for the reply

 

Still sounds like the starter