i am a very long time reader to this site but this is my first post. i have never had one problem with my cl but now i am having an intermittent problem with it not starting. when i put in the key to start it and set it to ON for a second or two everything is fine (dash lights turn and what not) but when i go to crank it there is nothing, then when i go to try it again right after this happens when i set it to ON the dash lights DONT turn on at all, its as if the battery is dead, so i keep trying it lets say 4 or 5 times and its as if my battery is dead. then i try it one more time and when i set it to ON the dash lights turn on again like normal then when i go to crank it same thing as before, nothing. so then it acts as if the battery is completley dead again for about another 5 times trying to start it, then i try it again and it works perfectly fine and starts up with no problems at all, EXCEPT as its cranking for 1 or 2 seconds my speedo goes up to like 50 or 80 (km/h, i live in canada) and so then i drive somewhere and it is running fine. The only strange thing is that the clock is reset and i need the cd player code to use the cd player again which is an obvious sign of the battery being dead, but when it started it cranked powerfully and it is less than a year old honda battery. turn it off and it can potentially work fine the next time i go to start it OR it wont work again and i have to go through this painful process again. i have went through it twice now in the past 3 days, its a 97 2.2 5 speed. i have done some searches and have found that the ignition switch could be the problem (recall) but on the threads that i have read nobodys problems seem the same as mine. any help at all would be greatly appreciated. oh and i looked on acura's website and couldnt find where you put in the vin to see if you are eligible for recalls so any help with that would also be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post

 

There is a special recall website, search for it or i can dig it up for you later. Chances are it's the ignition recall.

 

Otherwise it's a bad battery, your terminals are corroded and need cleaned, or your starter is going bad

 

terminals are clean and tight, when car is off battery is past 12.6V and when it is on its also being charged more than enough, possibly bad battery but it is less than a year old. If it is starter do you have any idea why when i can get it running the clock is reset and the cd player needs the code? and i will search some more for the site maybe it is the ign switch, i really hope i can figure this out soon. p.s. those headlights are fricken sweet you are pretty much a legend blackack

 

You need to log into the Acura Owner's Link to put in your VIN and check recalls.

My friend's Integra had similar symptoms as yours. One of the main grounding points was loose. I would verify the ignition switch first.

 

thanks Nakamichi but it said my VIN was invalid, i bought the car used so maybe one of the owners registered on that site for this car therefore using my vin, i dont really know but it said it was invalid and i made sure i had it right, i also ran out and checked all the main grounds that i could see and they all seem good and tight to me, but are there some grounds that you cant see just from popping the hood that anybody knows of?

 

I had a similar problem with mine. It was the connector to the starter was old and corroded. I put a new connector on it and connected it back up and havn't had any trouble with it since then. The only difference with mine was that the dash lights would be on every time I tried.

 

thanks maddnotes, i went and checked both connections to the starter i found 2 with a little rubber boot covering them and i pulled them both back and found that both of them were tight and clean i really thought that this could have been the problem but i guess not

 

Does it make a clicking sound when u try to start the car?

 

no blackack when it isnt starting there is no clicking at all and no dashlights come on when key is set to ON position, but when it does start everything seems perfectly fine, maybe there is a loose or bad connection within the starter solenoid but that doesnt really explain why my clock resets and my cd player needs the code...or does it?

edit: oh and i tried calling acura and honda and both of them said that my VIN doesnt bring up any recalls so if it does turn out to be the ignition switch i am probablly going to have to pay up

 

If everything resets it sounds like you have a battery problem. Try taking the terminals off and cleaning them really well. You would be amazed at what a little corrosion could do.

 

Sounds like battery isn't holding the charge or amperage is low, or could be the batt terminals.

 

ok i will take off the terminals and clean them really well even though it looks like they are clean with them still attatched, i cleaned them really good when i put in the new battery less than a year ago but i might as well check. I am pretty convinced that its nothing basic like alt. starter or battery, because when it works the battery has lots of cranking power, i am thinking of popping off the starter and checking out the solenoid on it. the thing that really sucks is that today i risked driving around town and shut it off a couple times doing some errands and it turned on perfect 4 times today but for all i knew it could have crapped out, i just wish it would crap out completley so i could fix it already