qstorm78

Got a 97 CL 3.0, the battery light came on earlier today, later on the dash lights and head lights went dim. The radio went out after a little while. After turning off and on the engine for about 5 minutes the radio came back on but went off when i turned on the head lights. When i got home the headlights were almost out and after parking and turning off the engine, i tried starting it again but it was dead. Only got the clicking noise but it wont start

Over the thanksgiving weekend i had a new stereo installed with an amp and sub, never had any issues after that so i dont think thats the problem. About a month ago i had a new battery installed.

Any clues on why it would be acting up like this? My first thougt was my alternator is bad and drained the battery.


I appreciate any help i can get.

Q

TexasHonda

Batteries do fail unexpectedly early on occasion.

However, the stereo installation makes that a likely culprit. Have the electrical system checked for battery drain w/ everything off. Someone may have wired amp hot all the time.

good luck

qstorm78

Before taking it to Pepboys, i realized that it was the belt on the alternator that broke. I did hear some noise under the hood while driving, so that must have been it.

I'm hoping that alternater didnt get fried because while driving it to Pepboys it almost died in traffic after leaving a light, i barely made it to the Pepboys parking lot. There was poping noise coming from under the hood and it smelled like something smoked.

Its over at Pepboys they're trying to get the belt and some tensioner to put it on, only then will they know if the alternator is fried.

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CL98Blues

I had a similar problem, but my lights diming, etc went along with a strange acceleration without my foot on the petal. After spending money replacing the tentioner and alternator, the real culprit was the IAC Valve. Go on-line and search for IAC Valve by going to Google. If my dealership mechanic would have caught this, I probably wouln't have needed the Alternator. I went to a local Honda/Acura shop that did the work after I left the dealership with digussed. I hope my comments have helped.

qstorm78

$300 later I got my baby back. Had the alternator belt and tentioner replaced. Had to find the parts myself, Pepboys said they checked everywhere and only the dealer could find it but would take 2 days. I found the parts two minutes later.. LOL.. So I'm back and running again. I will check on that valve as well this weekend when I'm connecting my AMP back.

Next job will be new tires, brakes, rotors and alignment. I think i might have early symptoms of a bad transmission , it skips in the first and second gear sometimes feels like the car jerks. Any good advice on self diagnosis would be helpfull.

thanks

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CL98Blues

Oh Boy, this sounds like a repeat of what happened to my CL 3.0. I’ve had two batteries in a short time. I was trying to remedy problems for about a year. I replaced my alternator, tentioner, and IAC valve. Then last week, like countless others on this site, my transmission finally went out after two months of slipping. So yesterday was the one week anniversary without my CL. I’m driving a Ford Ranger truck to work now with no CD player. I know I’m whining, but I’m totally screwed. I owe 5K on my Acura CL! I called my mechanic, and he said that the only people that are going to buy my car broken are used dealers, or scrap folks. He suggests I put it on Craiglist.org and try my hand at it. I can at least try to get more before trading it in. Before I came aware of this website, I had planned a few months ago to replace the tranny when it goes. After reading that people have had to replace their tranny not once, but two, three and four times, I thought otherwise. I am in a financial situation where I cannot get another car right now, so the Acura name has let me down. I called Acura’s client services and was blown off. I wrote them a letter that I had intended to send the morning of the transmission dying. I still have to send it, but after reading what people have to say, I’m probably going to be blown off again. Honda/Acura are not going to do anything for us folks (that I can count on). I already asked two local dealers about a month ago, and they said 120K miles is too much to be considered to do a courtesy tranny replacement. So sad that warranty ended at 100K. I have pretty much decided to lease my next car, so I never have to worry about this again. First was the Jetta tranny, now the Acura. I’m done with owning cars. I wish you luck, but I have a feeling your tranny is also on it’s way out.

qstorm78

Sorry to hear about your car man. Try selling the parts, i'm sure you can make enough to at least pay of half of the 5K u still owe on it. selling it as is, if its it good shape besides the bad tranny, can get you at least $2500 to 3K

I've had my CL for 4 months now and only about a month after buying it the tranny started skipping. I've looked up used ones and that average price is about $800. Does anyone of here know how much it would cost to rebuilt my transmission? I love the car and would really like to keep it.

CL98Blues

I work with two other people who had first generation CL's. Both had tranny issues and their cars are long gone. Some were quoted 6K to an unheard of 8K. I was quoted 4K pretty much out the door -- parts and labor. My Acura mechanic is awesome! He is not with a dealership. He owns his own Honda/Acura shop. He is honest and told me that my tranny was going to go. When I asked when, he could not tell me. He just said anywhere from a few days to about a few months. He said to just drive it until it goes -- what else was I to do? So now it sits in the driveway (but looking good). I was just on another thread on this site and some people had their dealership cover the tranny. I'm going to go for it! Even though they shot me down over the phone, I'm going to go down there in person. I had a long history with that service advisor and I want to have him tell me to my face. I'm not giving up just yet. I'm going to print that other guys thread and show them. This isn't suppose to be happening. If it doesn't work out, I will try another dealership until I exhaust all the local dealers. I've started researching my next car. Of course with my possible negative loss, I won't have the funds to buy another car as nice as the Acura. I am looking at the Altima, Mazda, and the Saturn. Next time I'm leasing. BTW -- If they replace my tranny, I will drive it until it's paid off; then I will move on.

qstorm78

I've heard other say changing the transmission fluid on the CL's has always lead to more problems. I think mine is due and is thinking of changing it. Would that help in any way to prolong the life of the tranny? Also what about any solutions that i can put in there before the fluid change that might help clean it?

Q