dj jazzy death

First off, want to say hi to everybody here. Kind of new to this art of the forums (Use to just roam in the 2g TL forums). So I just picked up my '98 RL from the auction and first thing I've noticed is that there are quite a bit of electrical issues with the car;

1. Radio doesnt seem to work? Would it be a fuse?
2. Battery light is on when you first start it up, but if you turn the headlights on, or rev the engine it goes away (Also, I checked the alternator and it is good).
3. When I first started it up, (battery was dead previously) when I turned on the headlights, the tach would drop to zero but the engine would still be alive.
4. Biggest issue is that sometimes it won't want to start in park (It will act like its in drive or reverse), and I would have to shift it into neutral to start it up.
5. Also noticed the reverse lights will not work unless you nudge the shifter a little to the right (guessing this is related to the no start issue, so something is wrong with the column).

So is there anybody that had one or all of these issues and can help and give me advice?

Besides that, it's a good car, body is in good shape, interior needs a good cleaning but it's nice. It was one of the nicest rides I had on the 401

Thanks

MyNameIsEarl

Sorry to hear about your electrical problems.

I'm no expert but it sounds to me that if you have 2 problems in the shifter that maybe something is wrong with that. Maybe one of the mechanisms is worn out so it is not quite seating properly depending on what gear you are in.

As for the tachometer/lights problem. I wouldn't really know where to start other than it may be a bad multiplex unit (there are two, one one each front footwell, closest to the outside). If water got under there, then you have quite a bit of work to do, or money to pay.

My Acura dealer will charge $180 to diagnose the problem, no matter how complex, you may want to call up your Acura dealer and see if they have anything like that.

Good luck!

And as for the radio, do the lights come on for the buttons or anything? Are you using the radio with navigation or non-navigation?

dj jazzy death

Yah, had a feeling there was something wrong with the shifter. As for the diagnoses from Acura, no thanks lol. $180 is too much just to diagnose something :s . I'll fix it myself

dj jazzy death

Anybody else have ideas before I start digging into these issues?

pmendoza502

check the battery terminals, make sure they are clean, even a lil corrosion between the terminal and the connector can give you issues, if thats good to go i would check the crankshaft pully pin...