jleew540

hey guys - having some car problems hope you can help diagnose it as the Acura dealership can not....If you have any idea I would really appreciate it! Here are the issues:
2004 TSX ELECTICAL problem history
1. First the starter turned very slowly, barly turning over the engine.
a. I suspected a battery – brought it to acura – bat tested – tested fine – told to plug it in at night
2. Always plugged car in at night but problem persisted until one morning it would not turn over
a. Room mate came home and boosted the car and I got to work 1 hour late
3. Next day- parked car outside in -20 for 2 hours. Went to drive car inside for the night but ZERO POWER, no power locks, no ignition lights, no sound upon turning key
4. Got another boost! Drove to Can Tire – bought Battery – installed – no noticsable difference in cranking power – put old battery back in
5. Brought BACK to ACURA
a. New starter put in
6. 5 minutes away from ACURA I noticed the engine light was on
7. 10 minutes from acura
a. all guages went to zero
b. windshild wipers slowed
c. headlights turned off
d. car continued to run
8. 15 minutes from Acura
a. Car parked, turned OFF, immediately attempted to start, guages seems to work but, NO cranking power, car wont start

Any Ideas?

jleew540

Acura Tested the Bat, ALT and rest of elec system - apparently....

fast1

I think the right things are being looked at. To me, it sounds like the alternator isn't charging the battery or you have some sort of residual draw on the electrical system. Do you have any after market alarms or audio components that are not downstream of the ACC position on your electrical system? Weird electrical stuff may also be a grounding issue. With the extreme cold, your wiring connections on any of the above mentioned parts could be making less than optimal contact and not behaving right.

TexasHonda

Check resistance of positive battery lead from battery to main bus. Corrosion can create a high resistance point leading to starting/running problems.

good luck

TexasHonda

Check voltage drop rather than resistance, much easier.


good luck

gonzo5721

check battery ground cable, it cost 12 bucks at dealer i was having similar problems

Acutech Automotive

well I had a similar problem and it turned out to be the positive and negative battery cables were faulty

Timmy18

I say negative (ground) battery cables. Honda's have an issue with those over time. What's your mileage and year? Depending on where you live and what you drive in, corrosion can occur sooner and cause a shortage.

feuss2

iTrader: (1)

I have a ground cable from an Audi A6 - it works great!

Blindeye_03

Ground cables had lots of corrosion due to my negligence when I had an 03 civic si. But I second/third/fourth to have those checked.