When I was trying to start my car last night when I was picking up my mom from work, the car didn't start on the first try! I held it on the ignition and for some reason all you hear is the turns but no starting. After you let go, you get this horrible sound that the engine has just died on you. This guy that was passing by looked at me like omg what did he do. Does anyone know what could cause this problem?

 

Please clarify what you mean by, "...for some reason all you hear is the turns, but no starting."

 

i htought i heard somewhere that ..hard starts have something to do with emissions. Like how our cars start by trying to give off as little emissions as possible.

 

Yeah but it only happens once in a long time. When I was doing this, my music was on volume 15. I usually don't listen to music that loud...could it be the battery?

moda_way - I'm not sure if I am using the right terms but here let me try to explain. As you hold on to the ignition. You hear this sound which means your engine is starting. For me, all I heard was that sound and the engine wasn't starting. I held it on for about 4-5 seconds and still nothing. So once I let it go, the rpms climbed just a bit and it dropped and the engine just sounded like it died. Then I tried to do the same thing and everything was normal...weird isn't it? Could it be the spark plugs?

 

So you didn't hear a grind like the starter gear was getting the beat out of it, right?

If you are just hearing the cranking noise as if the motor is attempting to start but there is no spark, that is something totally different.

Couple of causes, but most simple to look at is the charge on the battery. Now of course if the battery was dying, the chranking would sound slower.

 

you shouldn't hold the ignition for 4-5 seconds, bad for the starter..
Um.. low battery probably? When was the last time you drove it? and did you leave any lights/music on prior? It wasn't really that cold last night in ny.. i don't think you should have a problem because of the weather.. if anything, swap out your OEM garbage :twocents: i'm considering switching to the redtop myself and my car's only 2 months old

 

There was no grinding sound at all. Just pure cranking. Do you guys think it's the battery? If so, I might just go to the autostore and buy a redtop or a yellowtop.

I had the music on prior to starting up the car but I usually do this and have no problems.

 

It is probably the battery. I had this problem less than a year after i got my 05. The oem batteries are known to crap out pretty quick, i say this because i have seen many many others have this same problem. When it happened to me, I was washing my car then went to do some interior detailing on it, so i got in and turned the car on aux for about a minute and a half tops so i could listen to a little musci, and i dont leave it oon aux very often at all. So i then tried to turn my to pull it back in to the garage, turned the key and it sounded like it was really trying to start but then it just went "click click" and died. I called TLC and they sent someone out to tow it to the dealer, free of charge, and then they gave me a new battery, free of charge again.

 

Have them check the alternator and battery (before a start and after). I haven't see a single alternator issue on the forum though.

Just trying to save to $140 on a Redtop/Yellowtop. I must admit I do love mine though.

I went to http://www.1st-optima-batteries.com on JTso's recommedation. Very happy with their service.

 

what is so special about these batteries? Do they store more power?

 

they are deep cycle batteries, which mean they can handle being left for an extended period of time, be drawn on and recover more easily, etc etc. Read the literature on Optima's site. The best part is 910 CA at 32F and 720 CCA at 0F.

 

This happen to me once in a while too.... it may just the fuel pump could not pump the fuel quick enough and causes the engine couldn't start up. Especially in cold weather. Normally the stock battery could last a good # of yrs.

 

The starting problem is documented in the TSBs. The starter may seem strong during cranking but still may not start the engine. The bottom line is weak battery to energize all related components in order to start the engine. Also, there is no emissions related reason for not starting. It's just some BS the dealers are feeding people when they don't want to address the real issue.

 

Thanks for all the quick responses guys. If I were to get the battery, would I be able to get it at Autozone or Pepboys since they are their distributors.

 

did u heard the engin cranking or just the starter cranking/spining?

 

I'm not sure how to answer that. It starts off like a normal car starting but it doesn't get to the point where I know I have to release the key.

 

Symptoms seem similar to this thread. I think that I had the same issue before.
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32253

 

Use them against each other to get the best price. If you can get one for $140, then that is as good as any price I have seen w/out tax; if you are looking for a Optima RedTop 35.

 

They said I had to special order it at Autozone. It was like 185 =/

 

Time to order Optima from that site and deal with the POS battery for the moment. I bet if someone were to jump the battery, it would start just fine. That's another test you can do if it happens again.

 

The longer crank time can definately be related to emissions control (though the car not starting at all is obviously some other problem).

From the 2006 TSX manual (not the full manual but in the quick start manual) under the heading "Things You Need To Know":

"At times the engine may take longer to start than usual; the engine management software is working to reduce emissions at start up."

The TSX does feel very different at startup than cars I've had in the past. It doesn't really roar to life as much as the engine just comes on.

 

It's not like the battery is dead. I just need to restart the ignition process and it will start fine. Hmm..

 

um i'm not sure if the local pepboys has them.. i've checked a few auto shops by my area and none of them carry it.. so i think you'd do better ordering it online, free shipping in 48 states buddy, you can't beat that

 

well if the car cranks and doesn't turn over it might be your alternator.. possiby your starter?

 

My 2004 "Quick Start" guide doesn't say anything like that. It must be something new they added to the newer model. We all have noticed something different about this engine. It doesn't want to start and the battery is small.

Let's think about the reasoning for a minute and see if it makes any sense. If in fact the longer starting process is an attempt to reduce emissions, does it really help when a cold engine automatically goes into warm-up mode right after starting and running at a richer air fuel mixture, which produces higher emissions? The O2 sensor is not even being used until the coolant temperature has reached a certain degree. Additionally, any emissions device that requires intake manifold vacuum as a source of signal wouldn't work when the engine is not running. The O2 sensor won't do any good either as no exhaust gas to detect until the engine is started.

 

By the way, I'm looking to buy a redtop. But there seems to be no size that fits the TSX? I searched and found out people used 51R for yellowtop but I can't see 51 for redtop. Am I looking at something wrong?

 

Is it redtop model 35 for our TSX?

 

The red top 35 will work but you have to remove the original battery box.

 

Hmm...that doesn't sound like a good idea does it? Is there a battery where I can do the least amount of work. =]

 

It's so easy even a caveman can do it.

 

Better yet, even a moda_way can do it. I also used the snapped top shipping piece to raise up the battery and provide a more stable base.

Trust JTso and me, it works. The most difficulty you will have is getting both battery tie down hooks in at the same time, but it is doable.

 

Two comments:

The longer crank is due to less fuel being injected than is normal for a rich mixture to reduce the amount of unburned fuel being sent through a nearly unoperational catalytic converter. The cc must be hot to do any sort of work - it takes about 10 seconds of exaust to warm it up - in the mean time the mixture is less rich than expected. So more cranking is necessary to explode the mixture in colder conditions.

Second comment, the battery is crap. The engine will crank more slowly and the spark will be less impressive through the coils as a result of the weaker battery.

One last item, the "dead engine" sound you were describing is likely because as you released the key after the 5th second of cranking the engine was about to start up. Not a big deal.

Fixes: One - get a better battery because 5 seconds of cranking is a long time even for the TSX's setup. Two - ensure your using 5W30 or 5W20 and nothing more "thick"; this will optimize cold starting and allow the crank to turn marginally faster. Lastly, I have heard that for engines requiring 91+ octane that it is advisable to lower the octane a little in cold start conditions. Lower octane fuel combusts more quickly - although I would not use lower than 89 in our version of the 2.4L for prolonged periods.

 

I would not advice using anything below 91. At a compression of 10.5:1, 91 really is the lowest you want to put in the car. There is no reason to use a lower octane fuel unless you want preignition in the combustion chamber.

 

Hmmm.....so I bought the Optima redtop 35 at that website. Those guys should pay you for advertising rofl.

 

is the new TSB referring to this problem?
something about TSX will stall while driving and hard to start?

 

No, the new TSB has nothing to do with this. With the problem that the TSB describes, one it happens, your car won't start anymore.

 

Is it installed yet? LOL

I only recommend sites that were good to me. I research this shyt so much and when I find a good deal I talk about it A LOT. No reason someone should pay more than is necessary for a part if I can help it.

 

It hasn't come in yet. Still at the warehouse =[

 

Yeah, I figured.

I'm thinking about putting these on as well (from PartsExpress)

 

Haha how much are those? They look cool.