A couple of days ago I left the key in the ignition, radio was off, interior lights were off. After the car was packed for fathers day weekend, it would not start; battery was almost dead; interior lights were very dim. Since I don’t have a battery charger, I connected a battery tender I have and put a little bit of charge on the battery, but it was not enough. I tried to jump start it but the engine would not turn, and there was a buzzing sound coming from the dash, while the dash was flickering. Even if the battery was gone, the car should be able to start when using the other cars battery. Seems to me a new battery would not make a difference. Any ideas what else is going on before I get it towed to the dealer? Glad the old Accord still can make it a little bit further than the Laurel Park & Ride.

 

If your car is a 6MT I would suspect a clutch switch has gone bad - ther are two - an upper and a lower.

 

I forgot to mention that the car is a 5AT.

 

Get a new battery and it will start. You Probably did not give the old battery enough time to accept a charge. The cells in the battery are shorted. When you start such a battery you need to let is sit awhile, while the other car is given the other car a charge.. Also make sure you have good heavy cables.

 

So you've tried another car battery. Do you hear the engine crank?

 

How many times did you try to start the car? Maybe the alternator went bad.

 

Thanks for the info . A friend at work suggested to go and get the battery checked, I probably do that when I go to COSTCO to get another one. I was under the impression that the car would start if it was connected to another car with a good battery.

 

I have not tried another battery yet. Just got back from weekend trip. Just had enough time to switch stuff from one car to another, had to avoid the 95 madness. BTW the engine does not crank.

 

I also have a 05 AT, and last thursday, I had the same problem I was at work and the parking attendants advised me that my car would not start. I called the Acura TLC and they jump started my car. I took it to the dealer, and they replaced the battery free of charge (still under warrantee).

How many miles does your car have? My car had about 41,000 miles.

 

Maybe this has to do with the fuel pump thing? Search for the recall, it involves '05s.

 

Nope, my VIN number does not fall into the recall.

 

My car has about ~8500 miles.

 

I took mine to the dealer a few months ago, and the relay was replaced.

 

Wow, thats really low mileage. You are defenatly covered under warrantee the dealer should replace it without a problem.

 

The early year TSX's are notorious for their batteries. Just do a search on here.

You said you have an '05 - you are probably right on the edge of needing a new battery anyway. I have an '04 and was starting to get occasional hesitations and long cranking times and I replaced my battery in January. Much better.

Someone said the original battery design was under designed for the 04s and 05s. I upped my CCAs to the 600s even though it never gets cold here. The old battery was a paltry 340-440.

 

Where do you live where you can leave a key in the ignition?!?

Anyway, when the key was in the ignition it probably was activating the anti-theft system or module and that may have been a slow but significant drain to a marginal battery. Otherwise, if it was just for the weekend I don't understand what could be drawing so much off the battery.

My buddy had an RSX that would die faithfully if it wasn't driven every 2 weeks. Apparnetly the computer draw was heavy on those cars, I dunno.

 

I will be driving to the dealer later this week . One of my neighbors offered a battery charger, having nothing to loose I charged it for ~ 3 hrs @ 6 amp. The car started like nothing had happened. Thanks to everybody for the input, especially dwest for the battery/jump start theory/lesson. I’m still learning in my old age. Never had a problem jump-starting a car before. Battery must be in really bad shape . I went to the dealer yesterday afternoon, live a couple of miles from it and was told to tow it and live it there overnight . Talked to the parts guy and he said the battery has a 5 yr warranty; I could not see it anywhere on the battery even though he said there was a label indicating it on top of the battery . I will drive the car to the dealer and see what they say about replacing the battery; otherwise I will be getting a battery somewhere else.

 

That seems to be the case. Something must be "running' when the key is in the ignition which should not be any problem for a healthy battery. I guess it would not have made any difference if it had been parked on the street instead of in the garage, unless the crooks have a tow truck