Ok, my actuator went the other day and I am trying to get the dealer to fix it. They just keep telling me that the computer says there is no problem. What do I need to do to convince them its borke. The service manager telle me he can't go on a ghost hunt and can't just fix things the computer says there is no problem with. Any sugesstions?

Thanks...

 

Tell your moron service manager that they will NOT get any code ! Call Wayne at Park Ave Acura !
I've had not one, but two replaced ! I KNOW THE RUN AROUND !

 

even better tell him to go over to another cl and rev it to around 4k and magic....the motor moves a cable....im on my way to the dealer right now...to have them verify my acctuator is bad....of course they wont stock the part nothing like two trips to the dealer...

 

Thanks, I suggessted comparing it with another CL and he said well let me investigate furthur and contact "engineering" before we do that. He also said they drove it and that it didn't feel slower. I don't know how, as soon as it broke I felt how much more sluggish the car was, and I knew right away to check the actuator thanks to this board .

 

And don’t let them pull the old “It won’t work in PARK” excuse either.
I checked mine in the garage several times on the old car.

Once you find where that linkage cable is, it’s real easy to rev the engine and check it yourself from under the hood.

Shawn S

 

LOL, those fawkers at Acura Crapland tried that same line with me. So, we went over to a CL that just came off the truck and, voila, there you have it. In park even. They even tried to convince me it is related to the VSA system. I'm beginning to thing that VSA means Very Stupid Acura.

Cannot wait until I get my survey from Acura Corp on that one.

 

They just tried the PARK thing with me, I am going there to show them. This is ridiculous, everytime I need something fixed they give me a problem. I can understand the car having some problems, but at least when one comes up FIX IT!

 

The check is very easy to do:
1) Start your car
2) open the hood
3) Look for 2 cabls going to the throtle body
4) put downward pressure using your thumb on the rear cable, that would rev up the engine
5) at 3800 rpm... the Acutator will activated the IMRC 2nd stage Valve.

Pretty easy 10s test.

 

Yes, that is what I did.

Of course you can’t tell where 3,800 RPM is when your head is under the hood, but I just “blip” the throttle a few times and make sure the actuator motor goes.

Shawn S

 

By the way, the throttle lever you have to push will be hot as a MF if you do it right after driving...take a glove with you to the dealership so you can put it on.

 

Sounds like poor customer service to me. You shouldn't have to go under the hood of your own car and prove something is broken...isn't that why Acura hires their technicians and charges at least $60.00 an hour for labor?

 

back from the dealer....not sure what happened...i checked twice...but there it worked....oh well ill keep an eye on it...

 

Damn, that's not good news. On many occasions I've "felt" that
my car was sluggish and wondered if it was just a perception
thing or if the car was really hogging it down the road. 'Cuz other
times it "feels" fast. I've only checked the actuator a couple times
since its a 2 person job if you want to watch the tach at the same
time. Anyway, both times it moved.

The question I had is, when actuators go bad do they always
fail completely or do they present intermittant operation? I guess
I was hoping they fail completely ... a lot easier to diagnose.

I'm semi-seriously considering installing a micro-switch at the
end of the actuator travel and putting a led in the dash to show
when the actuator has moved. Thoughts?

 

Clever idea. Go for it an let us know.

 

You ever do this ????

 

That's a good idea!

 

I just thought I'd point out that if anyone wants to do this, there's instructions on the TL board's FAQ...

 

Hmm .. not quite, although a VTEC indicator would be nice too.

I'm pretty sure that when actuators fail, they're still receiving an
input signal to "actuate" but the mechanism is bunged. What
I'm describing is a micro-switch mechanically attached to the
actuator mechanism, so that when the cam "flips" an indicator
light would show on the dash. So when I'm driving I can answer
the question "Well, I'm over 3800 RPM, in theory the cam has
flipped .. wonder if the actuator has actually actuated? "
(alliteration intentional :P )

And no, I haven't installed it yet.

 

Ah! I misunderstood. Sorry, I'm dumb like that.

 

1. Try a hall-effect device with magnet.

2. IMO, if the actuator arm is pulling, your OK (very rare to zero cases of having a broken cable).


LINK to Hall effect device (you supply the magnet) to put somewhere:

Links: Hall-Effect Switches for High-Temperature Operation:

http://www.allegromicro.com/sf/3121/

"

Description

These Hall-effect switches are monolithic integrated circuits with tighter magnetic specifications, designed to operate continuously over extended temperatures to +150°C, and are more stable with both temperature and supply voltage changes. The unipolar switching characteristic makes these devices ideal for use with a simple bar or rod magnet. The three basic devices (3121, 3122, and 3123) are identical except for magnetic switch points...."