So I go to turn on my car and all my electrical lights were flickering on and off and the car would not start. My dad got the jumper cables and started the car. Ive had the car for less than 2 years on its stock battery. Here are my questions:

I did not play any music without the car on or leave a door open or have any lights turned on....

If I was to call Acura would they give me a new battery under warranty?

Another thing is I am trickle charging (2 Amp) the battery right now, and was wondering how long I should do this for. If my car turns on after this will I still need a new battery? If Acura wont warranty it, what battery is suggested?

 

Same thing happened to me as far as the lights flickering and the car not starting.

Mine did start back after about 5 minutes so I don't think it was the battery on mine. It has done this twice. It was almost like I was just turning the key on and off and on and off over and over agian.

Any ideas on why this sometimes happens?

 

I think this should be a 100,000 warranty item, but check the eye when it is done charging on the battery (light indicator). If it is the correct color, you should be good and won't need a new battery.

 

Justin, it would have to be the battery, I tried to get the car to start like 15 times get the flickering every time, waited and tried again many times, and nothing worked. My dad brought the jumpers and i was good to go in 2 minutes....


Thanks for the eye thing, Ill look for that...if i need a new one i hope its warrantied.

 

What are those yellow top batteries? I see lots of people listing their mods and they always put those in. Do you really need this if you do not run lots of accessories like system, dvd, playstation, ect...?

 

Depends on how you use the car and so on.

The Red is fine for most purposes.

The Yellow Top is a "deep discharge" design and is good for people who let the battery voltage drop really low between charges *or* have large stereos, etc.

My battery is still fine (knock on wood), but I've finally decided to get the RedTop in the next few months.

You can always call Optima and ask to speak to an engineer and tell them what your doing and what you have in the car.

BTW, make sure the charging system is working. It doesn't matter how good the battery is if you got a loose connection, leakage, or a bad charging system.

BTWII, the CLS doesn't put a hefty charge in the battery when it is loafing along in 4th and 5th gear around town (1000 to 1500 RPM). It needs about 2- to 3.5-K RPM to really start putting some charge (current) into a battery that has been drained or has been sitting around. (I've experimented with a volt meter...)

 

so will a new battery be covered under warranty?

 

IMO, it depends on what made it go and your dealer...

 

Im pretty sure it is. They should last at least 4 years.

Sometimes they will just blow because of some internal defect. I've seen cases of 3 months only.

 

EricL how can I tell if the charging system is working correctly.

 

it may be the battery. it may be the alternator/regulator. if these cars have battery temperature sensors like the late model chryslers do this sensor could be bad and has been causing over/under charging of the battery. it may be as simple as a bad ground. this could be inside or outside the battery.

its worth having it checked out by either the acura dealer or an independent auto electrical shop. 1st try a new battery. if a new battery solves the problem its the simplest & cheapest solution. if its not the battery it should be a warranty issue: alternator/regulator, battery temp sensor, bad ground.

good luck. let us know if you find the culprit.

 

A battery, to me, falls under the definition of a wear and tear item.

I don't see why it would be warrantied.

And for cryin' out loud. A battery costs less than 75 bucks. Just buy one.

 

Batteries, like tires, are under separate warranty by the supplier. You will unlikely get a new one. They will prorated and you will have to come up with money for the replacement. I would shop around after I find out how much I have to pay for the replacement battery from the dealer.

 

Sorry Scrib $75 is a lot to me, as I am 17 and have to pay for all gas/insurance/tires/and maintence. Anyway, I called up my dealer, its not warrantied, prorated, so I will have to get a new battery.

Also, after the trickle charge I drove my car around today and it started up 4 times, but it still was working hard to start up like it didnt have as much juice. The eye is not green, it is clear. I wonder if its something different than the battery like others suggested.

Will Acura look and see if the new battery doesnt help, to see what the problem is for free?

 

Optima Red Top. Make sure to get the "spacer" that fits under the battery so that it fits correctly in the stock battery box.
Dan

 

You might be better off getting a battery on your own rather than going through the dealer. Proration works in his favor depending on what the starting price is! They don't do anything for free. Someone pays and it's either you or Acura!

 

if you replace the battery and the problem persists then the acura technicians at the dealer will diagnose the problem under warranty.

if anyone asks just tell them you got stuck with a dead battery on a saturday and couldn't wait till monday to get the car fixed. but replacing the battery didn't fix the problem.

 

Well, battery replacement is part of ownership. So I don't care if you're 17 or 50, you're responsible for simple maintinance items like a battery on a car.

 

Get it checked at Sears.

Or

If you have a voltmeter or DVM, check to see that the voltage is around 13.5- to 14.5-volts with engine running. Voltage should not vary too much with RPM. (expect a slight drop at low idle)

Voltage that is too high will fry the battery and Optimas do NOT like to be overcharged (a check before replacement is a good thing). I have a friend that went through two of them because he didn't check the voltage regulator and the battery got a constant "cooking" and learned that they don't like to be overcharged.

With engine off, you can check the voltage and it should be around 13+ volts. If it's too much lower than that, you probably have a shorted cell.

The Sears option is the best, as I don't think you have a current probe handy. A better test is too see how much CURRENT is flowing into the battery with the engine running, and how much CURRENT is flowing out of the battery with the car stopped.

There are lots more tests, but...

I don't have the Helms (AKA Acura Service manual next to me), so I'm just giving you the ballpark info on checking batteries and charge systems OK?

 

BTW, I was red top batteries for sale at Costco. No need to get them on the internet anymore. I don't know what the price was but I'm sure it's cheaper then the $110 or so on the internet.

 

Yeah get the battery and charging system checked at sears or schucks or a auto store. Most places will do it for free and its really quick.

If you end up have to buy a battery you could consider a hawker genesis. I got one for my S2000 and its only 13lbs. About half the wieght of a regular battery and half the size. It probably doesn't do much for a car like a CL, but it still weight savings.

 

O well none of these guys will do the checks for free all like $20,
I will look for a new battery, I do not have any type of system or anything so I am looking for the cheapest battery that should last for a while. Some advice would be good.

 

I presume the was is saw...

I found some Optimas (sitting next to the Kirkland brand batteries) when I was at Costco last week (Los Feliz). However, they were not suitable for the CLS. When I inquired about other models, the person I talked to thought that it was up to the individual store to decide what to carry. The price was close to $100. That’s all I heard, so who knows what is sitting in different Costcos.

 

http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showt...threadid=89786

 

i have a black top optima.




j/k, i painted it that way.

my red top is over 5 years old and i've had it in 3 or 4 different cars. it also sat for a year or 2. i've run it dead all the way a few times (the last time being yesterday) and it still takes a charge and keeps on going. it will probably be replaced in the near future, but it has served me well.

 

optima > *


i have the yellow and its a beast

 

I have a Red Top in my VW, been running for years with no problems. Soon, I will have a Yellow Top 51R in my CL-s.

Renegade, I would highly look into an Optima, remember, you get what you pay for if you want a cheap battery. And besides, Optimas are non-liquid, which by far is one of the major reasons to buy one.

 

While I really like the great stories of reliability of the Optimas, and love the low impedance provided by the spiral-cell design, it still uses a liquid electrolyte.

From the safety sheet pdf:

Here is the link for the Optima’s ‘Safety Data Sheet:’

http://www.optimabatteries.com/produ...yDataSheet.pdf

 

So after a few days, my car seems to be starting up everytime since I tried that trickle charge, the eye just wont ever turn green, and I wasnt sure if it ever was green before the battery died. I have some jumper cables in the trunk and I am gonna just run off of this battery till it dies, hopefully itll last another 2 years.

 

My green eye disappeared when the car sat for a bit during a two-week absence. It only turned green by driving around at 3- to 4-K RPMS for 30- to 45-minutes. The first test drive, leaving the car in D5 around town, didn't do squat -- the eye was still dark.

If the battery eye won’t turn green, it is probably "finished.” I don't know about yours, but mine is green as of today (I just checked the battery, ATF, oil, coolant, other fluids, and IRMC).

I don't think you are going to be getting two more years on it.

And, I hope your garage has more room than mine. If my battery goes, I have the fun of grabbing a screwdriver to "force it" out of "Park", and I think I'll replace the battery before I need to go there. IF you can get to it, you get to reset the radio and Navi code (presuming you have Navi). It also is "fun" to have the computer sort out your driving patterns with a electrical reset -- sometimes it helps, and sometimes it hurts.

If you are even thinking about a "trickle" charger, you should make sure that it is a “battery maintainer" that is designed to keep the battery fully charged WITHOUT overcharging it; IOW, it stops charging when the battery is "fully charged." Trickle chargers are generally NOT made to hook up to a battery on a ongoing/nightly basis, and they can "fry" the battery by not keeping an eye on current and voltage going into the battery. They also are not very good at restoring sick batteries.

BTW, if the battery was really low or near death, it will never get the eye to turn green. The last resort for bringing a sick battery back, is putting a FAT charge in it with the proper charger (high amps), and can also involve hooking it up to a load (carbon pile) to try and drive the sulfate off the plates. The process can be repeated a few times, and if it doesn’t respond, it’s officially dead or near death.

Overcharging a battery is just as bad as undercharging it.

Are you really sure you don't have a friend with a $20 volt meter (from Radio Shack, etc) that can measure the voltage of your battery while the car is:

OFF
OFF in ACC mode
AT IDLE
With engine revs up around 2-3K?

And are you really unwilling to spend $20 to have some pros check out your electrical system?

I’ve offered about all the help that I can here. Good luck…

 

Eric L I appreciate your help. Today my battery officially died again today, and a jump start was necessary. I will be getting a new battery from costco today, and I guess I should get someone to look at the electrical system as well.

when I get my new battery I am assuming it will need the radio code, and then do I need to drive it like a beast to get the computer to recognize I like aggressive driving?

 

im pretty sure those ass warmers kill ur battery

 

Battery not covered under warranty, Lost mine last year, and was told Honda/Acura batteries half life of 2-3 years.

 

Radio loses backup pretty quickly.

NAVI takes a while to take a "wipe" (I tried this).

If the battery is "good", there are little device that SOME battery shops will have that uses a 9-volt battery to "hold-up" the electrical system while they swap batteries.

This is only of use if the radio and NAVI haven't already gotten wiped. A shop that knows what they are doing will have something that will keep the car's voltage up during the swap.

Here is an example of one (they make different ones):

http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/p...omputer+memory