mrm143

Got all that =o)

So how do I get the car to go to "sleep"

Shut hood with meter outside and take keys away from car?

oo7spy

Keep the hood open. Do whatever else you do when you go to sleep. Close all doors and lock the car(?).

sOLLEx

You need to close the hood latch with a couple of big screwdrivers while leaving the hood open so you can monitor the draw...lock the car so it beeps and it will be asleep in no time...couple minutes.

kingofbytes

OK, not sure this will help, but here goes.

My wife's MDX was purchased certified used (new battery installed by certification process) about 3 years ago. She's had 3 Acura batteries replaced. In ALL CASES, the stealership's preliminary tests showed their battery tests to be "working normally".

In all 3 cases, replacing the battery solved the problem for 9 months to a year. The last time, the stealership tried to charge me for a new battery. They also claimed they didn't have the records that they replaced it. Luckily I DO keep records and showed them the errors of their ways and then contacted the Acura Division Northeast Region Parts & Service Manager on linkedin. The last part is optional :>)

Here's the point: EVERY time the Acura battery had a bad cell. The stealership ALWAYS tries to blame some third party item for the "excessive draw". The stealership NEVER can answer my simple question of "OK, if it's this trailer brake, why NOW?".

So, take it from me, it is possible to get bad batterys. Luckily for me, the Acura battery warranty is 3 years full replacement, prorated after that to 100 months. I'm not saying that's your issue, but, if I had explained MY story to ME, I'd find it hard to believe...but believe it.

mrm143

So...
The results are in..


Let me explain the pics, and what happened.....


Sooooo


Battery draw car "sleeping" was 4.2 amps...... (I didn't get a pic of that one im sorry)


Started pulling fuses underhood, the first one that made a difference was a 40amp Labeled Backup/ACC (see pic)


dropped meter to 0


Assuming this was just a backup fuse for radio, I kept going..


Fuse in drivers side labeled RADIO pulled this, meter dropped to 0, assuming another backup, I kept going


Passenger side, no changes, still 4.2


THEN I pulled the Bluetooth (see pics) and it dropped to .1


SO... with those results, is it safe to assume it is the Bluetooth module, and IF SO, I found a few on ebay, same p/n but REVISION was different... Can someone point me in the right direction, or tell me if my findings were off?












PS... I would just leave it disconnected, but it also disables the microphone for the other telematics stuff
Driv

sOLLEx

Although your reading of 4.2 Amps makes me believe the car wasn't actually asleep yet, 10 mA is way under the 50 mA threshold that Honda deems excessive, so It appears you found the draw. Good job! You saved yourself some money and hopefully learned something useful.

mrm143

My apologies, it was 2.2 not 4.2
I was in such a hurry to post, I messed up the numbers


So 2.2 sleeping, .1 with HFL pulled...


So now I need to figure out this revision 7 thing

mrm143

Just updated my post, it was 2.2 not 4.2 sorry....


now to find a unit, and one that's NOT going to do the same thing

mrm143

Now im all over the place trying to find the damn thing, ebay has em for 100+ but different REV numbers, and how do I know im not gonna get one that does the same thing, was their a fixed model at all?

mrm143

Acura wants 1100.00 for the part
They say its a common issue

F That , LOL

oo7spy

2A explains a lot. What part number/rev does your module say?

mrm143

P/N 39770-sja-a012-m1

Rev 7

What does that explain, just curious

Found a salvage yard about 20 miles away, the guy has 5 in stock, WITH 1 year warranty, so basically he said I could try them and see if they work

1 from an 07 and 4 from an 05

But im confused on the rev number, he said it didn't matter as long as parts match up

oo7spy

The revisions are probably for the fixes they made to rectify the issues. Go with the 2007. The 2005 are likely more susceptible to the same design flaw you are dealing with.

mrm143

No I meant the 2 amps

If he doesn't have a rev 7 than it should still "work" but depending on the rev it may have the same issue

I just like the fact that he said come up, and you can try them all here if you want...

Im assuming if its working, my draw will stay around .1 and it means a good unit with a 1 year warranty

oo7spy

Huh?

I agree the same or earlier rev may develop the same issue. It sounds like a good deal that you should explore. I would still go with the newest unit possible.

mrm143

I thought you said the 2amp draw made more sense, was just wondering why...

oo7spy

Your high beams draw around 4 to 6 amps each. You can imagine leaving those on everyday, all day and what it would do to your battery. I was saying that 2A is very excessive and explains your issues. That was all.

mrm143

Cool I was just curious..

So I spoke to the guy, he said come down, bring car, you can test all 5 units..

So basically ill just plug and play and do a draw test for each one, and if they all work, pick the newest, and if they don't, at least he will know they don't for when they sell them

mrm143

What I find funny, is that acura said that was the most updated rev they have, and they see this ALL the time, their is actually a TSB out on it.... but yet, no recall

mrm143

2. Determine if the HFL system is locked up by

checking for these symptoms:

• The HFL Talk and HFL Back buttons in the

steering wheel don’t work at all.

• The multi-information display (MID) is stuck in an

HFL mode, and the radio is muted.

• The vehicle’s B-CAN bus is still active after the

vehicle is turned off (a locked up HFL system will

account for approximately 200 mA of parasitic

current draw).

NOTE: The HFL system staying on may cause a

dead or low battery while the vehicle’s ignition

switch is off. If the battery’s state of charge goes

low enough, or if the battery cables are removed,

the system may reset, causing the problem to

appear intermittent.




is 2.1 amp= to 200 ma?

oo7spy

No. 0.2 A = 200 mA

2.1 A = 2,100 mA

They claim 1/10th of what you found.

mrm143

So then am I still over even with that removed? or maybe my multimeter doesn't go that low....

oo7spy

Let's take a look at your multimeter.



There are two DC current dial settings, 200m and 10A. Depending on what setting you are on, you need to move the red probe connector. The left connection (as pictured) is for the 10A setting (as noted above the connector). The right connection is for the 200 mA setting. Your dial is on 200 mA, and the connector is on 10A. I don't know how this affects the system, but it is not designed to be used that way and may affect your results.

When properly set up, the 200 mA setting will not read anything higher than 200 mA. Typically the meter will say "OVERLOAD" when more than 200 mA is detected in this mode. Similarly, in the 10A mode, the very low current readings will be inaccurate.

I assume if you read 2.1 amps, you had the connector on the left and the dial on 10A. When the dial was switched to 200m, that circuit was open, and that's why your meter read 00.1.

mrm143

The reason it was hooked up that way was because no current was passing through it with the red probe in the MA setting, it was 0 no matter what and nothing in car would work

When I switched it to the 10a it acted as though it was in line with the car battery and things in the car worked...

So im ASSUMING even though it was wrong, seeing the "number" drop like that is definetly a sign the unit is using some power at shutdown and is the issue?

oo7spy

I'm sure you can get all of the info you need from the 10A settings, but the dial and connector should both be set for that.

mrm143

Grr.. I keep OVERTHINKING this LOL..

Is that 40amp fuse labeled backup/acc SUPPOSED to be pulling from battery, I believe this fuse IS linked to the HFL, but again, just my mind keeps on running LOL

And is the #7 fuse labeled radio connected as well, im wondering if it could also be a bad head unit...

I think I have parasitic draw on the brain

dirko

Hi Ho: One thing that is a little disappointing to me is the apparent lack of a battery voltage display. If you can watch the voltage it will be very apparent if the battery or charging system has a problem. We just got our Acura, so maybe I just haven't found the right button to push. Shorted battery cells will also be very obvious if you can watch the battery voltage. If I had your problem, I would put a simple, cheap digital VOM on the battery and leave it there till the problem is resolved. (Or maybe someone will tell us how to display battery voltage)

oo7spy

I have never seen that display. I agree, it was more harmful to remove it from old cars than helpful. My Tundra at least has an analog meter.

dirko

Hi Ho: Thanks 007spy. The thing that is agrivating is that there would be essentially zero cost to add an output for important things like battery voltage, engine oil temperature, radiator coolent temperature, etc. as these are already available. All it would take is a few lines of code so the display below the speedometer (which already exists) could display them. These (and a lot more) are available in my motorhome at the touch of a button. Maybe it has to do with the perception that people who drive cars don't care about these things, and people that drive a Cat C7 diesel do.

Anyway having driven the Acura for about a month now we are totally impressed, so maybe I'm picking at straws.

oo7spy

It's the same reason you can only see plastic when you open the hood. Consumers today generally don't have a clue what it means if their battery is at 12V with the engine on, but if the car says "service needed", they know to drive to the dealership. I'm sure part of it is catering to the blissfully ignorant, but more of it is putting a dark cloak around the car so that people will just go to the dealer and up service revenue.


I drove into work one day behind an ML350 with a dead tail light. As we walked to the elevator, I mentioned it to the female owner. Her response was, "Okay, I'm going to the dealer soon to have the oil changed, so I'll just tell them. Thank you." Whatever, lady.

dirko

Hi Ho: I know this is an old thread, but didn't hear the resolution. After reading the whole thread, I wonder if you don't have a bad connection somewhere. Grounds are always suspect. Did you find the problem?

minla007

Hello, I am having similar battery drain issues.

I am confused when you say "...THEN I pulled the Bluetooth (see pics) and it dropped to .1..."

Which fuse is the bluetooth fuse that you pulled? Or was it the actual bluetooth module? Either way, can you clarify what you disconnected and how please?

My bluetooth hasn't been pairing with my phone for the past few months, but i assumed it was an issue w/ the android software update on my samsung gs3 phone. But maybe my bluetooth module died in the RL. I didn't really care because I rarely used it, but if this is what is causing my battery to die if i don't drive it for a few days, then i want to disconnect it permanently. Thanks!