I was sitting at the store in my car parked and it suddenly shut off. It would not restart so I had somebody jump start the car and it turned on fine while it was hooked up to the jumper cables. The second we took the car off the jumper cables it died about 10 seconds later. What is going on? I'm still in the parking lot trying to figure this out.. also just to answer some questions ahead of time. I have never had a problem with the battery at all. The car has always started since the day I bought it with no problems.

 

Sounds like your battery is dead and can't hold a charge. They can go at any time. How old is it?

 

The battery is about three and a half years old. Some people say it's the alternator at Advance Auto and some people say it's the battery. I don't want to buy the battery unless I can make sure. They will not refund it.

 

Get a multimeter and with the car running test the voltage of the battery. Should be over 13 if your alternator is working. Advance auto can check your battery and alternator for free too. 3.5 years is decent life for an rl, wouldnt be too surprised if it's toast.

i thought if it was the alternator, the car would throw a check charging system message.

 

It's the battery. I just replaced mine yesterday. The night before last, I drove home with everything fine, went out to my car the next morning, it unlocked with the door handle, turned the key to acc and everything was normal, tried to start it and nothing... I mean nothing. Battery tested at 13 volts, but had no cranking amps. Swapped the battery out, and everything's fine again.

 

Well I got it towed for free because I have Triple-A to a shop. Since it's Sunday no one's open so I'll find out what happened tomorrow. My money is on the battery but the triple a specialist over the phone says it's the alternator as well as the tow truck driver. They could have sent out someone to test the alternator and battery but that certain person could not do it so I just had him bring the tow truck and drop it off at a triple A facility. We'll see what happens and I'll let you know. I hope that installing all these new lights did not have anything to do with it

 

new lights!? Probably would have been helpful to tell us any mods you did as that can be the cause. I'd double check all your work.

 

I installed new reverse light bulbs. They were LED replacement bulbs. I don't think that would have caused anything though. I'm going to be changing all the front lights and upgrading the normal lights to 5000 K instead of the 4300 once it gets out of the shop. ... that should not have anything to do with it though I would not think. Unless there's a drain in the light bulb.

 

Those say its the alternator coz they are used to batteries lasting a lifetime... so to them a no charge = bad charging.

But it seems the rl is a battery fryer. I've learned that on here. recommended to change every 2-3 years.... so probably that.

 

My money's on a new battery. Interestingly enough, I replaced the battery on my RL within the first month of getting it as it did leave me stranded. Interestingly enough in a similar fashion. Drove to work, left work and drove 20 miles to dinner. Left dinner and drove 10 miles, stopped for coffee and car decided not to start. New battery fixed it. The Bosch battery I replaced it with is still in the car now. Been in the car since late May 2012. Although I'm really good about putting the car on a battery tender if I leave it parked for more than a few days at a time. Praying to god it doesn't fail anytime soon lol

 

The shop said they put it on a jump and let it sit there for 10 minutes and it was running fine ever since. Kind of weird but I guess everything is fine

 

$10 says you're stranded again this week and then you'll have to get a battery...

Search "battery" on these forums and you'll see these cars a real finicky when it comes to having the correct power....

 

Seriously, buy a new battery. 3.5 years is way above average for these cars.

 

Same here. I'll bet money it happens again. I let my car sit in cold weather in a garage for about 9 days with no tender last winter. When I started it, I had a blinking Drive light and a flashing AFS sensor even though I saw both lights go thru the swivel motion. I let it run for two minutes, restarted it and both symptoms vanished. This car is super finicky when it comes to steady power.

 

we having a good ol' money bet in here?! Count me in

 

I had the exact same issue.. Pulled in one day, and the cranking amps were dead.. Took the battery to my mechanic so he could test it and he told me it was dead..

Here is where the kicker is.. Since it was a late Saturday, the dealer was closed, he recommended I put a Good quality battery. We went to Autozone and got two batteries just in case one of the two didn't fit. Well to our surprise, the two were too small to where the bracket plate was too loose to hold the batteries in place. On top of that the battery shield was extremely loose.. So he told me, i don't recommend you driving the car like this.. We'll just have to wait until the dealer opens on monday to get a Acura battery.. On Monday the dealer delivered the battery to his shop and it fit like a glove..

I wouldn't gamble in delaying the replacement of a battery.. If you're starting to have those issues, it's just a matter of time before it leaves you stranded again and you'll be here asking the same question or thinking "I should've replaced they battery".

 

At this point, I wanna wait and see if his battery will work or not.

 

It turns out the alternator was in the process of going bad and finally took a crap. I got a new alternator and everything works perfect. After disconnecting the battery I put the code in to reenter the radio and everything works fine except the radio. It still says enter code above the DVD screen but I'm unable to actually enter a code. Does anyone know what this problem is?

 

I am uncertain, but I think you got two codes; one for the radio and one for the navigation system. Check your manual and sleeve.

 

Yeah I think you're right because last time I unhook the battery to put the lights in, I entered the code listed in the glove box and I put the right one in first, then the left one. This time I only put the left one in which is the navigation. I'll just unhook the battery and do it from right to left. Thanks that was a big help. I'm putting on my new lights in right now so I will send you guys before and after pictures. I already did the reverse LED tail lights and they look phenomenal