I don't drive my RL to work anymore since I now ride the train. So I haven't driven it in about 2 weeks. My wife however did open it earlier this week to put some things in the trunk. I went to drive it to the grocery store today and I walked up and nothing. I thought maybe my battery was dead in my remote (even though the light came on when I clicked the unlock button). I went upstairs and got my other remote, but the same thing. So I used they key to get in the car and it wouldn't do a thing. It wouldn't let me turn the key or anything. Is it possible that the battery is dead?

 

if you havent driven your car for two weeks, most likely your battery is dead. just bring it to a kragens and they'll charge it up for free. the suggestion is to pull your negative/ground wire from the battery. that way, original configurations will remain on your car, and it wont discharge the battery AS fast

 

I agree. It must be the battery since the car has not been driven for two weeks.

A few people who own 05 RL have similar problem.

 

There was an issue with some 05 RL's where using the trunk release button inside the car would cause the battery to drain. I think it was fixed with a software update though.

If the car sat for 2 weeks then it's almost definitely the battery. I would replace the battery at this point if it's an 05 on the original battery.

 

The thread on the battery issue for the '05 RLs is at the following link:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=544

 

Wasn't there an issue early on with opening the trunk via the release button on the door causing the battery to drain?

 

That's what the thread above shows. That's probably it since my wife opened the trunk earlier this week to make room in her car. I always open the trunk from the trunk lid button itself. I'll jump it this weekend and see how it goes. Thanks for the info.

 

Pulling the negative cable is not why the configs remain-they are most likely saved in SRAM, which does not require power to maintain its memory state. Undoing the negative cable instead of the positive is more of a safety tip, and it makes it impossible to drain the battery with all the standby electronics since it is completely disconnected from the circuit.

 

ah, i see. thanks for the clarification. thats what i always thought, but i guess not.

 

If my memory is correct some how opening the trunk caused a parasitic drain via the handsfree link.

Essentially once you open the trunk the HFL turned on and doesn't shut off until theres no juice left in the battery.

 

I wonder if that is why I lock the car, open the trunk, close it, and walk away and about 30 feet or so, I get a signal on my Blackberry that the HandsFreeLink connection has been lost. Are you saying that the HFL is still working? I guess it is just lucky that I come back in 10 or so hours to restart the car?!

 

There are varying manners in which Bluetooth stacks operate, depending on device brand and even carrier configuration.

The HFL is a Bluetooth device. Bluetooth devices can be made to always be 'on' so they reconize and react to other devices (that are paired). Most devices have specific controls to turn on, discover, turn off and 'hide' form other BT devices.

HFL is not that robust. It is a 'passive' system. With the early programming was basically 'always on'. It would 'sense' another BT device when you approached the car, and if that device was paired, it would connect to HFL (although it would not operate untl the car was turned on). But to be 'always' on' requires energy.

Another issue is with the device itself. Most BT phones do not actively disconnect from HFL. So if your phone was in range, HFL would stay connected and cause battery drain. A connection to a BT device is a greater draw sensing a BT device.

Changes were made to HFL logic to alter how various device BT stacks reacted to HF and that involved the ignition as the threshold. Now the phone may 'sense' the HFL when in range of the car, but it will not 'Connected to HFL' until the ignition is on. Conversely, the phone will 'Disconnected from HFL' when the ignition is turned off, even though the device can still sense the HFL (it just is not connected). That is how most Moto devices work (and why I favor them with Acura's HFL).

I have noted differenent devices, brands and carrier models to react differently. When I had my short lived ATT Treo 680, the Treo refused to give up it's connection to the HFL, even if the car was turned off. I would have to manually turn it of off using the phone ettings (hence it was returned). When I was home, in the house, it would still be connected to HFL after shutting off the car and going inside. If the HFL logic was not updated, the HFL would still be in 'Connected to HFL' mode and cause a greater draw on the battery than the simple BT 'sensing' draw.

The HFL software was updated with the TSB to prevent HFL getting locked into a 'Connected to HFL' mode and draining the battery beyond normal parasitic draw parameters.

So Chas, in your situation, I expect your RL is newer than an early 05? If so, your RL is fine. What you are seeing is that your device (Blackberry) is not releasing the connection mode until after the range is exceeded or it just takes longer. Some devices (as is my RAZR V3), the 'Disconnected from HFL' and a beep occurs within seconds after off turning off the ignition, usually before I even get out of the car.

 

OK, here's the update. I got my battery charged and I put it back in. As soon as I hooked it up the alarm started going off. So I cranked the car thinking that would stop it, but it didn't. I eventually had to pull the negative side back off the battery. How do I get the alarm to stop going off?

 

I turned the car off, locked the doors and the alarm went off. I tried that earlier, but I had the car running and I didn't want to cut it off. Everything's working fine now. It even remembered my settings. Thanks for the help.

 

Glad that your situation was resolved.

 

I noticed that the owners manual said not to leave the lights in "auto" mode if you won't be driving the car for more than a week.

 

Really, never knew that!

 

Really, I never knew that. Learn something about this car all the time on this board.

 

I didn't know that, either. Directly relevant to me as I now go up to 3-4 days at a time driving my S2K, and I keep the RL's lights on "Auto".

 

LOL. See, when you buy a new car, you always put the owners manual in the crapper, and you'll find time to read all kinds of neat stuff

I'm not sure if the two were related, but I couldn't figure out why that would be and issue.

 

Neuron, I wasn't aware you were also an S2k+RL combo guy too Hey your S2K is getting old why not trade it for an new one before they disappear completely!!!!! The AP2 is truely a nicer everyday driver, without giving up, any performance (actually, it has a slight edge)!!!!

 

I got stung!

I've been driving my S2k all week because of the nice weather and my RL has been sitting on the driveway for six days. This morning, I went to the RL to start it up....I was able to unlock the door, but the car wouldn't start. I had to jump it, and had no further problems today.

Next time I see a good weather week like this one where I'm going to drive the S all day, I'll have to remember to shut off the "auto" setting for the lights. I forgot to do that!

RL06tech, I missed your post from May. I like the raw feel of the AP1 better (read: love to make the tail wag JUST a little--I can now feel that wag coming and can control it easily). I just bought it six months ago, used, with less than 12k miles. I've only put just under 2.5k miles in the time I've owned it. I. Absolutely. Love. It.

 

My battery has been giving signs of giving up the ghost the last few days.

First, the external trunk release stopped working.
Next, the last two days, the car was slower to start.

Then, tonight, after work, my car wouldn't start at all. There was an attempt to turn over, then the ceiling lights flashed repeatedly, and the warning tone beeped multiple times.

The only bad part for me was that I had to wait 1/2 hour in the cold for the security folks at the hospital to jump start my car.

Here's the best part: the dealer was open late today, so I called the parts department to arrange for a battery. I was directed to the service department, who told me to come to them. When I arrived, I told the service folks that I was willing to put my own battery in. However, they insisted on putting it in themselves as my battery and car are still under warranty. They said: "hey, you're under warranty, you're owed this." Wow, what a service-oriented attitude. Motorcars Acura FTW!

Now I have to reset my user settings. The external trunk release still doesn't work. I'll have it looked into at the next oil change.

 

The battery swap will resolve your issues it did for me last year. I haven't had any foibles since. In the sumer my RL wa parked for weeks at a time without any problems.

 

It's definitely not the battery. The car was dead again today. When I tried to unlock the car, no response. Neither keyfob worked. I had to use the metal key to gain entry to the car, then had to use the manual trunk release. When I tried to jump the car, it wouldn't start. I am planning to have the car towed to the dealer tonight so they can check the electrical system on Monday. How aggravating. I'll be looking through more threads here for similar problems.

 

Let us know what the problem turns out to be. I hope they get you squared away quickly.

 

I found a couple of helpful threads.

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-audio-bluetooth-electronics-navigation-90/battery-dying-499318/
In this one, an item found to be causing a continuous draw was felt to be the culprit, and led to more than one battery replacement. Given my thread on random triggering of the trunk release, I suspect this as a possibility.

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-2005-2012-76/dead-batterty-after-5-days-parked-496091/
In this one, use of the trunk release inside the car was felt to be a culprit. However, in my case, I've had almost 2 1/2 trouble-free years using that trunk release.

I'm rather disappointed by these very bizarre electrical problems I've been having lately. Even worse, it's not warm, so I don't even have the (pleasurable) option of using my S2000.

 

Bob:

Acura changed its warranty on the batteries from a pro-rated coverage to full coverage for the first replacement up to 4 years 50,000 miles. After that first replacement, you are then pro-rated. If you notice, your battery wasn't replaced with an identical model. Acura got away from the model that has the "eye" (battery life indicator). I'm not sure if this is the reasoning behind the change in coverage.

 

That's really good to know.

For this particular problem, though, it shouldn't matter what kind of battery Acura replaced it with. A brand new battery, with only two weeks of use, should be able to hold charge when jumped. Either I got a bum battery or there's a current leak somewhere.

Another option I'm considering going with a name-brand battery, bypassing the dealer, and just swallowing the cost.

 

It's kind of a longshot, but check the manufacture date of your new battery.

 

Our RL sat in the garage for two weeks during the snow and ice. Started right up, no problems.

 

I had the same attitude when the replacement lasted 3 months. The dealer claimed to do a parasitic current check and finding no problem wrote it off as a bad battery.
Perhaps there is a systemic problem not detected by whatever check is performed.

 

That's the finding I'm worried about. If they find no parasitic leak, I may just bite the bullet, buy an aftermarket battery instead, and hope for the best.

The dealer's got my car now and I'll update this thread with what they find.

*snif* it was so painful to see my car on a flatbed being towed yesterday.....*snif* I've never had any of my Acuras towed before, *snif*

 

If there is a current leak I am not sure that an alternate (if it really is an alternate, it's hard to tell these days with new wine in old bottles) battery supplier would make any difference. If you "bite the bullet" and spend your own $ aren't you then also disqualified from towing/etc. reimbursement?

 

Bob,

I would be willing to bet that there is something other than parasitic current draw going on here. Why wouldn't you be able to jump and start a car with a new but discharged battery? I'm thinking bad battery or bad ground. How old was your original battery (that could be jumpstarted)?

Occam's Razor notwithstanding, I think you may be dealing with a second--hopefully simple--problem.

 

I know, that's why I said I'd hope for the best if they can't find an obvious leak. I DID give them hints, though. I'm betting on the trunk release or its wiring being the problem. We'll see.

As far as the towing, I've never used the Acura service. I pay for AAA as I've got two other cars that are not Acuras and have no manufacturer towing plan for emergencies. I've been a member for 17 years, and find the peace of mind well worth the $70 per year, particularly when it comes to my wife. Plus, the dealer is only four miles from my house, so my tow cost me $3.

 

They found a current draw and are working out details on how to fix it. Cool beans!

 

Can't wait to hear what it is. Strange that it would develop a current draw after all this time.
On a related "current" note, I changed out my wife's battery (1999 323i) this weekend - it was the original battery! Did not go dead, but when in for service, they said it was showing signs of weakness. Don't think I have ever had a battery last 10 yrs.

 

Stupid draw... I'm eagerly awaiting the cause bob!

 

I'm still waiting for word from the dealer.

The good news is, they put me in a nice blue 2009 TL (base) loaner. No matter what you think of the exterior, it is an awesome drive for a FWD car. WOWIE WOW! Honda engineers DEFINITELY didn't let us down in the driving dynamics department. Tight steering (the electronic steering is practically telepathic), excellent road feel, minimal torque steer, nice growly J35 sound. VERY impressive. The interior is pretty good, too. It has a nice, big trunk, bigger than the RL to the eye. Too bad I don't like the nose, still.