RayF

Anyone else have this ? I have an '06 RL. Last fall when returning from 2 week vacation - battery was totally dead. Charged it. Seemed to work OK. Happened another time after several days of non-use. Charged it again. Took a full charge but the indicator light still showed battery was NG. Took it in for service. They replaced the battery. That was a few months ago. Now - again after about 2 weeks of non-use, battery went totally dead. Charging it now and it seems to be taking a full charge.

Any ideas here? I checked the ignition and it is in LOCK position. I thought I remembered reading something in one of the manuals about if you did "X", the battery could die. I can't remember what the X was and I've poured through the manuals again and can't find anything about it.

Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks.

CumbaJ

Ray,

I have an '05 RL which needed a "software" upgrade otherwise it would drain the battery.
Had my car for 3 weeks and the battery was half charged - not sure about the '06 model, but you may want to ask the dealer if there are known issues with the '06 model and dead batteries.

dadcat1

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

The "X" that could cause the battery to go dead was to push the inside trunk release button after the engine was shut off.

neuronbob

Welcome to AZ!

So far as we know, this is not an issue with the 2006 RL yet. As noted above, the 2005s did have this issue. Acura does use rather sucky OEM batteries, even worse with the 3G TL, on which there are multiple reports on our board about dead batteries after 1-2 years of use. A couple of questions:

a) Did your car sit on the lot a long time before you purchased it?
b) How many miles on the car?

NavyDoc333

Guess it couldn't hurt to have your dealer check your Alternator the next time you're in. There is a simple test to see if it's working as it should...and charging your battery while you're driving.

treuler

This may have something to do with the handsfree board/multiplex control unit remaining on when the car is turned off. I am in the process of testing this now. I believe that either my bluetooth phone or 2.4 Ghz. transmitter at my house is putting it into discovery mode and it is remaining active. The HF Control unit is supposed to turn off after 15 or 30 minutes based on Sandy (m) at Courtesy Acura in Littleton CO. I will also test this out by calling my cell phone while on BT and then turning off the car. The HF stays on so to continue the call. I will leave my home phone (land line) next to a radio to hear sound and ensure it is on or off. After 15 or 30 minutes, the HF should turn off by default. (unless it was the battery that died; I will test for that.) If the HF does not turn off, we have found a defect.

If I leave my car off for around 30 hours at my house, the battery is completely dead. Everyone agrees that this should not happen. I do know that 2.4 Ghz is the same frequency as the BT and my wireless transmitters for TV in my shop and my video surveilence system. It is possible that my car detects this when arriving home and is getting forced into discovery mode.

Note: I left my RL at Pikes Peak Acura for 57 hours and they said it was not started or the battery was not charged. The only difference that I can think of is that my BT Phone and 2.4 Ghz transmitters were not present. They ran tests against the draw and nothing was outside of specs.The car started upon pickup.

treuler

Update: The HFL automatically turned off at 30 minutes per specification when connected to a BT call with the car turned off. Next test is against the 2.4 Ghz system on to see if it is in permanent discovery mode. I will let you know the results.

Note: I did notice that my seat position was changed during the test. I did not adjust it. Perhaps there is a short in the power seat. I will run a test with a video camera in the car if the other test do not prove any positive results.

miner

Nice troubleshooting treuler.

treuler

OK - we have run many tests. One I put a meter on the battery and lead and measured 0.79 milliamps draw. This is higher than specs but not worthy of draining a battery over 30 hours. However, we did not record the meter over the full 30 hours to see if it spikes/increased. I ran several other test that continually produced a dead battery in approximately 30 hours. Each time with the doors unlocked. (key observation)

I convinced Acrura to hold my car for the weekend in the parking. On Monday morning, the battery was still fully charged. (My car is possessed). The doors were locked in the parking lot. That was the only difference.

Next weekend, I had Acura hold my car in the garage with the doors unlocked. On Monday morning, the battery was DEAD. Finially, I reproduced it in front of them.

Acura is now looking into this issue with tech support, etc. We still do not know the root cause, but I will keep this updated.

NOTE: If you usually leave your car locked, you may not know if you have this problem. Try leaving your car unlocked for 30 to 48 hours. If it is dead, you will be encouraged that I am on the path of a solution. I assume that many owners have not let their car sit this way. Many probably drive everyday or leave it locked.

More to follow.....

bmerton

Probably not enough current to drain the battery, but I've noticed that if I use the door nipple to lock the car, the interior blueish lights stay on in my '06. If I use the fob to lock it, they stay off.

treuler

If the light stays on always, this is a defect and you should get it fixed. I do know that they are having issues with the door handles.

Acura Tech has requested the dealer service run a HandsFree Link test and a test of the door handles. FYI - They replaced my door handles in March. The service contact was unable to give me any details of the test as he was not the one performing them. I will be calling this evening to get an update.

If you have never left your RL unlocked for more than 30-48 hours, I recommend running this test, as long as you can ensure your car's securty.

BTW - Acura Service has been pretty good throughout this. So I am pleased.

Defects happen; it's how you respond that makes the difference.

treuler

OK - it appears that the mechanical part of the driver's side manual door lock was jammed (very tight) which was triggering some type of draw from the battery when the car was left unlocked. When the tech put the actual key, not the electronic key, into the key slot, he found the key would not move or turn. With some persistence, they got the key to work smoothly in the slot. After testing again with the doors unlocked, the battery does not appear to be draining.

Acura tech requested that they replace my battery, since it was drained and jump so many times. They also requested that some of the computer components, like the Hands-free Link component be replaced prior to returning it to me. It has been under test this weekend. I expect to have it returned today or tomorrow.

NOTE: If you have not run this test, you could have the same problem. If you do detect the defect, try using you manual key in the slot and making sure it works smoothly. It would suck to have this issue and not even know it until after your warranty expires.