JuicyJ

Hi y'all, I recently bought a 2003 TL with 191K miles.
"OK" condition, drove it about 150 miles, no issues.

Decided to pressure wash the engine bay. I did not hold back. Later, when I started the car, the ABS and TCS fault lights illuminated. And my red BRAKE light would illuminate too. Fixed the red light, old Hondas tend to have MC float issues....
Also, I pulled the ABS codes, 54 and 61. Failsafe Relay and Low Ignition Voltage. I reckon code 54 is tagging along with code 61. Anyways, I immediately noticed that the battery cables had been cut and cheap Autozone battery terminals installed, also the terminals were completely loose. And, there's quite a few YT vids showing other Hondas of similar generations throwing 61 with other codes from bad battery connections.

After I fix the battery connections, will the codes clear themselves, or will I need to manually clear the codes?

Saudade

The one vid I looked at (it was for a Honda Pilot), the code cleared after restarting. If you took the cable off to clean it/replace the terminal, you likely already reset it.

JuicyJ

I found the most useful info was for Honda Pilot, seems there's quite a few Pilot videos covering similar issues as the TL, and that SUV must use a related system. Because in my TL, it was the ground and positive battery cables cut and using cheap battery terminal replacements causing code 61, and code 54 was from me absolutely soaking the relays, connectors and fuse box for ABS. Totally my fault.
I previously pressure-washed the engine compartment, and I also popped a code 1361 and 1366 which put my TL on a tow truck.

Lesson learned, Hondas, TLs especially, don't like pressure washers!

And yup, codes cleared after I dried everything out. For good measure, I also used contact cleaner and followed-up with Caig Deoxit D5 to clean the electrical connections.

Saudade

Glad you got it. Thanks for reporting back on your success.

JuicyJ

Yeah, in searching the forums for clues, I find lots of people post about issues, get real close to resolving them, then disappear without sharing what fixed the issue.

I just realized these cars are so old, that the enthusiasts who would frequently share and post have moved on, and over the years their pictures and links have disappeared.

I'll be sharing more stuff I'm in the process of fixing or modifying, to refresh the spring of knowledge