I have developed a small problem with TL-S. Lately when I start the car, the car takes too long to crank and at times it appears that the battery is not sending enough juice to get the engine turned... I am just wondering if any of you had the same issue and what you did to solve it...

I got 85k miles on the car, it has been sitting in the garage for almost 3 weeks, but the car does start and I am driving it. I think I am going to check the following:
- Battery power (the battery was replaced about 2 years ago)
- Air filter (might be time to clean it as I got the K&N)
- Spark plugs (still on the originals, but I did not think you needed to change it until the 105k maintenance)
- I have already Seafoamed the car twice (actually wrote a DIY on it)

Your thoughts?

 

is it getting enough fuel?
is it getting power?
is it getting air?

if yes to all those, i would have a compression check done

 

I am going to check the battery and air filter tonight after work.... but during my search on the subject (yeah, some of us still do) i found one guy that said he had a similar issue due to allowing his tank to run really low prior to filling up... he said he was running fuel injector cleaner and his problem is almost resolved...

i do the same thing (been doing it for 6 years)... but how would running the tank all the way down cause fuel injectors to mess up???

Also, wouldn't dumping some Seafoam and/or injector cleaner remedy the issue???

 

its most likely the battery, prob low on reserve.

i went on vacation for 2 weeks, and forgot to d/c the alarm, within 4 days it died...

 

Weak battery.

Charge it up overnight and try again.

 

get the battery tested before anything else

You are lucky to get one to last 3-4 years in a TL, plus leaving it sitting a few weeks with things that run automatically will wear it down

recharge with machine if totally dead, THEN DRIVE 1 hour to fully charge the battery again-machine gets in a few amps--not near full!

Head to zone or kragen for FREE system check

seafoam wont hurt in the tank to absorb moisture, but less than a month not really an issue on that.
smart people replace the plugs at 60-70 for max performance

 

for others: attach a float charger- `battery tender` that will keep battery full while you are gone
It charges only as needed,, when natural discharge occurs with time and sitting or car draw

 

like others said, highly possible its the battery. Yours may be on its way out not holding its charge as well or the CCA

 

Went to AutoZone and they said the battery did not have enough juice to crank the car.... but it was doing it for about a week, the battery finally gave up last night... Went to Acura today and got everything taken care of..

Will try to do the spark plugs here pretty soon... hopefully in the next week or so...

Yeah, I have one, but when I am gone on long trips, I usually leave it hooked up to my motorcycle.. did not think I needed to hook one up to the car... will do that now on...

Yeah, the Acura tech told me that most batteries don't last past 2.5 years, especially in the Texas heat... I got the replacement from Acura ($55) and had to install it myself as I did not want to pay $60 bucks in labor...

Car is good now... Thanks for all your help guys...

 

another trick when going away is to remove the NEG cable from the battery terminal
Then no juice gets out to run the electronics and kill the battery

A small solar charger panel plugged into the lighter will keep battery charged too
Check harbor freight tools for a low cost unit

 

any particular brand of battery that seems to work better in these cars?
mine is taking longer and longer to start

 

Thanks Tom, will look into this at Harbor Freight, but I think I found something similar at Walmart. The walmart version uses a 9 volt battery and is advertised as something to use so that you don't lose your radio staions and seat presets when removing the battery terminals. Is this what your talking about??

I prefer the battery version as the vehicle is usually kept in a garage (thus no sun for the solar)....

None that I know of as I got my last two from acura under a 'warranty'...
from my research anything would suffice, but get one with a high cca number...

 

Mods, you can move this thread into the appropriate section... (Problems & Fixes)

 

no the 9 volt thing is for when you are changing the battery of the car- it keeps the seat and other presets- but not enough power in it to keep the battery charged for a month of non use

If there is no option to put a small solar outside the garage, wallys has 15$ float chargers that are fine for both vehicles---
plugs into wall outlet for those new to the product

 

still get the system checked for free at a parts store

Once the battery is fully charged by driving an hour you get accurate readouts
to verify the alternator is ok and starter draw is correct--cables are good etc

Batteries sit on the shelf sometimes for months and will be low on charge when purchased, sure they start the car but there are many hi draw things on the TL
Puts the alternator to the test~