2003 TL w/nav non S-type. 84,500 miles.

So I run to the store to get some groceries. Get back to my car and it won't start. When I turn the key all I get is one click. All the power accesories work fine. My buddy comes to jump me and still no luck. Battery is only a year old so I know it is ok. I have now ruled out the battery.

Next I presume it's my starter. I know I can do that myself so I pay 80 bucks to have it towed home. Although rare for a starter on these to go out at 84,000 miles you know all parts can fail. I try the ole "few good wacks with a hammer" trick and it doesn't help. Still I buy a new starter and swap it out. The car fires right up and purrs like a kitten! WOOHOOO. I shut the car off and finish cleaning up. When I get back in to move it, click again. Back to square one.

Since I know I can't have 2 bad starters I have now ruled out the starter as well. I put the old one back in hoping that perhaps it would start up once more just so I can get the dang thing to the dealership. No such luck. I'm still getting the click. All the power accesories and dash lights work normally and since it is clicking when I turn the key, I can't imagine it would be the ignition switch. Plus it did start that one time after I swapped out the starter. If the ignition was bad I don't think it would be intermitent.

Do you guys have any ideas of what it could be or what else I could rule out before I spend 120 bucks to have it towed to Acura?

 

take the starter to an autozone or a place that can test the starter to make sure that its not bad, before u do that, check all your connections again (on the starter, and battery).


when u were changing out the starter did u do anything to the battery? what ever u did try to do it again.

 

its the battery

Clean off the terminals of all corrosion. If it still doesn't work you need a new battery.....

 

The terminals have no corrosion. I keep them clean. I do appreciate the reply however that is equivalent to calling tech support and they ask you if your computer is plugged in. Before I went through the time and effort of installing a new starter I probably would have checked the terminals.

 

that happen to me i bought a new battery yesterday. and it died on me last night again. i know it cant be my altanator cus none of my lights dime or anything. so im thinkin its my starter to.

 

should be a new thread, but seems like u have something draining the battery.

 

any chance it could be the ignition switch? i know the 99s have a bad one, i dunno how they are in the 03s. i know my 99tl had a bad one, and basically wouldnt start sometimes either.

 

I guess it could be. I would think the starter wouldn't get any juice then. It is clicking when I turn the key so it seems like the ignition is working but I could be wrong... I have never had an ignition go bad so I'm not sure what it would do.

 

Sounds like a starter solenoid- did you check that, or is it part of the starter, not sure-? Also, check ALL of the battery cable connections, not just at the battery terminals. Maybe the other end(s) are loose or dirty. What is the voltage of the battery?

 

check the resistance between the + on the batt and the + on the starter while someone is cranking the engine.

 

A failing ignition switch can still allow the engine to turn over. When the ignition switch on my 1999 TL was failing, the car would sometimes start and then immediately stall.

If you want to eliminate that as a possibility, it's about a $50 part and you can change it yourself. There's a great "how-to" link in the DIY thread.

 

Just because its a newer battery and you tried jumping it dont rule it it out. Have the battery load tested. Double check ALL the connections including the grounds. I doubt its the ignition if you have all the other accessories. Hearing the click leads me to believe its power related.

 

Hi EFraelich82 :

With all the other suggestions covered, I suspect you may have a lockout problem. You may have a switch (or it's mechanical actuator) that is flaky, like the one in the transmission selector. Try and "push and pull" on the shift knob with the key in the start position to see if it suddenly engages the starter. There are other lockouts as well, but I would start there.

On a related note, I had a recall on the mechanical transmission lockout installed a few months ago and you should check that yours has been installed. I have also replaced my ignition switch but the symptoms were more stalling that starting problems. However, given the pension of this switch failing, I would tend to look at that next.

Hope this helps.

smartypants.

 

I think I'm good to go now. Thank you to everyone, I tried all of your suggestions. After going back over the entire system from the key to the starter, I discovered that at some point before I bought the car, someone installed a replacement battery cable. The splice was done low so I didn't see it until I looked closely. After securely re-splicing the connection directly to the starter the problem seems to be solved... at least for now. I may order a stock cable and replace the whole thing just to be safe. The battery and starter are fine though so that's good news. Again I appreciate all of your feedback!

 

Thanks for the update. And congratulations on figuring it out.

 

Agree. You should not have more than .5V of a voltage drop.