woodsnake

First time I've had to post with a problem here. 02, base model, 390,000k. Drove it home Thursday night, wouldn't start Friday. Dash lights come on, but the park indicator was not.

Just a whine from the "fuel pump" when I turn the key over. I think its the fuel pump anyways, but I do hear a very faint whine when turning the key over and holding it. NO crank.

Had CAA out today thinking the battery. I have bright lights, and when I crank that doesn't change, but no noise @ the starter.

CAA thought battery too, when he hooked it up to boost it, I turned the key for the first time and the park indicator came on, everything sort of flickered a few times, and then went out again. No noise @ the starter, but it was better than it has been.

AFter that, we tried again, small flickering on parking, but all other lights come on, and seem normal. I'm noticing the green key light doesn't come on at all however. Can't shift out of park without releasing the lock manually, but won't start in neutral either. Brake lights do come on when I press the brakes. We swapped out the battery with a brand new one. NO difference. All lights come on now, except the park/shift indicator. Old battery back in, and voltmeter on the old battery shows full charge according to CAA.

I'm LOST. I don't have a volt meter, but I can get one. I'm set to tow it to a mechanic I trust tomorrow, but this seems electrical to me, but I'm not an expert. Just trying to save my mechanic some time, and me some money. Where do I start??

3.2TLc

Welcome Woodsnake !!!
Hey man, did I read that right ? 390 K ??? wow, we, oh ... !!!

Have ya checked out all the electrical main relays and wiring connectors ? Make sure that the grounds are good. Could be an interlock or relay on the edge. Try downloading a copy of the Factory Service Manual for more detailed info. Good Luck.

woodsnake

390! Yes sir. Bought @ 340,000k. I've loved this car, and it blows my mind that this happens with no warning. Everything worked fine until I tried to start it Friday. Downloading the service manual as we speak. I bought a CHiltons, but literally NOTHING has gone wrong since I bought the car, and that was a few years ago, and I've since misplaced it. PDF is better anyways

Thanks for the suggestions, will post back as soon as I dig into it!

3.2TLc

Yeah, if ya love the car and wanna troubleshoot things yourself, there's no better source of info than Acura's "FSM" .....the Bible to maintaining long life for our cars !!!

With the present mileage and not knowing the previous history, ya gotta start from scratch to develop a plan of attack. Most times you'll overlook the simple stuff if ya don't think things out. That can get expensive real quick !!!

Skirmich

Seem we should start a blown fuse hunt! Also check out the trans Range indicator!! You could be switching trough P, N, D5, D4, 3, 2, 1. But if the range indicator is Stuck at any Drive gear it wont try to crank either..

woodsnake

This is perfect, I grabbed teh Acura manual. GOOD GOD this thing is glorious! In the mean time, there appears to be a CL-S available around me, with 230,000 and the 6spd. I've talked of slipping that 6speed into mine, but this might be a better deal. I'm going to see the guy tomorrow night, but I have all day with the TL and my bible to have a look.

I do *LOVE* the car, and it will stay with me as long as I can't find the same in 6 speed, oh, and type s

woodsnake

Forgot to say... Thanks guys... this is incredibly helpful!!!

woodsnake

As a quick update, I made it to jumping the starter today. This manual really is the cats ass! The most decent piece of wire I could find was a piece of 10/2 house wiring. I used the black wire from that, got a spark @ the terminal, but no engine turn over. Not even a click. Pretty sure this means my starter is fried?

And, not that I'm jumping ship, but I'm pretty sure I bought the CL-S. Anybody looking for a 02 TL?

woodsnake

Turns out it was the 2nd negative ground. 2 Ground wires come off the negative terminal. One grounds out around the top of the rad, right in front of the battery. The other one goes down and grounds @ The Chassis. Chassis strap was POOCHED. Still had electric and everything else thanks to that 2nd ground strip, but not enough for the starter!

3.2TLc

Thanks for taking the time to update your problem and what it took to fix it. If everybody would just take a few minutes to follow up, it would really be helpful to others who may be experiencing a similar issue. Thanks again !!!

woodsnake

My pleasure. I had a feeling it wasn't the starter the entire time, but the Acura service manual said that, and it didn't fire up when I tried jumping pos to the solonoid itself, but I didn't see the ground cable until I literally had all the bolts out of the starter, and was about to pop it off

I appreciate all the help I got right off the hop. I've been a lurker here for a while, but never had any ACTUAL problems with my TL, until it just wouldn't start. Glad to see how active this community is!


Car is up on Kijeej and Autotrader now, as I've found the new love of my life

3.2TLc

Hey man, have fun shiftin' the CL-S !!!

acutee

I applause the people that came back taking the time to update the issues. Not only you are getting help here, but you are helping others too; and it makes the forum more interesting.

Mike Elliott

Sounds like an issue I have, erratically starting. Took it to AcuraDealership, have an extended warranty, but this, "Negative BatteryCable" issue is not covered on the warranty; which they want to charge$749. I've done some work on cars, but consider myself a novice. Is this something relativelysimple?

3.2TLc

Hmm, $749 for installing a battery ground cable !!! Bah, humbug.

Should be less than $100....IMO. But, Acura dealerships apparently must think that owners are willing to fork over big bucks to have their car repaired. In reality, my thoughts are that it's a scheme to lure the owner into trading the car for a new troublefree one.

If ya like the car, find a reputable local mechanic to assist you with minor things not covered by that "extended warranty".

Mike Elliott

Found cable #32410-SJA-A02 ranged from $114-$195, acurapartsworld.com and dealership respectively. Dealership said 4hr labor @$130/hr, No Thanks! Gonna give it a shot myself.

3.2TLc

Yeah man, save yourself $500.
Once ya get the new wiring cable, check the connections carefully and clean everything up. If they said 4 hours, ya may wanna take a look at the bottom end and miscellaneous retainers along the way. Still should be less than 2 hours to replace, IMO.

woodsnake

GOOD GOD! 750??? That's G-D outrageous! I didn't even realize it was the cable until I was prying on the starter to remove from the block. THIS WAS DEAD SIMPLE TO FIX. I'm a computer nerd, as well, not a mechanic.

Step 1 - Go to Napa, AutoZone, Crappy Tire.. Buy LONG battery terminal cable, battery terminal clamp, and a smaller cable.

Step 2 - Cut end off Cable 1, attach Battery Terminal Clamp.

Step 3 - Attach that cable from Battery to Engine Block

Step 4 - Attach smaller cable to battery clamp, and attach other end to ground. Ensure good connections, and lengths, my engine twists a bit when I start the car, this caused some bad starts until I tightened everything down.

Total cost - about 50 bucks. Total time - 20 minutes?

I can take pics if required. Funny, I took a look at my one owner 03CLS I just upgraded to. The cable that runs from battery -> Engine has no sleeve at all for the last maybe 5 inches to the block.

fsttyms1

I would do this!!! Just take your ground wires off, take them to the auto parts store and have the guy behind the counter help you find the correct premade wires. Reattach and be done with it. 750 is beyond hwy robbery for installing a ground cable that takes all of 20 min to do. NOT 4 hours!!

woodsnake

That's the top bit, the red cable there is from a small lawn tractor, but I wasn't picky in getting it running



That's the bit that connects to the block. Make sure that is tight, or when you start it, drive, and turn it off, it won't start again

Skirmich

My first battery cable replacements were 4 AWG total cost? less than 60 bucks battery posts included:











They are all riding 2 AWG and 1/0AWG for the big 3 to this day..