Wolf1025

Hi all, first post here. I have an 08 TL that sat in my driveway for 5 days while I was away. Came back and the battery was dead, which has happened before. I jumped it with an external jumper pack I keep around for just such an occasion, and it started with a little effort. The battery light on the dash came on, as well as the VSA light. I noticed that after it idled for a minute, the climate control LED display panel started flickering, like it was getting low power. Never had that happen when jumping from a dead battery before.

But..... the big issue is that when I went to put it in Reverse, I got nothing, like it was in neutral. After 3-4 seconds and a little rev, it would catch, lurch backwards and then slip out again. Another rev and it would catch and lurch for another second. Same issue when in Drive, it would lurch forward with a little rev.

What do you all think? Related issue with the transmission to the battery? Separate issue with the transmission? Alternator issue perhaps? Seems like the car isnt getting enough power from the battery to operate correctly.

Pretty fantastic considering its a company car that I dont own but am responsible for repairs for (long story) and I just did a $350 brake job. Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

cammark35

Not long after we got our '08 TL (6 years ago) I noticed a hint of surge or pulsating in reverse. over time it got more noticeable and the map lights would pulse in time with it. before the lights my best guess was a transmission issue. but when i saw that I was sure it was electrical. It still went down the road fine, but last year when the battery needed to be replaced I decided to act on my hunch and put a new alternator in along with the new battery. pulsing was gone! I'm thinking the factory voltage rectifier in the alternator was defective on one leg. electronics don't like this...

Wolf1025

Interesting. The electrical system in my car has been slowly going south, piece by piece. Migth be a bad alternator. Might have had water/flood damage or something. I bought it with 125k on it.

Its working OK now, it was just REALLY dead and needed a lot of idle/charge before it the transmission would work as normal. I didnt realize low system voltage could make the transmision act weird, which was the case. Now it seems to be fine. It is suspect that it got so incredibly dead from sitting for 5 days. We'll see. thanks for the reply

BreezyTL

iTrader: (8)

Is your HFL disabled/disconnected? What caused the battery drain?

Wolf1025

My HFL is permanently in error. It always says booting up and never goes anywhere. Also sometimes the front windows are auto/1 touch up or down, and sometimes not. And the TPM sensors are all shot, and the radio antenna signal is incredibly weak, only picking up very few very close stations. Its weird.

BreezyTL

iTrader: (8)

Pull down your front dome light assy and disconnect the HFL unit. This has a parasitic draw and will drain your battery if left for a few days.

Wolf1025

I had no idea. thanks will do!