NvMySi

Alright so my gf wanted to drive the kids to school while i was at work, so she went to the garage and tried to start the car , video of what it did:

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=14t5ug9&s=7

i automatically thought it was the battery dead, so after i got home from work i charged it up with a battery charger, cleaned the terminals with sand paper as well as the batter yposts, went back to the garage and it starts, drove it for 20 minutes, parked it back into the garage, shut the car off, tried to start it again and this time it sounded like this :

http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=r7q5io&s=7

i was wondering what it can be? i mean i charged it again for 30 minutes and it started, shut it off waited 10-15 minutes started again. now im confused on what it can be i just dont wanna be stranded on the road when we go for christmas back home, i checked the voltage of the battery while the car is running it was at 14.3 volts, shut the car off and checked the voltage of the batter and it was 12.2-12.5 volts, to my knowledge its good, now any idea on what this problem can be?

any help would be appreciated thanks.

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

Did you try jumping it?
It should be a battery related problem.

Rapid sound = solenoid.

Not enough power to kick the starter.

Straight from wiki LOL:

NvMySi

so in my second video arent i getting a rapid sound ? is it my starter you think?
solenoid maybe sometimes kicking in and out. i just dont understand why the battery was weak in the first video after only 2 days of sitting.

and no i havent tried to jump it yet since it is currently starting at the moment.

qurious9ss

After charging the battery it starts right up every time right?
So that rules out the starter and leaves either the battery or alternator. I say, take it to autozone and have them test you alternator and battery. If those two are good then you may have high current draw when the car is shutoff. If that's the case then connect an ampmeter in series on either positive or negative cables of the battery and see how much "A" your car is drawing with it shutoff.

BAGII

Yeah, there's a bulletin on these cars having bad Hands Free Link units that cause excessive current draw and kill the battery. pull the fuse to the HFL and see if that fixes your parasitic draw issue.

nfnsquared

If the 20 minute drive was with the headlights on, the battery probably did not get much of a charge. You should take it to an autoparts store and have them check both the charging system and battery.

Is that the original battery? If so, then it's lasted well beyond expectations. If not, how old is it? You may have the HFL current drain problem mentioned earlier. You can test for parasitic drain (do a search for "parasitic" on this forum). If it's more than 50mA, then you've got a problem. (The faulty HFLs were producing a drain of 200mA with the car shut off).

Majofo

poor man's check.. car off, turn headlights on with fogs, then turn car on.. if the lights dim while cranking, it's the battery. The cold weather could definitely be a factor pointing towards the battery as well, especially if it's an OE battery.

NvMySi

Alright guys to fill you in after car sitting for 11 hours it started in the morning or my gf, so I'm assuming there is no drainage of batter anywhere, alternator I know is good forsure since I did test how much volts it puts on when running the car, umm I dunno what else to try, starter acting up?

Majofo

You can check the solenoid by testing for continuity between the main terminal and the armature or terminal to terminal. But get the battery checked first. Typically a starter that's intermittent will either turn over the car or won't work at all.

qurious9ss

Alternator should be checked for Amperage output under load. Take it to autozone and have them check it.

Chad05TL

Both sounds are from low battery. The 2nd sound is lower battery than the first.

NvMySi

alright so the problem is starting again, after leaving the car in the garage for 2-3 days not driving it the battery was drained??? it cranked very slow and the clicking sound from solenoid. i had to use my booster pack and it started right away. dont know what else to do but buy a new battery? i dont think its my hand free link issue as it works perfectly fine. any other ideas guys?

Majofo

Get a new battery.. a good one.

/thread

Whdrms

iTrader: (1)

i think it has to do with battery cus my TL did this just now, turned on my car this morning and started fine. Then i left headlights on, and did my things then came back and sounded just like that. Im gonna jump it when my dad or mom comes home with a car ...

csmeance

The problem is the battery, your profile says your in canada so it's pretty cold out now. The problem is ACURA Batteries barely have enough CCA's to start the TL, and as batteries are drained and recharged, they NEVER reach back to their original state. I suggest you go to acura and ask them to check the battery (using the tester) and get a new one for free if you can. If you have to pay less than 40 dollars for a new one (after pro-rating), then change it. If you have to pay more, it's better in the long run to go out and get a battery from autozone for the same amount that'll last longer.

01tl4tl

batteries and cold are not good friends

driving for 15-30 minutes wont recharge a dead battery,
then stopping, and asking for big amps to crank the starter again- lowers it even more!
Its not just volts its about amps

Ideally you would use a battery charger to get some juice in the dead batt then drive 1 hour on freeway type cruise with minimal use of high draw electrics--let the alt put its power to filling the battery back up

jump starting a dead TL - and expecting it to be fine right after,, is not going to happen~
Note that puts extra strain on alt- its not made to do recharges--just top offs as it runs

many batteries now last 3-4 years.. if you are lucky-
gen3 has a tightly cowled engine- extra heat around battery with no cooling to it and a high load average use
thats going to boil the internal fluid eventually
stock batts are the cheapest acura could buy by the thousands

I agree that autozone batts work fine for way less money and decent warranty
I buy 3 year batts and if they go past that= bonus

There was an issue with handsfree link and draining battery --I read it here on azine a few years ago,,,try the search feature