Hello guys i have a 04 TL that only starts sometimes I've replaced the starter twice and battery is less than six months old batt.terminals are good and clean aswell lights inside the car are also good and bright so no batt.problems imo just will not turnover at times any leads on what the problem could be is greatly appreciated thanks.

 

Any more details? The more you provide, the easier it will be to elminate things and possibly provide other things to check.

When you turn the key, does the engine crank and just not start? Or do you get nothing when you turn the key? Have you checked to see if it has thrown any codes? Doesn't start hot? Doesn't start cold first thing in the morning?

 

It doesn't matter if the car is hot or cold sometimes it will start cold or hot or vise versa and when i turn the key it will not crank just makes a click sound coming from the engine

 

One thing that comes to mind is to check the ground cable for the battery where it connects to the frame not on the battery itself. I think I remember someone saying they were having intermittent start issues and the ground cable had worked its way loose from the frame.
Another thought - You have already replaced the starter twice - is the current one a good one and/or did you get it from the same place as the first two? Connections are all solid and tight there? If it doesn't start and you get the "click" have you tried whacking the starter a couple of times to see if that makes a difference?

 

Yeah, you've either gotten a string of bad starters (which, honestly, isn't that rare, especially if they aren't OEM and are reman'd units) or your ignition switch is going out (which is more rare than the starter going out).

Like NBP04TL4ME said, where'd you get your starter(s) from?

 

I had a ghost-like problem with my car about two years ago where it would only start sometimes. Everything tested fine and the electrical system was checked. One day I had an idea that was recommended by my parents who have owned multiple Acura products and had seen this before. On a level surface, I set the parking brake and turned the car to ACC ll (not on but system check). Then, with my foot on the brake to deactivate the parking pin, I moved the shifter from Park to Low and then back up. The car started. It took a while to figure out what was causing this. I also had an issue at the time with a blinking D light. It turned out that both of these problems were caused by the transmission position sensor (also known as the transmission range switch). I replaced it through a DIY on here a year and a half ago before I had an account, and the problems have yet to return. Give this a try after attempting the steps that these other folks have mentioned.

 

I was thinking about the ignition switch as well. However this is significantly more prevalent in the 2G TL and as you point out not so much on the 3G.

Good idea and if it happens to be a manual - it would be the neutral safety switch.

 

Thanks for all the leads I'm deff.going to check the ground wire when i get a chance and i got both starters from autozone both of them remanufactured.

 

"Good idea and if it happens to be a manual - it would be the neutral safety switch."

Great point! I didn't think about that.

 

It's a automatic but what about the starter cut relay i read on a forum that it could also be that any thoughts on that?

 

If you have gotten all of your staters at the same place, that could be your issue. My comment about whacking the starter a couple of times when it doesn't start may help diagnose this. Sometimes when a starter is failing, a couple of good whacks will knock the stator or other parts a bit and may allow it to function normally short term.
Im not familiar with the "starter cut relay."

 

DO THIS:

if you turn your car off (by mistake or whatever) while the car is still in drive, it will not start unless you cycle through the gears and put it back up into park as Acurafan mentions. I have experienced this

 

If your getting a click when trying and the lights are workinh this tells me a ground issue. You say the terminals are clean. Is this visual or did you physically remove them and clean them? All it takes is a slight film on the negative one to cause issues.

 

/\ what he said. Your grounding issue may be further back then at the battery terminal.

 

I had a click and the lights were working fine, and it was my starter. You guys can't say it's one thing for sure. If you hear the click and the starter doesn't engage, then its probably the brushes making bad contact within the starter or its the solenoid itself. Get a multimeter to test and see if the starter is getting 12v. In either of those cases, you'd need a new starter since its all one unit.

And if your battery ground was clean, that should still provide enough of a ground for the starter regardless of the other grounds being possibly bad.

 

As I mentioned above OP needs to check ground for the battery at the frame and sanity check solid connections for the starter, but am guessing it may be the starter itself.

 

Thanks for all the help I'll deff check the grounding and get a multimeter to check the starter I'll keep y'all posted when i fix the problem...

 

Just curious if you were able to look at this over the weekend?

 

Problem solved (knock on wood) after installing different stater for the 3rd time it seems like the problem is gone thanks for all the ideas and leads.

 

Congrats and good luck going forward. Also hoping you sourced this starter from somewhere other than the first two.

 

If the starter acts up again, try the fuel pump. I had a similar issue with my Lexus Ls 430