I've only had my 08 TL Type-S since November and already I've had the battery die twice leaving me stranded. The first time I had to jump it with my 67 Camaro (geez). This time I just called Acura Roadside. The first time the dealer said the battery checked out fine. No way am I going to accept that s**t this time. I've read that this is an issue with TL's. Does Acura have a stronger cranking battery?

 

I'm having the same issue. I've gone through 2 Energizers, and now an Optima RT. I'm taking it in on Thursday

 

They probably are all around 550, but that's not the problem if the car is in use every few days. Does the car sit for long periods of time?

 

Yea, for some reason if the car sits for a few days it drains the battery. Not sure why or what is causing this. I have an Optima Yellow top and it was happened twice with my 08 TL-S also.

 

Might be interesting to take a multimeter and test the amps drawn while the car is off, at rest. You TL-S'ers can compare and contrast.

 

Could it be this TSB issue from the 3G garage?

TSB 08-057: (2007-2008 TL) HFL Doesn't Work, Car hard to start or No start
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/3g-tl-technical-service-bulletins-tsbs-3g-garage-j-016-a-613659/

 

Awesome, thanks for posting this...........

 

I drive the car everyday and mostly highway. 550 seems low for a car with all the bells and whistles. Being stranded twice is 4 months is not acceptable and the Dealer will hear it today.

 

the dealer does not make or decide what battery goes in a particular car!
CCA= COLD (32f) cranking amps- isnt the important number here,
To reduce battery strain make sure all the seat heat, lights, ac/fan, stereo are OFF before you shut off the car
Starting it with a huge load in place is bad news
Its made to have a small load drawn and replaced by the alternator

 

It can take 10-15 minutes of freeway cruising to recharge the battery full after startup

check for excess draw overnight

 

Or, get a battery that can take this kind of draw. Read what I did. https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/just-got-my-check-acura-706516/

Search this forum. There are a lot of threads on this here!

 

That's really interesting. Never before have I heard of turning off all the accessories before shutting the car down. I've owned a lot of cars (same age as you and I've never had that issue before on any car. I'll mention that to the Dealer today.

 

Its probably in the book, I got in the habit from airplanes
radios and electrical OFF- engine off

 

ever had a car with as much load as the TL?
fuel injection, computers, ABS, HID lights, big amps for the seat heat, ac fan, stereo
Not like our beater chevy's~

 

01tl4tl -- you're painting a broad brush stroke:

I have a remote starter in my TL, and I remote start it flawlessly with both heated seaters on, blower at full blast on HI temp, radio on, headlights on, heated side mirrors on

AND IT STARTS FLAWLESSLY in negative temperatures in chicago every year -- i have been doing this for two years now since i installed the remote starter and i have an Energizer battery 500 cca's from Pepboys that I replaced the OEM battery with. No problems.

And yes, I have let it sit for days in the sub zero cold temps. No issues. And never had I had issues like this in any other car that I've owned.

I wonder where you get your specific facts for the amount of load on the TL, do you mind sharing them -- post the link or just copy and paste the data you've acquired. thanks

 

neither have I.... let's see what the facts are after the facts are posted...

 

I've had Seville's with more than the TL, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited Hemi is loaded to the hilt, DVD, 10 disc CD, nav, rain sensing wipers, automatic highbeams etc, never had a problem when not turning off the various systems. Shouldn't present a problem unless there is a malfunction.

 

agreed.

Some manufacturers have designed their vehicles to de-activate the accessory circuits during starting, and then re-activate them once the engine is running (chrystler, dodge, etc) in an effort to reduce "load" on the alternator. Pretty sure the Acura doesn't engergize the accessory circuit during starting, either.

Try it yourself:

turn your car to ignition on, but don't crank .. turn radio and heater on, then crank .. what does the radio do and the heater do during cranking?

 

Well the Service Dept said the battery and electrical system checked out fine again. I asked them about shutting off the accessories and they said that wouldn't solve the issue. They THINK it might be the HFL, so they they replaced it and I'm still skeptical. I told them if it fails one more time I won't even stop by the Service Dept. I'll go straight to the General Mgr. I had 4 salesman ask if I wanted to trade up to a 2009. I said you've got to be kidding.

 

This is what they're hoping is the problem. Time will tell.

 

Couldn't hurt to change the HFL out. I think I'm going to put a multimeter on mine and test it myself. I've had the dead battery twice now.

 

My 08 TL-S battery died 5 months after putting in a new OEM one. Didn't have time to deal with the dealer, so I just bought an AutoCraft Titanium from Advanced Auto Parts. This battery has a CCA of 700 (vs. 550 on OEM) and RC of 120 (vs. 110? on OEM).

Approaching fours months now, so far no problems (knocks on wood)...

 

If your outside temperature display has flatlined, your battery will draw completely down in 5 days +- a day if left to sit the whole time. So check that display and make sure it is displaying a temperature.

Apparently the ECU gets into an error loop and continues even with the car just sitting. This happened to me seven weeks after I bought my '04 manual TL and 36 hours before starting a vacation road trip. Freaked me out.

 

main relay cuts power to just about everything in the car with the excetion of lighting when you crank it. No need to turn everything off from that standpoint...

My car has an excide battery and the HID lights don't even dim when the car starts up even in -20F weather

 

Ok, here is your fix :
Lock your car when parking it in the garage.
WHY ? Because when you LOCK the doors the body control module, PCM, and all the other small computers including the hands free link go into shut down mode.
When the doors are left unlocked.... the car keeps some of the systems LIVE and they draw power out.

I have figured this problem out on my own in 07 when Type S TLs where coming in for this "draw" problem... I kept them under close surveillance using my trusty Fluke meter and I found that if you didn't lock the doors there was a big amperage draw, and when locked the doors after 1 min all the computers went to sleep and shut down.

SO, lock your doors EVEN in the garage. I know it makes no sense to lock your own car in your own garage.... but thats how they built the car.

Makes sense ? Now if you lock it and there is a draw still.......... Hands Free Link is a VERY good place to start diagnosis. IF the dealer can diagnose their way out of this.

 

Okay I'll give this a try. Anything to take the jumper cables out of my trunk!!

 

Technically speaking, the BECU should go into a "sleep" mode several minutes after the car has been inactive for a while. Don't see why the '07 '08's are designed like this and not the '04-'06.

 

HID's don't dim .. the ballast will cause the lights to flicker (once they're warmed up) if it receives less current than necessary to operate .. like flourescent lighting -- they don't dim .. just flicker.

Also, HIDs actually taken LESS wattage than traditional halogen lamps.

My buddy's DEAD audi battery would even turn on his HIDs .. couldn't crank worth sh-t though..

 

incorrect.......

the HIDs will dim when the car starts in -25F or below I can VISIBLY see the light output change from white to yellow

 

just to add to your observation too...

i notice that when i shut off the car, the HFL remains paired to my phone for a good minute unless i lock the car. only then does my phone show the HFL disengage.

i also notice that if you were in the car for a while with it off (the mem buttons on the side are out), pulling on the wiper and/or signal stalk turns them on for some reason. that in turn starts the bluetooth on my phone to start pairing up with the car. and this is all when the car is off with no key in the ignition.

unlocking and opening a door also starts my phone to pair with the car. it is a Sony Ericsson phone.

and for reference, mine is an 06.

 

I have HFL issue but only the bluetooth phone Talk button not working properly (NAVI voice command works fine). I found out, even when the car is turned off, i can still hear the volume sound over the speakers. Even when i press BACK button, it's locked up somehow. The ONLY way i found to unlock is to disconnect the battery. I just dismantled the HFL Switch and waiting for a new one (25$). i will test it when i got my parts but 100% sure that explains my battery drainage this winter...twice

don't change the HFL unit before trying to see if the switch is the issue.(cheaper)
will let u know if i was right.

 

Well, I'll tell you my personal experience on four different vehicles equipped with HIDs including my own was a flicker, not a "dim" I kindly agree to disagree. Have a wonderful day.