lliberm1

I have an 06 which dies within 4 days if not driven. The dealer said there is no draw and everything is running correctly. They said to disconnect the negative terminal if you arent driving it as the solution. I've read that the handsfreelink can cause some drain. Is it normal to have a dead battery this quick with this car? Acura seems to be aware of the issue but I have heard other owners have had batteries hold the charge for 2 weeks.

I park in a garage without a power outlet so a battery tender won't help me. I don't drive very often so this is becoming a large problem for me.

I would love to modify whatever is needed to get the car to hold a charge for over 2 weeks. Does anyone have any ideas?

Possible Fixes:
Would using a deep cycle battery help and if so how many days would it expect to add?
Can i install a 14 or 16v battery? If so would i have to adjust the alternator in any way?
Can I use a battery disconnect switch or will that be a pain and everything will be jacked up?

Thanks,

Lee

93SHOcar

I have consistently gone much longer than 4 days without issue on my 04. Running down a battery multiple times will certainly take its toll on a standard battery so you may be up for a replacement even if the battery was not the initial problem.

I would try another dealership since I don't find their suggested solution acceptable and it would seem that they are just trying to get you out of there instead of diagnosing and fixing the problem. Also, you might try leaving your blue tooth phone with the car while the next shop is doing the analysis. Maybe with your phone in the vicinity of the car the TL is still maintaining a connection. Just guessing there and I am sure others more familiar with the phone HFL could advise you better.

Lastly, I would hold off on any of your possible fixes, except for possible battery replacement

A competent shop should be able to figure this out. Good luck.

Fulani has a TL

iTrader: (1)

I would not even try a dealership. Go to Autozone or similar and have them test the battery. I currently have a battery that has one bad cell. If I let it sit for 2 or 3 days without driving the engine will not turn over. You have a bad battery most likely, but doing a load test will confirm the issue of the battery.

avs007

Does your outside temperature guage read correctly, or does it say "---" ?
If it says "---" then you have the bug in the bluetooth firmware. Basically what the bug is, is that sometimes the software goes into an infinite loop, which makes it so the computer doesn't go to sleep and the processor get's pegged at 100%, which drains the battery in 3 days. While this is going on, the side effects are easily seen as other devices can't access resources, such as the temperature guage reading "---", your radio presets not working, etc.

I vaguely remember the dealer re-flashing the firmware on the ECU to correct this.

lliberm1

It's not the battery as i have used like 3 different batteries already and there weren't dead cells until after the car died. I'll check the outside temp but i know the radio presets were always fine and never noticed anything with the outside temperature.

There supposedly wasn't a draw occuring when it was tested by the dealer and a local mechanic but maybe it is intermittent so it wasn't detected. The local dealer said he couldnt find anything and that it should last 2 weeks without any problems. It was dead the next day.

lliberm1

If there is a large draw and they can't figure it out, should i look into a battery with more reserve like those built for racing or large sound systems? Is it the reserve capacity that is the important factor? Do AGM and/or deep cell batteries help in this situation?

avs007

Could also have an intermittent short somewhere. I had that problem in my van a while ago... It would cause the battery to die in about a day or two. Not sure how the hell I found it, but I found an intermittent short in the harness going to the starter.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Rather than explaning parasitic draw, here's the test if you want to give it a try:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2249402_find...ery-drain.html

SouthernBoy

My '04 TL outside temperature display flatlined seven weeks after I bought the car on Labor Day weekend in '04. I checked my service manual, tried a few tests, then figured I'd take car of it after vacation.. which was coming up the following weekend.

I didn't drive my TL all week. I had heard of the flatline problem draining batteries so I checked my dome light every day by opening the door. Then on Friday, 36 hours prior to leaving, my battery was dead as a door nail. I charged it up, kept it on a slow charge throughout that Saturday, and all was well for the trip (no more flatline since it had died anyway).

I found out about the infinite loop problem later, though I did not know it was related to the bluetooth firmware. It has never happened since. Oh, how did it happen? I was sitting at a light and when the light changed, I wasn't paying attention. When I realized the change, I quickly put it in gear and when letting the clutch out without enough throttle, I stalled the engine. Immediately upon starting it back up, the display was flatlined.

nfnsquared

Ask the dealer if they actually did the drain check this way. I doubt they did.

If you do it yourself, be sure you engage the bluetooth (be sure your cell phone links up with the car, maybe even making a couple of calls using the HFL) before shutting everything down and doing the test.

avs007

If that's how the test is done, I can see how the infinite-loop problem isn't detected. When you disconnect the battery, the computer is reset. When the computer is reset, it isn't draining the battery anymore. At least that's been my experience... When the temp guage flatlines, and you disconnect the battery, and plug it back in, everything is back to normal, and you cross your fingers that it doesn't happen again....

nfnsquared

^^^^ Yeah, good point. If the HFL is the problem, that procedure MAY not detect the drain. If the HFL unit is going into an infinite loop, it may or may not resume the infinite loop after the power is cut and reapplied during the leak check procedure.

The two TSBs directing replacement of the HFL don't apply to 06 TLs (B05-29 is for certain 2005 TLs and B-08-057 is for all 07-08 TLs). Nothing for 06 that I see. However, my 04 TL, which is not supposed to have this problem did indeed have the flatline issue and my HFL was replaced per TSB 05-29.

I'd go back to the dealer and ask them what procedures they used for a leak check. I'd also politely ask the service manager if he/she would consider replacing the HFL unit just to rule it out. This may be a bit of a long shot if you are out of warranty, but most Acura dealers have been pretty good about supporting good will maintenance.

They may balk at this suggestion, but if they can't find a leak, then the HFL is the perfect culprit because there may be no way to determine if it is causing the leak (as suggested by avs007). Good luck and keep us updated.

nfnsquared

After reading TSB 08- 057, I have an idea. After shutting the car off (and previously engaging bluetooth and HFL), pull fuse #6 in the under dash fuse box and leave it pulled until the next time you start your car.

If your battery problems cease after doing this, you can almost certainly be sure the HFL is the culprit.

thiles78

I replaced my battery with a deep cycle optima in January in my 07 TL S. My car sat for about 43 hours with no driving or start up and it was completely dead. I too was wondering what is running while the car is off that is draining the battery, this should not be happening. I was going to call the dealership and alert them. It just seems weird things have been happening lately, because just a couple weeks ago I got the "check gas cap" message too and my gas cap was on just fine. Was just looking for other people's thoughts here.

nfnsquared

I'd definitely take it to the dealer for the drain issue while you're still under warranty. Be sure you take a copy of the TSB with you. In the mean time, you can try pulling fuse #6 and see if the drain issue goes away. If it does, then I'd say it's the HFL causing the drain.

For the gas cap message issue, check out this thread:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/gas-cap-loose-mid-message-637949/

Edit: Sorry, didn't see that you're new. Here's the link to the TSB's and the 3G Garage. Lots of great info there. This link is also a "sticky" post at the top of the "Problems" forum:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/check-these-sources-out-if-youre-having-problem-just-want-learn-something-767930/

henrylo

this happen to my 2006 tl too. if i don't drive my car for roughly 3 days, the battery is completley dead, change the battery twice, brought it to Ray Lak Acura dealshiper and did a dianogstic for $100 and they said they could not find the problem. so i am having the same problem. exact same problem!!!

jchcmax

I've had the same problem with battery dying after a week of no driving. I also drive another car so the TL would sit for days. I went out and got one of these battery chargers, works nice! http://batterytender.com/automotive/...-at-1-25a.html I just charge up the dead battery and it's showtime again.

lliberm1

So, I dropped my car back at the dealership. I told them to retest the draw and pay attention to the HFL as I've heard from other owners that this tends to be an issue. They tested it and said they saw a little more draw than normal from it. I had them disconnect it since I never use it and my car has not falled below 12V since. There was clearly more than a little draw but I'm just glad to finally be done with this. I would recommend anyone with a dead battery in less than a week have them disconnect the hfl to see if that is the culprit. If so, see if you can have them replace it under warranty/ since it's a known issue. It's worth a shot but chances are they won't replace it for free. Thanks for all the posts.

stepuptata

i have a 04 tl..I have a brand new battery..same problem. car sits for 2-3 days and battery dead. I put a Volt meter in line with the positive batt. terminal and the lead and it is ready 12.8volts with keys out!..thats not right. I kept the meter on and pulled every fuse one at a time and never seen a lvoltage drop. I guess I'll pull the #6 fuse seince I do not use my hands fee link and see how it goes