Hello,

I have a 2007 TL, with 78k miles on it. I was having battery issues back in Feb and had it replaced with a new battery at that time. However, over the past month or so I have been noticing that my car has been jerking, while accelerating. This was the same thing it did before the last battery died and I replaced it. Today while out driving with the AC on, just as I pulled into the shopping mall, the battery light came on and my car died while I was pulling into the parking space. I turned off the AC, Radio and disconnected the bluetooth, then went inside to shop for about 15 minutes.

When I got back to the car it started up immediatley. I kept everything turned off that would drain the power and completed a 7 minute drive home with no problems.

Being as though I made it home, I tested the battery again and turned on my AC. I barely made it into my parking spot before the battery light came on and the car shut off again.

Does anyone have any thoughts/opinions on what could be causing my battery not to charge while the AC is running?

I did check the owners manual but didnt find much except that it could be a blown fuse.

I purchased the car certified in 2010 from the Acura dealer, along with the 100k comprehensive extended warranty. And as previously mentioned never had issues until Feb of this year when I replaced the battery.

I plan on taking it to the dealer on Monday. However, im looking for feedback because at this point im not sure if my issue is covered under warranty. And I dont want to have to pay out of pocket unnessarily.

Feedback is appreciated.
Thanks

 

It sounds like the A/C has a problem thats causing the engine to stall.

The car drives fine with the A/C off, correct? And it does not 'shut off', but rather immediately and somewhat violently stall? The battery light is likely just an indication of the alternator not working from the idle being too low.

The dealer should be able to diagnose it very quickly and it should be covered.

 

Check the charging system when the car is running. Should have 14 volts when the engine is running. With electrical loads, voltage should never go down close to static battery voltage.

 

Maybe the compressor or compressor clutch have an issue that's placing a mechanical load on the engine and at idle, the engine doesn't produce enough power to also run the alternator. That explains the battery light (alternator not juicing enough) and the stalling (mechanical load).

I would try to isolate whether or not it's the entire climate control or just the AC. Try recreating this with climate control ON but turn the A/C off.

 

@zomg-yes the car drives fine as long as the AC is off. I get the immediate and violent stall not even 3 minutes after I turn on the AC. This is what led me to believe it cant be an issue with the battery.

@vlad-i will go out and try to recreate the issue with just the climate control on with no AC. I will report back later with my findings.

@flip-i will see if i can somehow get the charging system checked today. Even though the car got me back home ystdy with the AC off, I am kind of leary of driving it anywhere until tomm when I make my attempt to drive it to the dealer.

Thanks for the input

 

-OR-

Start with battery load test.

 

The car has a warranty. Take it to the dealer and describe the problem. This likely isn't a 'minor' problem you can fix over the internet cheap. Pay the diagnosis fee and hopefully the issue is covered.

If the car had a bad alternator that was resulting in the battery light coming on, or even a bad battery, it would not restart very easily if at all.

 

I think you are correct just went out to troubleshoot and play with it and the car barely made it out of the parking spot before it died. Shut the car off and tried to rollup the power windows and they barely made it up. Called the tow truck to have it towed to the dealer. It wouldnt even hold a charge when he jumped it. My baby barely made it on to the bed of the truck.


I will post an update tomm once the dealer figures out what the problem is. Wish me luck......

Oh and of course the tow driver had an opinion, he thinks the tranny is shot!

 

I understand that the OP has already taken their car to the dealer - but for others reading this thread, with similar vehicle symptoms:

1) TSB 11-031 indicates that a 'stuck-on' A/C (clutch) relay can cause the symptoms you have described: engine strain at idle, dead battery, vented Freon, etc. Please read the TSB for more detail.

Search in the 1st gen RDX DIY area for a post on upgrading the A/C clutch relay, brief description of typical symptoms, and other relevant links.

2) a faulty ELD (electrical load detector) is a possiblity. This device will reduce the alternator output to only 12.3 volts (or so), when it decides that it is appropriate, in order to reduce the engine load of the alternator, to improve gas mileage. I have no idea how you would diagnose this, other than the dealer, which is what I did for my RDX. My dealer had a laptop with special software to monitor output via the OBD-II connector, and a manual with a description of correct/ proper ELD operation.

 

Just got the car back from the dealer. They said the issue was caused by the alternator dying. When the altenator died it drained everything from the battery and basically killed it. So they replaced the alternator and battery and im back on the road.

The alternator was covered under the warranty however, the battery was not. So the dealer got $136 bucks out of me for a new battery. I didnt think this was fair being as though the origianl battery was just replaced 5 months ago, so I complained to Zurich about it. They told me that the warranty will not cover damaged components caused by parts that are covered under warranty. They wouldnt budge and only paid for the part and labor on the alternator.

I will post another update next week. In my opinion I still feel like the car is not driving the same. I can feel the engine vibration at times through the gas pedal while stopped at red lights. I never felt this before, but who knows, this could be because the alternator is running strong now.

Hopefully the issue is resolved.

 

For next time ...

If the battery was simply completely discharged, it should have been possible to recharge it, and the dealer should have done so.

Not sure what "killed it" means, but I guess it is possible that the battery was damaged by being discharged. However, I have personnally had a 3 year old battery completely discharged by an electrical problem (Chevy not RDX), and successfully recharged the battery, which lasted another year before replacement.

I would at least ask, if not now, but the "next time" there is a battery problem, just why the battery cannot be recharged. And would ask them to show me their "failed" attempt if they said it could not be recharged. JMO
===================

And two other comments for "next time":

1) it is easy to determine if the alternator is functioning properly, as indicated in post #3 above, by simply measuring the voltage at the accessory port on the center dash, when the car (engine) is running, with a plug-in voltmeter from Wal-Mart, and that the voltage is above 14volts.

2) is is easy to check the battery, by measuring the voltage after the car sits overnight, that the voltage is 12.4volts or more. 12.6 volts is fully charged. And if the battery has a short, it will definitely *kill* the alternator, as the battery functions as a sort of *damper* on the alternator output. Bad battery, no damping, alternator fails.

Actually, what happens is that the alternator is required to provide more current/ voltage than normal, and the voltage regulator diodes are fried, requiring alternator replacement.

Hope this helps you or someone else with a similar problem(s).

 

^^^Thanks for the info.^^^

I never thought to ask "why excatly" the battery could not be recharged. The explanation I was told for "killed it" is when the alternator failed, it drained all the juice from the battery and basically damaged it. That is the explanation they gave me for why the battery could not be recharged. This explanation did sound odd to me being as though I just purchased the battery and had it installed in Feb however, I didnt think to question it further or ask them to show me.

Also, the whole alternator/battery dying sounded weird to me. My car did not give me any symptoms that anything was wrong leading up to this happening.

I have had the car back now for almost a week, and now it seems like it is not running smoothly, it just doesnt feel right.

One thing I do recall leading up to the break down is the "tighten gas light" kept coming on randomly. I didnt think anything of it because the light always comes on from time to time. I was also having issues with my cell staying paired to the HFL leading up to the breakdown. But again this happens sometimes so I didnt thing anything of it.

But low and behold as I was pulling into my parking space today the "tighten gas cap" light came on again. I plan on researching the tighten gas cap and HFL issues on these threads because I see others are having trouble with this as well.

I will be back with updates next week.