Hi Folks,

I have tried looking thoroughly through these forums, with little to no luck, so hopefully someone could shed some light on my issue.

- I recently had issues trying to start my 2006 Acura TL, where it will not crank in start position. Battery is fine, no clicking or flickering.
- When I am in between position 2-3 (between accessory > start in ignition) if i turn VERY slowly I can hear the starter relay making a clicking/crackling noise. I assumed this was a faulty relay so I replaced it (Part Fuse Relay G8HL-H71) but with no luck, the new relay does the same thing.
- If i continuously twist between position 2-3, give it about 30 tries to start the car, it finally cranks and starts. This is obviously not a reliable method and will probably break the car futher if i keep doing it.

I am assuming it is either a bad starter or ignition. Before I go about testing both of these components and pointlessly waste money buying the wrong part, does anyone know the culprit? It is mid-winter now and cold outside, I don't feel like laying under my dashboard bridging and crossing wires abusing my bad back if there is an easier solution. Thanks in advance AZ community!

 

HOw do you know the "battery is fine"? Have you tested it? How old is it?

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-p...rt-car-790198/

Typically when people have had starting issues in the past, it's the battery or the starter.

 

The issue is not the battery, it is less than a year old and i bench tested voltage standalone 12.6 and with engine running 14.7v.

Besides, the issue would be the battery if the starter did not engage due to lack of power with a clicking noise, and/or the dash board flickering or not lighting up. I am well versed in diagnosing typical issues this was one of the first things i checked.

I am concluding this must be either the ignition or the starter, but was wondering if there is a way to tell the difference according to my current issue, or if it is something entirely different.

Thoiboi, thank you for your quick reply though.

 

Thanks for elaborating further. That information was not in the Original Post so wanted to make sure your due diligence was done.

There haven't been many instances of ignition switches failing on the 3G (more on the 2G TL though) so if I were a betting man, it'd be the starter.

 

Pop it out and take it in to Autozone or Pep Boys and have it tested...

 

If a no-start occurs, hit the starter a couple of times with a long ratchet, bat or breaker bar.
If the car then starts, it's the starter.

 

Based on history for the 3G TL, my bet would be starter. But the ignition switch is relatively cheap (~$40) and easy, peasy to replace if you want to consider it first....(Note, the ignition switch is not the key cylinder where the key inserts....).

Edit: Wait, I missed this part:

Are you referring to the starter cut relay in the driver's side kick panel? If so, then that noise is due to an undervoltage and this would indicated a bad battery, bad connections, or bad ignition switch...

 

Actually I didn't check connections, but that is a great observation. I hope it's just a loose battery terminal or something because half answers are saying ignition half are saying starter. Lol thank you guys so far for answers, if anyone else has any other thoughts I really appreciate it!

 

Is the starter that easy to pop out? I have pretty good mechanical skills so if it's an easy swap I would definitely consider changing it myself rather than wasting money bringing it into scamrepair shops lol

 

Relatively easy. So what's happening now?