VTECboy

I have a 2 month old TL that won't go more than 10 days on a battery charge. I had to have it jumped twice since new. Although I don't drive it much it should go at least a month without going dead.

The dealer checked out the battery, said it was fine and just charged it. I don't think that they tested anything else. Does anyone know what the alternator output should be when running and what the drain should be when the motor is off (only the alarm and clock should be running, right)?

Thanks, Jim

csmeance

my MDX (2006) has had the same problem, they have attempted 4 repairs and a final attempt before lemon law rules. They traced the problems to messed up relays and its been about 7 days now.

CobraGuy

Alternator puts out voltage AND amps. Both are important. It can have good voltage, but fail the amp test. To properly test a charging system takes the proper tools, a fully charged battery, and a tech who knows what to look for. I would recommend you take it back to a dealer who can do this right for you.

It sounds to me like you have a draw however. That can be a nightmare to track down. Again, that's why the dealer is there. Use him.

davenlei

I had the same problem on my '06. It was traced to the HFL unit which would not go into sleep mode. It was fully covered under warranty. The HFL unit costs $500 if not under warranty.
At first they told me they do not see any problem but when I told them I will not take back posession of the car since something is wrong and they need to find it, they went and did a full diagnostic and found the problem. It has been 6 months now and no battery drain problems at all.

VTECboy

Thanks guys. I do have warranty and plan on going to the dealer, but wanted to be as informed as possible and ready to argue. Appreciate the tips, Jim

csmeance

First they replaced theHFL unit like they did on your TL. Then when it happend again, they blamed Onstar. Third they blamed the mobile gaurdian. Fourth they blamed it again. Fifth they replaced all the relays in the car and now its been 8 days since i have got it back and it is running strong for now.

cdmontgomery

The parasitic drain for the TL (mainly door alarm & clock) is 30 ma - it will read another 200 ma for the first 10 minutes after shut off until the HFL goes into its sleep mode.

30 ma is about 1/33 of an amp (30 thousanths). The stock battery has an amp hour capacity of 65. If we roughly assume that to crank the engine we need 2/3 battery capacity, we have about another 22 amp hours available to cover the parasitic drain over an inactive period in the garage. We should have 22 x 33 = 726 hours or 30 days available and still be able to start.

I've had 2 TL's (and 04 AT & 04 MT) and neither would start after 5-6 days in the garage. Finally traced the problem to the Delco green eye OEM battery - the dealer changed to the stock Acura replacement part battery (Acura label / no green eye). No problems since - I have left car for about 34 days in cold garage and had clean quick start.

I personally would not drive this car with the green eye battery - just my opinion.

aralam

My Delco Green Eye battery died at 26K miles .. lasted around 36 months.
Got a replacement from SAM's club for $48 (installed).

rbf351

my battery just died yesterday, the car is less than 2 years old. you never know with batteries, sometimes they can last or 5+ years, and some die in under a year

mike03a3

Parked my new TL-S for five days. The battery was stone dead when I went to drive it this morning.

mike03a3

Today the dealer tested the battery and the charging system - both "passed". They also said they tested the current draw when the car was off and it passed. I did talk them into a replacement battery, so now I get to wait and see if it does it again.

mike03a3

[QUOTE=cdmontgomery]The stock battery has an amp hour capacity of 65. /QUOTE]

OK, so I parked my car around 7pm on a Friday and when I tried to start it around 7am the following Thursday the battery was stone cold dead. 0 volts.

That's 5 1/2 days, or 132 hours. If it is a 65 amp hour capacity, it would have to draw almost 500 milliamps to be dead that fast.

bhelsdon

I think its time to tell Acura that you want a loaner and you don't want your car back untill it is fixed. It sounds like you definitly have a problem. Maybe if the car sits on their lot and goes dead they will see that there is a problem and fix it. Remeber, be nice but firm about the issue.

mike03a3

[QUOTE=mike03a3]This morning I started the TL-S up after it sat for 109 hours (4.5 days). Most of that time the temp never got above the 20s, it was 12F this moring. It fired right up, so it looks like it was just a bad battery from the factory.