Hey AZ, i searched but could not get a definitive answer on what is wrong with the car. Its an 06 TL

3 weeks ago the car would not start, it was making multiple clicking noises when i turned the key. Got jumped by roadside assistance with a portable booster. Took it to Orielly and tested the battery, said it was some bad cells and got the battery replaced under warranty. Everything was fine for a week and then it died again.

Fast forward 2 weeks later, and the car would not start. But this time there was no multiple clicks. When i turn the key, 1 single click. All the electricals work, headlights, stereos all good. No dimming of interior lights either. Got it jump started from my dads 06 Tundra as the booster battery. Took it to autozone the next day and they tested it and said battery and alternator is fine.

A couple of times after that incident, i would start the car, would not crank on first try, 2nd try it would start.

Now last night, it didn't start again. Had to get jumped by a Scion XB. Whats wrong with my car?

Is it a bad starter? relay?

Thanks in advance.

 

The car won't start under it's own power, but it starts fine when jumped?

Any dash lights?

Sounds like a charging system problem.

 

I had the same issue with a Jeep Grand Cherokee i used to have. Turned out to be a bad ground cable. Had all the similar symptoms, but checking the terminals one day i just about fried my finger tips off.

Might not be it, but worth a shot. Good Luck

 

Something is either causing the battery to drain while sitting or something is wrong with the battery. Can you restat the car a few minutes after shutting it off? Or it wont start after a while of sitting? If it wont start after a while.of sitting then the battery is bad or something is draining the battery. If you can't start aft a few minut then is definitely the batte (check the cables and check the battery at another place.)

 

So the car started fine today. Drove it to Orielly and Autozone and spoke to a mechanic, went to 2 different stores to pick up last minute v-day stuff and each time the car started by itself with no problems.

Everything tested ok again at orielly and autozone. The mechanic said to leave the car there to get it diagnosed but I need the car for work. Might drop it off next week when I have a day off and see what they can find. But if its something easy, I would rather fix it myself. Mechanic quoted me anywhere from $50 to $100 to diagnose. I think that's a reasonable price as a few other shops ranged from 45 to 150 for a diagnosis.

 

Dash lights work...all electricals work.

 

How can i check to see if its a bad ground cable? My battery terminals are clean and non corroded right now

 

JT, my problem was at the terminal connector. The wires were loose inside the connector.

 

Well, damn if I didn't just have this issue in my '08 TL this morning. Interior lights all worked, but the car would just make a "click" when trying to start and that was it.

This allowed me to use Acura's new iPhone app, which I hadn't been that thrilled about as it only handles service calls (I was hoping for something more robust, log/retrieve information or some such...), but it did do its job well.

Roadside assistance had someone out within 30 minutes. It turned out that the battery had less than 10% capacity. He jumped it and I promptly took it to the dealer with the TSB for the HFL parasitic drain issues.

Damn, I hate the feeling that I have to cross my fingers that they actually fix the issue and not just charge or replace the battery and say "It's fixed".

 

bad ground wire. I had a similar problem. if the car sat or wasnt warm i would get the clicks and sometimes nothing. take it to a reputable shop and should be around 100$. you having a new battery also makes me think its a bad ground. shouldnt be a big deal as long as they can find it

 

Update Please

I went to start my 05TL this morning had dash lights all the normal stuff But she didn't start... So I put the trickle charger on for bout 4 hrs thinkin alls good maybe just a low battery

bout an hour ago I need to run to the store, guess what? full power just like in the morning " anyways the brake pedal is as stiff as my pecker back in the day.. Right away I'm like Hey the guys on Acurazine have had issues with this sort of stuff.

Just like when my puter is not communicating with my printer, What I do? reboot right? So I disconnect the negitive battery terminal to do my reboot..

i wait a minute re-connect and try to start her, Well no go the first two attempts, third try BAM she starts..

Could be the fuse box recall? I didn't get the letter though I assume my vin checked out

Could be fuel relay... That's TSB 07-017 pgm-fi main relay 2

Who knows??

 

Like st_dot said, check where the cable comes into the terminal connector. Take a peek just under the insulation. Living near salt water (as you do) does bad things to a car's electrical system. While stationed in Tampa, I had 2-yr-old Mustang Cobra not turn over in the driveway. Turned out, the salt air destroyed a 50-cent ground cable to the starter and the starter burned out (thanks Ford for using a POS wire).

On a different car, I had similiar issues to what your talking about. Exhibited the "light switch" effect typical of a weak ground. One minute it started, the next it didn't. Cause was frayed/rusted wires going into the terminal connector, hidden by the cable's insulation. Sparkling clean terminals (i.e. what you could see) obviously didn't matter. Chopped a few inches of bad wire (making sure the new connector would still reach) and went with an elongated terminal connector. All was well for less than $4, the cost of a new connector.

Might not be your problem, but if it is, it's an easy and cheap fix....

 

Hope I fixed the problem, I took out my starter and brought it to 2 different AutoZones and 1 O'rielly, 1 autozone said my starter was going bad, O'Rielly actually said it failed. I was seeing what they were doing and the pin that pops out to spin the fly wheel was coming out really slow after a few starts. Bought a refurbed w/ lifetime warranty for $120 and swapped it in. Now the car works and it hasn't had any problems since. I will check out the cables and ground and make sure to check under the insulation because all the exposed parts look clean.

I'm pretty noob at this, can someone tell me what to look for in a bad ground and corroded cables?

 

Biggest mistake people make is "looking" at the cables and saying they are clean..

You need to remove the cable from the battery and physically clean it with a wire brush or the likes. Also clean the battery terminal. Even a fine film on the negative can cause those symptoms.

For now I'd just leave it to see if the starter change fixed it or did they scam you. I have whitnessed cases where they change the starter + clean the terminals to get your $$ when it was only the terminals.

 

It's blown. You're going to have to sell the car now.. hehe

 

I took out/installed the starter myself, so all i really wasted was my time and $120 for the part. Every time I change the battery i use a wire brush to clean the terminals and grease the cables and posts.

How can I tell if underneath the insulation is bad? How can I also check a bad ground?

But its been a week and the car starts like a champ now haha but I just want to cover all the bases.