kliqzero

Hey guys,

This is my 2nd or 3rd thread here about this issue.

Background: 2005 Acura TL, about 130,000 miles

Problem: If I don't drive my car for 2-3 days and come back to it, it is typically completely dead. Sometimes it'll work, but oftentimes the car is all the way dead or some lights are on but I can't start it.

Temp solution: I have to jump start my car everytime this happens, which fixes it (temporarily).

Things I've tried:
- put in a brand new battery
- disconnected the hands-free bluetooth link
- disconnected remote start

Random tidbit: there's a quarter stuck in the CD player tray, i don't know if this is relevant at all. just throwing it out there


I took it to a mechanic, they ran the diagnostic on it and said they found the power drain (the remote start). The mechanic told me he disconnected it and I should be all good to go. Cost me $100. Car worked fine, i parked it, came back a few days later - dead again. I went back to the mechanic, he said that's the only issue he saw and said he couldnt do anything else.

What else could be the problem!? This has been happening to me on and off for a year now - any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Crashmaster

Normally when a vehicle like you describe comes into the shop, our methodology for repair is to:

Disconnect the positive battery cable

Install an amp gauge between battery and positive battery cable

Keep pulling fuses until the amp gauge reads zero

Make good notes for which fuses goes where.

There will be some circuits that will be always on, but they won’t be drawing very much amperage.

Glorygang600

I dont have any info on this but if you manage to solve this issue please update us

kliqzero

Another tidbit I forgot to add

The panel that displays the time and other info is always going in and out, I have to smack it for it to look right but most of the time it kind of fades away. do you think this could possibly be it - and if so, which fuse would control this?

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

Unfortunately, that's not your problem.
That's just a problem with your sub-display brightness circuitry. Mine did this for a few months before I got a new sub display.

MrLeadFoot

Read from this post downward on this other thread:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-p.../#post16075262

314_04TL

perhaps your having the same problem that others are with the HFU

NBP04TL4ME

OP said he disconnected the HFL.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

im leaning towards more aftermarket stuff draining his battery. his mechanic already disabled the remote start, there could be something else drawing...but UNLESS HE CHECKS HIMSELF, we're all guessing

flyromeo3

hope you got your 100 dollars back since they didnt fix the problem.

but yeah, best bet would be to install an amp gauge and pull fuses.
Electrical troubleshooting is a pain in the ass but not overly complicated.

Good luck

kliqzero

Three months later - still having the problem, though it's getting worse now.

I had to buy a portable car battery jumper and basically before I drive my car, I have to jump it every single time. I'll jump it, drive somewhere, park, go inside, come back outside to find my car dead again, jump it again, and go home. It's super annoying

Question is - how bad is this for the car/battery?

kliqzero

i did not get my $100 back - i went back the next day but since I didnt have my receipt they conveniently forgot who i was .... #smh

peter6

It's bad for the battery. It's not deep cycle one, and full discharging damages it.


https://www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Parasitic-Battery-Drain

Basically, get amp meter and pull fuse one by one. Current drops by large amount, figure out what is powered through that fuse and check that.

kliqzero

and what if it's the ac clutch relay like i saw in another thread? https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-p...attery-964173/

Also, i'm such a noob with cars.

I know there's two fuse boxes, right? one in the hood and one below the driver's seat - or are they two different things?

is there a guide on how to do this fuse test that I can reference?

thanks!

EDIT: Nevermind - the link you provided is great!

MrLeadFoot

Like I mentioned to you before, check that darned AC clutch relay. It is so simple it's not funny. If you don't want to spend $13, you can actually swap it with one of your fan relays, since they are exactly the same. Like I told you before, these relays usually fail intermittently which is why even shops cannot find the issue, because the relay is not acting up when they look. If you swap it with a fan relay, when it acts up, you will hear the fan turn on even when the car is off.

Knowing what I know now, having been through what you're going through, and discovering the problem, I would just spend the $13 on a new relay. No special tools needed. Open underhood fusebox, look for relay that has the large snowflake symbol, use pliers to pull out the old relay, and put a new one in. Done. I'd be surprised if the your problem is NOT resolved by replacing the a/c relay.

kliqzero

do you have a link to where I can get that relay?

MrLeadFoot

I'm pretty sure I used this one:
https://www.autozone.com/cooling-hea...14_120391_8960

kliqzero

can i test it by simply removing that component from the car for a few days? in other words, what would happen if I drive around with the a/c clutch?

peter6

You mean without? Well AC compressor will never engage, so basically you have no AC.

MrLeadFoot

Yes, that's a good idea, especially this time of year when you don't need a/c. Just remember that your defroster won't defrost well, either, although the fan will blow.

jake14mw

Did you ever figure out what was causing the problem? I had the exact same issue, replaced the battery after already disconnecting HFL and replacing A/C switch, that seemed to fix it, but it didn't. Died again yesterday about a month after replacing the battery. Also, do you or anyone have a suggestion for a good portable battery jump starter to keep in the car?

kliqzero

so I took it to a new mechanic, who ran a full test and told me my battery was dead - which was surprising to me since I had bought a new battery less than a year ago. But after thinking about it further, I realized the battery I bought was a budget battery from Wal Mart, and that's probably why it wasn't very good.

kliqzero

As far as portable chargers go, this is the one I own and it's pretty good

jake14mw

Thanks. How long ago was that? I went through the same thing, and the new battery fixed the problem for about a month, and now the problem is back.

kliqzero

damn ... this was like 2 weeks ago, and since I got the new battery Ive been driving the car a lot so I havent given it enough time to cool down. I want to leave it idle for a few days and see if it starts up after like 4 days, I will test that this week and get back to you

nfnsquared

OP, your mechanic is likely an idiot. How much of a draw was the remote start pulling? What fuse circuit was it on? A remote start will definitely have a parasitic draw when set.

Are you sure that you properly disconnected the HFL unit?

Do you have NAVI? If so, it could be the NAVI. See TSB B05-029: http://techinfo.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SB/B05-029.PDF

If you have NAVI, you can pull fuse #7 overnight and if the battery doesn't drain, then you've found the source.