Hi all,

I have been driving my 04 TL for about seven years but now that I have moved away from home I'm trying to manage the maintenance on my own. An issue that I've been dealing with for the last year is that the electronics have been acting strange. Things like the speakers being really quiet, the headlights being dim (I've changed the bulbs and balast), and the latest thing is the cars battery dies if I leave it sitting a few days (battery and alternator test good per a local automation store). I've been trying to think it through and I was thinking maybe it's something like the serpentine belt or tensioner but before I attempt to replace it I wanted to see if anyone here had any advice for a novice car guy. Thanks in advance.

 

Unplug the hands free link module and do a "parasitic" drain test. Youtube will help with both!

 

I pulled the hands free link a few years ago after it started draining the battery so that isn't the issue. I'll look up the parasitic load test you mentioned and see how that goes.

 

Speakers being quiet
- Amp is failing and most likely needs to be rebuilt or replaced
- Most common issue are failing capacitors in the amp
- I have rebuilt three of them, takes about an hour of work assuming you know how to desolder/solder

Headlights being dim
- how dim? what are you comparing to?
- lenses cloudy?
- how old are the bulbs?
- if you connect a charger, does it get brighter?
- does the brightness change with the engine off or on?
- have you measured voltage at the battery or fuse block with the engine off and on?

Dead battery
- usually HFL...but you said already disconnected
- other common culprit is the A/C clutch relay sticking
- do the parasitic draw tests and you can at least figure out which circuit is pulling current and go from there