smd40

I'm a new owner of an '05 RL with 41k miles. I've only had the car a week and it won't start. I was driving it for about 45 miles and made a stop and turned off the car. When I tried to start the car 10 minutes later it made consecutive clicking sounds and the guages "fluttered" but that was all. Then when I tried again, the display requested I enter the GPS Code, so I'm assuming there is probably a battery problem.

I did notice that prior to this problem occurring, that I was not getting an Outside Temp reading. When I did a search I read about this being an issue on the TL...no reading and then the battery went dead.

Does anyone know if this is also an issue on the RL and if so what is my best course of action? The car is out of warranty and I don't want to spend unnecessary money at the dealer.

Thanks for all your help in advance. This forum has been a great source of information for me in the short time I've owned the car.

ReverendOlaf

I haven't heard of this specific problem, but it seems like a battery without juice, but there likely is a bad alternator (or electrical connection) that drained the battery. A jump will get you started, but if there's a bad alternator, you may be missing some key electrical components (and may not be safe to drive). Keeping the jumper cables connected a while may charge the battery a bit (not my area of expertise).

Good luck with it all, and worry not, the RL is a very good car. This is just a minor hickup!

Chulodee

I had the SAME problem and it turned out to be a dead battery! I changed it and till this day I haven't had a problem at all

lland

If it's the original battery on an '05, odds are that's the issue.

LL

smd40

I'm going to take care of it tomorrow. Will call AAA to get a jump and hopefully it's just the battery.

I'll let you know how it goes. I'm just a little nervous because I bought a used car and I'm worried maybe this could be a car w/ problems.

nsx_2k

Sounds to me like it is a battery issue. I don't believe the batteries in these RL last that long. My '05 that I purchased recently had a new battery installed about two months prior to me purchasing it. Also, reading about bizarre electrical issues in these RL's, it seems that when they surface, the first issue to address is the battery.

I highly doubt the alternator is bad. If you can jump the car and it is driveable, then your alternator is likely good.

drolds72

if you get it started, and put a meter on the battery, 14 volts or so indicates that the altenator is working and putting out current.

poppintec

how much is a new battery for the RL?

smd40

Update- After too many hours of dealing with this today, I now have a new battery and it seems to have been the problem. But the outside temp is still not working. Any advice on this issue?

Took it to Sears and after one hour I came back to find out that the DieHard does not fit. Seems that the DieHard has a "raised top". They did not have anything else to replace it with and I ended up at Strauss Auto. $100 later it appears problem solved!

ReverendOlaf

Congrats on getting it back to life. Enjoy your new (to you) car!

The outside temp sensor is in the bumper.

Page 71 of the owners manual has some info (not much)

With the dead battery, you may have lost your customized settings in your MID. Check out page 78 to see all the settings available to tweak.

smd40

Update:

Started the car today and the Display Screen is now very dim and not in color; it is in black and white.

I also have a few Diagnostic Messages saying my Airbags aren't functioning because of a lack of electrical current, possible issue with Active Lighting and a possible AWD issue.

I guess I'm going to have to take it to the Acura dealer.

Has anyone seen these issues before?

ReverendOlaf

Many of the systems need to be reset when the battery is removed, including ALS and SH-AWD. Most of these you can do yourself if you can find the routines involved (nothing technical, just do certain things with the not-a-key and moving wheels here and there, opening/closing moonroofs, etc depending on the subsystem). Dealers used to swap batteries with the engine running (not recommended) and now have a special tool to avoid doing all of these subsystem resets. As for the airbags, that's a but more concerning.

The display will be dim when cold (improves after running a few minutes), and you can adjust the brightness/color scheme. I think you'll need the Setup below the Navi screen to change those.