I'm not an expert, but I'm thinking maybe something's wrong with the alternator.

I second.. Jeff...

I will do some googling on alternator troubleshooting. I am accustomed to thinking the alternator is charging, or it is not. Where my problem is, the car is fine for days or weeks, then, it is dead. Either overnight or while out running an errand or two. Thanks.

If you have a voltmeter put it across the battery terminals. It should read about 14 volts plus with the car running. If not the alternator needs looking at. To check for battery drain disconnect the positive lead from the battery and connect a test light between the lead and the terminal. If the light glows with everything switched off there is something draining current. You can then pull fuses one by one until the light goes out and you will have found the guilty component. Repair or replace it or leave the fuse out to stop the drain.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Wullie

If you have a voltmeter put it across the battery terminals. It should read about 14 volts plus with the car running. If not the alternator needs looking at. To check for battery drain disconnect the positive lead from the battery and connect a test light between the lead and the terminal. If the light glows with everything switched off there is something draining current. You can then pull fuses one by one until the light goes out and you will have found the guilty component. Repair or replace it or leave the fuse out to stop the drain.

---

Thank you.  I have not really done a true parasitic draw test, pulling fuses one by one in decades. It Many years ago I did it one a much simpler car.  Seems then I rigged voltmeter to amps on the negative terminal and put ignition into accesories position then pulled fuses one by one watching the voltmeter.  Now there are so darn many fuses, a big panel under the hood and another inside the car.  And those cheapy fuse tweezers suck.  I like pliers! Brad

My neighbor just went through this with her Saturn. It took two years to solve. Turns out one of the door locks periodically kept drawing power, even after the door locked. The wires were disconnected, and there haven’t been any problems since.

1) Disconnect the negative lead from the battery, put battery on the charger (assuming you know the charger is good). If the battery doesn't come back to life, buy a battery.

2) Must do step... with the car running test with voltmeter (find out why the battery died/dies)

youtu.be/COJr7OB23Hw

Skip the nonsense about using wd40 on the posts, wd40 displaces moisture, use dielectric grease on the posts after cleaning them if you feel the need.

I had one battery for mine that was almost $600 (special purpose), and it was driving me crazy. It would charge after a while, but if the truck wasn't started every day and driven, it died in 2 days. I'd mentally ruled out the battery. Finally found a very small cracked casing that had leached. That was the exception, not the rule. As my mechanic friend always said, start with the basics before playing the fuse pull game.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dean T

My neighbor just went through this with her Saturn. It took two years to solve. Turns out one of the door locks periodically kept drawing power, even after the door locked. The wires were disconnected, and there haven’t been any problems since.

---

Dean, I have not used Dumb Wire Guy in years.  Have you had any recent experience with him.  Though with your background you probable DIY.  I DIY a lot, but electrical is not my thing.  Brad

quote:

---

Originally posted by DRL777

1) Disconnect the negative lead from the battery, put battery on the charger (assuming you know the charger is good). If the battery doesn't come back to life, buy a battery.

2) Must do step... with the car running test with voltmeter (find out why the battery died/dies)

youtu.be/COJr7OB23Hw

Skip the nonsense about using wd40 on the posts, wd40 displaces moisture, use dielectric grease on the posts after cleaning them if you feel the need.

I had one battery for mine that was almost $600 (special purpose), and it was driving me crazy. It would charge after a while, but if the truck wasn't started every day and driven, it died in 2 days. I'd mentally ruled out the battery. Finally found a very small cracked casing that had leached. That was the exception, not the rule. As my mechanic friend always said, start with the basics before playing the fuse pull game.

---

I always buy my batteries at a nearby Interstate store.  I would assume their long bench load test and cell tests are correct. That this several month old battery passed the tests.  I tried both my chargers and they have been in working condition.  I could not use my jumpers due to car deep in the garage and I cannot get next to it.  Thanks for your suggestions. Brad

quote:

---

Originally posted by rinemb

quote:

---

Originally posted by DRL777

1) Disconnect the negative lead from the battery, put battery on the charger (assuming you know the charger is good). If the battery doesn't come back to life, buy a battery.

2) Must do step... with the car running test with voltmeter (find out why the battery died/dies)

youtu.be/COJr7OB23Hw

Skip the nonsense about using wd40 on the posts, wd40 displaces moisture, use dielectric grease on the posts after cleaning them if you feel the need.

I had one battery for mine that was almost $600 (special purpose), and it was driving me crazy. It would charge after a while, but if the truck wasn't started every day and driven, it died in 2 days. I'd mentally ruled out the battery. Finally found a very small cracked casing that had leached. That was the exception, not the rule. As my mechanic friend always said, start with the basics before playing the fuse pull game.

---

I always buy my batteries at a nearby Interstate store.  I would assume their long bench load test and cell tests are correct. That this several month old battery passed the tests.  I tried both my chargers and they have been in working condition.  I could not use my jumpers due to car deep in the garage and I cannot get next to it.  Thanks for your suggestions. Brad

---

The running charge test will tell you if the alternator is doing its job.

Just remembering…about a year ago I took this car in to a large reputable auto shop that I used for years for this same issue. They kept the car for a few days and never found a problem. I can only assume they checked the alternator. They did not mention parasitic testing-as I recall.

quote:

---

Originally posted by rinemb

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dean T

My neighbor just went through this with her Saturn. It took two years to solve. Turns out one of the door locks periodically kept drawing power, even after the door locked. The wires were disconnected, and there haven’t been any problems since.

---

Dean, I have not used Dumb Wire Guy in years.  Have you had any recent experience with him.  Though with your background you probable DIY.  I DIY a lot, but electrical is not my thing.  Brad

---

I have not, but my neighbor did take her car to the pros. I had helped her several times, and couldn't figure it out. And neither could her car mechanic after several tries. At the suggestion of her son, she bought a small trickle charger, which she plugged in whenever she wasn't driving the car. This worked for over a year, and she had no problems. Then she went out of town for a week, forgot to plug the charger in, and the car was dead when she got home. Both her son, and me, told her to take it back to her mechanic, and test every electrical system that operated independent of the cars engine... since it was obvious there was a drain, when the car wasn't being driven. They did, and found the faulty door lock. All has been well since. 

.... some years back a parasitic (?) draw through an inoperative rear-wiper motor in our '08 Trailblazer bamboozled me and a few mechanics for a few months and two or three mechanics didn't find the problem.    IIRC,  the motor had been inoperative for some time, and I had the replacement on hand but hadn't installed it and in the meantime the switch had inadvertently gotten turned/left "on," but with the inoperative motor it went un-noticed.  Eventually, our son was around and swapped out the motors .... probably took him all of 15 minutes ... and Bob was once again my favorite uncle.

Brad..

Altonators can short n have a draw in them..
Still charge while running...
But draw at rest..

BEWARE!

Mike, I bet that movie was not a big hit-even back in the day. Its probably some kind of cult classic now, though? Brad

One of the first things we learned at SMVTI Automotive was BSACACAT.
Be Sure All Connections Are Clean And Tight.

i don't know about these new ones but back in the day you could stick a screw driver on the back bearing of the alternator and if it was magnatized it was charging... don't know how much though. but if it is a newer battery sounds like a charging issue.
these newer cars have a ELD (electronic load detector) that can go bad too.

What others said. Check alternator first. A parasitic drain is always a possibility, but rule out the easier items first.

A quick Google search found this.... If your 2005 Acura RL battery keeps dying, a common issue is a parasitic drain (electrical components drawing power even when the car is off), potentially related to the Hands Free Link (HFL) module (Bluetooth).

quote:

---

Originally posted by Buddur

What others said. Check alternator first. A parasitic drain is always a possibility, but rule out the easier items first.

A quick Google search found this.... If your 2005 Acura RL battery keeps dying, a common issue is a parasitic drain (electrical components drawing power even when the car is off), potentially related to the Hands Free Link (HFL) module (Bluetooth).

---

I will check that out.  Maybe figure out what fuse that is on?  Brad

I called one of the primary auto electric repair shops. One I have used with other vehicles. He said he would not try to diagnose issue unless we are experienced a "70% occurrence" rate. I asked what the heck that means. I explained, I didn't understand how to quantify that. All the while commented his time is money. I wanted to say, "duh". I said thank you , for your time, goodbye. brad

Good luck is all I'll add.
Could be one of many things
Electrical issues suck

E

On further investigation, yes, the HFL module is the likely source of the problem, as on most Acuras of that decade. (we do not use the hands free features in that car, so I will not bother replacing it-in all likelihood) That module is located in many different locations depending on model and year. It looks like on our 2005 Acura RL, it is behind the passenger kick panel. I hope to pull the panel then disconnect the module, when I can get wife's car away and in some daylight to pop the panel. Brad

And I apologize for the HUGE pix.
Used to be able to SELECT S, M, or L.
Now, I just have to take what they give me.

Update. I pulled the panel under the glove box and I could just see the green connector on the HFL module. I could not get my fingers on it without removing the kick panel. (Which appears to be a real pia). So with some tools I was able to click the connector latch and pry it off the module. According to the web this is nearly always the fault of Acura battery drainage. We shall see. My multimeter is dead so will deal will that , then check any load on battery, when car has been off for an hour or so. Brad