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engine will not start

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5.6K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  mdxmaster  
#1 ·
Heres a strange case! My wife was driving around town all mornig and then drove her friend home. She turned off the engeine as they were talking for about 15 minutes. When she decided to go she put the MDX rev and coasted for a few feet, she realized she had turned the car off so she put the gear in park and tried to start but no go. Figured it could be theft deterent system and called Acura, went through few things but still no gohave to tow it in. In the meantime wife decides to take few items out of car, and pushes button to eject dvd, and the back window goes down. Tow truck operater tries to start but only got it going after jump started it.


What could of caused battery to drain so quickly? and secondly would putting into gear whith engine shutt off engage theft security?

Acura dealer did full diagnostic and found nothingYour input would be greatly appreciated as we are leaving for holidays in 2 weeks and would not want this to happen on the way.
 
#4 ·
Squishy said:
Maybe she flooded the engine by stepping on the gas with the engine off, then drained the battery trying to crank it after.
You cannot flood the MDX. If you do not have power the electril fuel pump will not send fuel to the electrically controlled injectors.

You are thinking of the old style carbed engines.

If the battery was drained after her sitting for 15 minutes I would say the vehicle has a bad battery.

G
 
#5 ·
ninog said:
My wife...her friend... were talking for about 15 minutes. What could of caused battery to drain so quickly? and secondly would putting into gear whith engine shutt off engage theft security?
!5 minutes of gossip can kill anything.
Some Acura batteries die early deaths. If your wife repeatedly started and stopped the vehicle around town, it may not have had time to recharge after each start. It the battery was already weak, that may have pushed it over the edge.
The theft security is only engaged when you lock the vehicle. If your wife had tripped the alarm, it would have blown the horn and flashed the lights.
You could wait until it happens again, or replace it proactively.
 
#8 ·
If the battery is okay then you might need to look at the alternator. Sometimes when they go bad they'll intermittently charge the battery. A good one will always charge the battery in the 13.5-14.5 V range.
 
#10 ·
AN MDX need about 550 CCA to start, correcy? so if your wife had left he key in the acc position of the igniton while talking and left the navi unit running along with audio, then she might have brought it down to an unstartable level. The acura batteries can die as quick as 5 minutes with just the audio on. Also since she was getting power to eject the CD, that means that the car had to be in the acc position.
 
#11 ·
csmeance said:
AN MDX need about 550 CCA to start, correcy? so if your wife had left he key in the acc position of the igniton while talking and left the navi unit running along with audio, then she might have brought it down to an unstartable level. The acura batteries can die as quick as 5 minutes with just the audio on. Also since she was getting power to eject the CD, that means that the car had to be in the acc position.
Any battery that could die in 5 minutes with only audio on is DEAD. Even a two or three yeard old battery would last many times that with the headlights on.

G
 
#12 ·
I've had a similar problem with my 2003 Acura MDX. I recently bought it and I'm not sure if the battery is weak or what. The indicator on the battery says its good but I'm not sure how reliable that is.

I accidentally left the keys in the ignition after turning of the car. After about 5 minutes the car couldnt start and needed a battery charge to get it going. Is this normal, I mean I don't see how a battery can get weak by leaving the keys in the igntion for 5 minutes.

I will take it to AutoZone to check out my battery free of charge and let you guys know what those results where.
 
#14 ·
Well I went to autozone to test my battery and it seems like it is OK not great.

The guy at the store says that they charge batteries for free and it is a better cost effective solution then buying a new battery.

I have never charged a car battery before, is there anyone out there who has experience with this and can share.

Thanks.
 
#15 ·
G. COLTON said:


You cannot flood the MDX. If you do not have power the electril fuel pump will not send fuel to the electrically controlled injectors.

You are thinking of the old style carbed engines.

If the battery was drained after her sitting for 15 minutes I would say the vehicle has a bad battery.

G
Are we sure you can't flood the MDX. I ask because I bought our 03 X a few months ago and had trouble starting it twice. Both times, I turned the key and released it just before the engine actually started (the X seems to take an extra second or two to start compared to my other cars). Then I would try to start it right away and it would just crank but not start. I tried restarting 2 - 3 times with no luck. Then I waited 10 seconds both times and then it would start????

I just figured I flooded the engine the first time when I didn't wait long enough for the engine to start, and waiting 10 seconds gave it enought time to clear itself.
 
#16 ·
That's why you never let the wife drive your car:p

But seriously, I doubt it's the battery. You say when she ejected a dvd the rear window went down? That would be a strong indicator that something is up with your wiring..I'd get it checked out.