2000 Acura SRS light.

[David Farber]

My son's car is an Acura 2000 3.2TL. Recently, the SRS light came on.
Searching the web I noticed this was a common problem. Acura extended the
warranty on some of the components in the SRS to take care of this problem.

Initially, the local Acura dealer said the component, an SPORD SRS Unit,
which costs about $300 then another $200 to install, needed replacing. Of
course, that was not one of the components covered by the extended warranty.
When my son asked the service department for the OBD scanner code to do his
own research, he was told it was 13-5. Further internet searching turned up
nothing on this code. The next day the dealer calls and says, never mind,
the battery is weak and that's why the light came on.

The service department then measured the cold cranking amps of the battery
and said it was 220 and that was too low. So my question is if the battery
has enough power to start the car, how can it be so weak as to enable a
fault condition in the SRS? How much power could the SRS need to operate? Of
course my son will get stuck with a $100 diagnostic fee if he declines the
repair. If he gets the battery replaced at the dealer the diagnostic fee
would be applied toward the battery replacement and the final cost would be
$132. I'm thinking that it was just a an onboard computer glitch that
triggered the light and this cold cranking amp measurement discussion is a
ruse to have him buy a battery because they really don't know what's going
on. Appeals to management have gone nowhere.

Thanks for your replies.

 

[**THE-RFI-EMI-GUY**]

Giving the dealer the benefit of the doubt, I would argue it is very
possible that the battery is weak enough to crank the engine and induce
a glitch into the computer. My 2001 Ford Expedition has a battery that
is about 6 1/2 years old. I live in Florida, it starts every day, but I
know it is bad. When I crank the engine the electronic instrument panel
goes through a prolonged reset. The voltage is sufficient to turn the
starter motor which is insensitive to voltage, but the electronics are
sensitive to voltage and need time to reset properly.

In fact a month ago the battery went dead because I left the interior
lights on for a few hours. I intend to get this fixed soon.

If the battery is over 3 years old, I would agree that replacement may
be in order. $132 is a little steep for a battery, however dealer
repairs and parts usually are much higher.

Go with the dealers recommendation and if the SRS light happens to come
back on again, in a short time, be sure and insist they apply a credit
for the battery replacement against the repair job.

My son's car is an Acura 2000 3.2TL. Recently, the SRS light came on.
Searching the web I noticed this was a common problem. Acura extended the
warranty on some of the components in the SRS to take care of this problem.

Initially, the local Acura dealer said the component, an SPORD SRS Unit,
which costs about $300 then another $200 to install, needed replacing. Of
course, that was not one of the components covered by the extended warranty.
When my son asked the service department for the OBD scanner code to do his
own research, he was told it was 13-5. Further internet searching turned up
nothing on this code. The next day the dealer calls and says, never mind,
the battery is weak and that's why the light came on.

The service department then measured the cold cranking amps of the battery
and said it was 220 and that was too low. So my question is if the battery
has enough power to start the car, how can it be so weak as to enable a
fault condition in the SRS? How much power could the SRS need to operate? Of
course my son will get stuck with a $100 diagnostic fee if he declines the
repair. If he gets the battery replaced at the dealer the diagnostic fee
would be applied toward the battery replacement and the final cost would be
$132. I'm thinking that it was just a an onboard computer glitch that
triggered the light and this cold cranking amp measurement discussion is a
ruse to have him buy a battery because they really don't know what's going
on. Appeals to management have gone nowhere.

Thanks for your replies.

--
Joe Leikhim K4SAT
"The RFI-EMI-GUY"©

"Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason?
For if it prosper, none dare call it treason."

"Follow The Money" ;-P

 

[Homer J Simpson]

The service department then measured the cold cranking amps of the battery
and said it was 220 and that was too low.

Get a good battery guy to test it. The older guys usually know their stuff.

 

[Andrew Rossmann]

[This followup was posted to sci.electronics.repair and a copy was sent
to the cited author.]

The service department then measured the cold cranking amps of the battery
and said it was 220 and that was too low. So my question is if the battery
has enough power to start the car, how can it be so weak as to enable a
fault condition in the SRS? How much power could the SRS need to operate? Of
course my son will get stuck with a $100 diagnostic fee if he declines the
repair. If he gets the battery replaced at the dealer the diagnostic fee
would be applied toward the battery replacement and the final cost would be
$132. I'm thinking that it was just a an onboard computer glitch that
triggered the light and this cold cranking amp measurement discussion is a
ruse to have him buy a battery because they really don't know what's going
on. Appeals to management have gone nowhere.

It is possible for a weak battery to cause transient trouble codes. The
Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique had a similar issue. If the battery got
too weak, it would fool the computer into thinking there was an airbag
failure.

Airbags need to build up a charge to fire the explosives used to fill
the bag. If the battery is too weak, it may not charge up properly and
trigger a code.

 

[David Farber]

--
Joe Leikhim K4SAT
"The RFI-EMI-GUY"©

"Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason?
For if it prosper, none dare call it treason."

"Follow The Money" ;-P

Giving the dealer the benefit of the doubt, I would argue it is very
possible that the battery is weak enough to crank the engine and induce
a glitch into the computer. My 2001 Ford Expedition has a battery that
is about 6 1/2 years old. I live in Florida, it starts every day, but I
know it is bad. When I crank the engine the electronic instrument panel
goes through a prolonged reset. The voltage is sufficient to turn the
starter motor which is insensitive to voltage, but the electronics are
sensitive to voltage and need time to reset properly.

In fact a month ago the battery went dead because I left the interior
lights on for a few hours. I intend to get this fixed soon.

If the battery is over 3 years old, I would agree that replacement may
be in order. $132 is a little steep for a battery, however dealer
repairs and parts usually are much higher.

Go with the dealers recommendation and if the SRS light happens to come
back on again, in a short time, be sure and insist they apply a credit
for the battery replacement against the repair job.

I'm just wondering how many people are driving around with "weak" batteries
that will not have enough power to enable their SRS when the opportunity
calls for it. You would think with a battery strong enough to start a car
and an alternator also supplying power to the system, that it could charge
up whatever electronics are in the module to keep it in standby mode.

The dealer did agree to 50% off of any additional repairs if the new battery
does not correct the problem.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[James Sweet]

I'm just wondering how many people are driving around with "weak" batteries
that will not have enough power to enable their SRS when the opportunity
calls for it. You would think with a battery strong enough to start a car
and an alternator also supplying power to the system, that it could charge
up whatever electronics are in the module to keep it in standby mode.

The dealer did agree to 50% off of any additional repairs if the new battery
does not correct the problem.

Thanks for your reply.

Well if the SRS controller is not able to deal with the glitch at
startup and reset to operational status once the alternator brings the
voltage up then that strikes me as a design flaw. I've never heard of
this sort of thing happening, if the car cranks normally the battery
should be fine.

 

[Meat Plow]

Well if the SRS controller is not able to deal with the glitch at
startup and reset to operational status once the alternator brings the
voltage up then that strikes me as a design flaw. I've never heard of
this sort of thing happening, if the car cranks normally the battery
should be fine.

I own a Chevy Trailblazer 2003. It is chock full of electronics. Fly by
wire throttle, 4speed electronic shift tranny, 4 wheel ABS, Automatic 4WD
(selector switch not a mechanical shifter) theater dimming interior
lights, automatic headlamps, all electronic gauges etc..... Last year I
had battery trouble. Had to jump start it after leaving the radio on for 2
hours at a drive in theater that broadcast their audio on FM. The next day
it started fine and drove it to the dealer. They tested it and said it had
ZERO cranking amps Not once did I notice any glitches in the
electronics even though the battery was toast. I would say the SRS in this
Honda is very poorly designed as someone else suggested.

--
#1 Offishul Ruiner of Usenet, March 2007
#1 Usenet Asshole, March 2007
#1 Bartlo Pset, March 13-24 2007
#10 Most hated Usenetizen of all time
Pierre Salinger Memorial Hook, Line & Sinker, June 2004
COOSN-266-06-25794

 

[PhattyMo]

I would say the SRS in this

Honda is very poorly designed as someone else suggested.

Ahh...Another who is "enlightened".

Acura=Made by Honda,every damn part in the car has a "Honda"
stamp/sticker on it.

"Powered By Acura" my ass.

 

[James Sweet]

I own a Chevy Trailblazer 2003. It is chock full of electronics. Fly by
wire throttle, 4speed electronic shift tranny, 4 wheel ABS, Automatic 4WD
(selector switch not a mechanical shifter) theater dimming interior
lights, automatic headlamps, all electronic gauges etc..... Last year I
had battery trouble. Had to jump start it after leaving the radio on for 2
hours at a drive in theater that broadcast their audio on FM. The next day
it started fine and drove it to the dealer. They tested it and said it had
ZERO cranking amps Not once did I notice any glitches in the
electronics even though the battery was toast. I would say the SRS in this
Honda is very poorly designed as someone else suggested.

It must have had more than zero cranking amps or you would not have been
able to start it unless you jumped it, or it was a stick and you roll
started it. My guess is their meter bottoms out at something like 150
CCA and the guy didn't know better or didn't feel like explaining.

 

[James Sweet]

Ahh...Another who is "enlightened".

Acura=Made by Honda,every damn part in the car has a "Honda"
stamp/sticker on it.

"Powered By Acura" my ass.

LOL I've been snicking at those stickers for years.

Stick-on horsepower, must drop the 0-60 time by at least 0.2 for every
sticker and glued on piece of plastic crap.

 

[Andrew Rossmann]

I own a Chevy Trailblazer 2003. It is chock full of electronics. Fly by
wire throttle, 4speed electronic shift tranny, 4 wheel ABS, Automatic 4WD
(selector switch not a mechanical shifter) theater dimming interior
lights, automatic headlamps, all electronic gauges etc..... Last year I
had battery trouble. Had to jump start it after leaving the radio on for 2
hours at a drive in theater that broadcast their audio on FM. The next day
it started fine and drove it to the dealer. They tested it and said it had
ZERO cranking amps Not once did I notice any glitches in the
electronics even though the battery was toast. I would say the SRS in this
Honda is very poorly designed as someone else suggested.

That must be one POWERFUL radio to kill the battery in 2 hours, or the
battery itself was close to death to begin with. I also assume you were
in Accessory mode, and not letting it sit in RUN, with all the other
electronics running?

Also, if it had ZERO cranking amps, how did you start it to get to the
dealer?

 

[Meat Plow]

It must have had more than zero cranking amps or you would not have been
able to start it unless you jumped it, or it was a stick and you roll
started it. My guess is their meter bottoms out at something like 150
CCA and the guy didn't know better or didn't feel like explaining.

Well that's what I though too but didn't want to argue.


--
#1 Offishul Ruiner of Usenet, March 2007
#1 Usenet Asshole, March 2007
#1 Bartlo Pset, March 13-24 2007
#10 Most hated Usenetizen of all time
Pierre Salinger Memorial Hook, Line & Sinker, June 2004
COOSN-266-06-25794

 

[Meat Plow]

That must be one POWERFUL radio to kill the battery in 2 hours, or the
battery itself was close to death to begin with. I also assume you were
in Accessory mode, and not letting it sit in RUN, with all the other
electronics running?

The battery obviously had problems and yes the switch was in ACC.

Also, if it had ZERO cranking amps, how did you start it to get to the
dealer?

It started up the next day so I don't know why the dealer made that claim.
I put a new battery in it the same day and all is well now.

--
#1 Offishul Ruiner of Usenet, March 2007
#1 Usenet Asshole, March 2007
#1 Bartlo Pset, March 13-24 2007
#10 Most hated Usenetizen of all time
Pierre Salinger Memorial Hook, Line & Sinker, June 2004
COOSN-266-06-25794