Honda cars and charging system failure are unbreakable friends. If you own a Honda or Acura car, you will most likely encounter the error message telling you that the Charging System should be checked and repaired.
But what is the Charging System and why does it fail in your Acura TL? And should you really pay a lot of attention to these error messages that can get on your nerves?
In short, the «Check Charging System» error message tells you that the battery isn’t charging properly, so the alternator or some wiring systems don’t work as they should. It also means that quite soon you may just not start your Acura because the 12-volt battery will lose its charge completely.
In this article, I want to show you how you can quickly diagnose the vehicle if it says you that the charging system is not working properly. I will be focusing on the Acura TL but everything I say in this article can also be applied to other Acura and Honda cars.
What’s essentially the Charging System?
As its name says, the charging system is there in your Acura TL to charge the 12-volt battery. You may know that this battery is used to start the engine. In the process, some of its charge is used to crank the starter motor. After the engine starts, the alternator takes over all the work in the electrical system of your vehicle. It means that the alternator will produce power to supply it to all units in your car including the battery.
So, the charging system is actually the alternator and some wires that connect it to the battery. Also, in the Acura TL, you will find some other modules and units in this system that control the charge of the battery and help you avoid overcharging it.
At this point, you may see that if you get the charging system failure message, you should pay attention to the alternator and wires. If you don’t react to this issue immediately, you may end up having the TL with a dead battery.
What are the reasons for the charging system failure in the Acura TL?
Although everything may seem quite simple, the charging system failure message doesn’t show up only because the alternator is not working. There are numerous other reasons why your 12-volt battery in the Acura TL may not be charging properly.
Let’s see what these reasons are:
1. Alternator is faulty
Yes, this is one of the most common reasons why you can see the «Check Charging System» error message in your Acura TL.
Once the alternator stops working, the following things happen in your vehicle:
- every unit that consumes electrical power, starts malfunctioning and probably even throwing some codes;
- after a few seconds, the system will automatically turn all power supply to the 12-volt battery;
- the battery will not be charging but it will be supplying all electrical units with the power;
- in one or two hours, the battery may lose all its charge and eventually fail;
- after deep discharge, the battery may just die and you will not be able to charge it and use it again;
- also, once the battery loses all its juice, your TL will stop and you will not be able to start it again.
So, nothing pleasant so far. If you see this message, you shouldn’t ignore it. Because if you do, in just several hours, you may need to call a tow truck. This will significantly raise your expenses for towing and repairing your vehicle.
2. Bad voltage regulator
The alternator in your Acura TL has a voltage regulator. This is the small unit that controls the power of the electricity that is sent from the alternator to the car’s system. The voltage regulator is one of the most unreliable things in almost any kind of alternators. That’s why, you should check it before you agree to replace the alternator.
The voltage regulator is not hard to check with the multimeter. I will not give you the guidelines on how to do it because the internet has already said a lot about this.
Unfortunately, replacing the voltage regulator is not a DIY task. If this problem happens to your Acura TL, you should go to the dealership or to a trusted repair shop and have your car inspected and repaired. But you can locate the problem on your own and spend less for the inspection.
3. Old and worn-out battery
One more problem that can cause these annoying error messages to appear in your TL is a bad battery. On average, the car battery leaves about four to five years if you carefully use it and sometimes charge it with a special charger or booster.
If your car has some power drains, the battery may die much earlier than that. Also, the lifespan of the battery depends on the driving style and the conditions of driving your vehicle.
For example, here are the things that will kill your 12-volt battery much earlier than you expect:
- driving in the city with short drives and a lot of engine starting sessions during the day;
- cold temperatures;
- very hot temperatures;
- bad quality of the battery;
- wrong type and size of the battery;
- keeping the battery discharged for a long time;
- using additional equipment that is connected directly to the battery.
I knew one Acura TL that was driven on highways most of the time. Its owner didn’t change that 12-volt battery for about a decade and it never malfunctioned. The car went more than 200,000 miles and was successfully sold with the original battery.
Anyway, if the battery in your Acura TL is malfunctioning, you should just replace it with the new one. Maybe, you can also try to recharge the battery and drive some more months with it.
4. Wiring problems
It’s not uncommon for the Acura TL to develop some wiring problems, especially if we are talking about quite an old car. Wiring and connections are two common problems for all Honda vehicles.
First of all, you should check the connections on the battery terminals. If they are corroded or have some deposits on them, they need to be cleaned. Otherwise, they will lose connection even more often which may lead to a complete loss of power.
Also, check the wires that connect the alternator to the battery and to the other units in the vehicle. It’s not that easy because they are not easily accessible under the hood of the Acura TL. So, you need some help from a professional car mechanic.
Locating and solving wiring problems is not that easy. I recommend going to the dealership or to a trusted repair shop to have this problem solved.
Can you still drive when you see the «Check Charging System» error message?
Most likely, your Acura TL will not stall once you see this message. But you can continue driving only after you make sure that the problem with the car is not fatal.
For example, if you understand that the error message tells you about the problem with the alternator and the battery doesn’t have any charge, you shouldn’t plan to drive for a long time. Because in one or two hours your battery will run out of power and the vehicle will just die.
If you see this error message and can’t locate the problem immediately, I strongly recommend driving directly to the repair shop that can help you. If it’s not possible, you should drive to some safe place where you can leave your car for some time.
If you choose to keep driving, you need to know that you’re risking the battery, the wiring, the alternator, and also some other quite expensive things in your Acura TL.
How to replace the battery in the Acura TL?
In this car, the battery is located under the hood, on the driver’s side. You will not see it once you open the hood because it’s covered with a plastic cover.
To replace the battery in your Acura TL, you will just need to do the following:
- take the plastic cover off to get access to the battery;
- locate the positive terminal and use your wrench to unscrew the wire;
- take the wire off the positive terminal and place it safely so that it couldn’t touch the terminal;
- repeat this with the negative terminal;
- you will see the black metal bracket that holds the battery in its place;
- use your wrench to unscrew the nut on one side of this bracket and then just move it away;
- now you can take the battery from the engine bay and install the new one;
- after that, use the bracket to make sure that the battery sits firmly in its place;
- then connect the negative terminal, and make sure it’s tightened properly;
- the final step is to connect the positive terminal.
Be careful. Even though the battery has only 12 volts, you can get hurt by its strong current. Use proper tools and also some gloves to protect you from possible dangers.
After you completed every step, you can try to start the engine and see if the charging system failure message is gone.
Final thoughts
Although Acura TL is a very reliable and durable vehicle, you will still get some problems with it, especially when this car has a lot of miles on it.
Charging system failure is one of the most common problems that you can encounter in the older Acura TL. If you react immediately, you may save the vehicle from any serious damage. But sometimes you will have to replace the alternator which is going to cost you a little money.
Anyway, you can’t ignore this problem. If you just keep driving, in an hour or two, the car will stop and die. Then, you will need to spend money on a tow truck or roadside assistance.