ignition Acura RL 2004 3.5 Repair Manual

Loosen the drain plug on the
bottom of the radiator. The
coolant will come out through the
hole in the splash cover.
Turn the ignition ON (II). Turn
the heater temperature control
dial to maximum heat (climate
control to 90°F/32°C). Turn of f
the ignition. Open the hood. Make
sure the engine and radiator are
cool to the touch.
Remove the radiator cap.
Thecoolingsystemshouldbe
completely drained and ref illed with
new coolant according to the time
and distance recommendations in
the maintenance schedule. Only use
Honda All Season Antif reeze/
Coolant Type 2. Use of any non-
Honda coolant or plain water can
result in corrosion and deposits in
the cooling system.
Draining the coolant requires access
to the underside of the vehicle.
Unless you have the tools and
knowledge, you should have this
maintenance done by a skilled
mechanic.
1.
2.3.
Replacing Engine Coolant
Cooling Syst em
Maint enance258
DRAIN PLUG

Clean off any dirt and oil that have
collected around the ignition coils. Remove the two bolts and the f our
nuts with a wrench and remove
the tower bar. Then remove the
A/C tube f rom the three clips.
Remove the two bolts and the
three nuts with a 7/16 inch (10
mm) wrench, then remove the
engine cover.
The spark plugs in your car are a
special platinum-tipped design f or
longer lif e. The spark plugs should
be replaced according to the time
and distance recommendations in
the maintenance schedule.
1.2.
3.
CONT INUED
Replacement
Spark Plugs
Maint enance269
NUTS
BOLTS NUTS
BOLTS
NUTS

Put the new spark plug into the
socket, then screw it into the hole.
Screw it in by hand so you do not
crossthread it.
Use a wrench to remove the two
bolts holding the ignition coil.
Remove the ignition coil by pulling
it straight out.
Remove the spark plug with
a f ive-eighths inch (16 mm) spark
plug socket.
Disconnect the wire connector
f rom the ignition coil by pushing
on the lock tab and pulling on the
connector. Pull on the plastic
connector, not the wires.
4.
5.
6.7.
Spark Plugs
Maint enance270
IGNITION COIL CONNECTOR
LOCK TAB BOLTS
IGNITION COIL

Install the ignition coil. Reinstall
the two hold-down bolts.
Repeat this procedure f or the
other f ive spark plugs.
Torque the spark plug. (If you do
not have a torque wrench, tighten
the spark plug two-thirds of a turn
af ter it contacts the cylinder head.)
Tightening torque: Put the A/C tube back in place.
Install the tower bar and tighten
the two bolts and the f our nuts.
Tightening torque:
Push the wire connector onto the
ignition coil. Make sure it locks in
place. Install the engine cover. First
tighten the two bolts on the front
of the engine cover, then tighten
the three nuts on the engine cover.
Tightening torque:
8. 9.
10.
11. 12.
13.
14.
CONT INUED
Spark Plugs
Maint enance271
13 lbf·ft (18 N·m , 1.8 kgf·m) 16 lbf·ft (22 N·m , 2.2 kgf·m)
7 lbf·ft (9.8 N·m , 1.0 kgf·m)
Tighten the spark plugs caref ully. A
spark plug that is too loose can
overheat and damage the engine.
Overtightening can cause damage to
the threads in the cylinder head.

Make sure the climate control sys-
tem is off.
Start the engine and let it run until
it warms up (the radiator cooling
fan comes on at least twice), and
let it idle f or f ive more minutes.
If your car’s battery is disconnected
or goes dead, the engine’s computer
needs to ‘‘relearn’’ the idle control.
Af ter replacing or recharging the
battery:
Your driver’s power window (see
page ) and your audio system
will also disable itself when the bat-
tery is disconnected or goes dead.
Thenexttimeyouturnontheradio
you will see ‘‘ ’’ in the f requency
display. Use the Preset buttons to en-
ter the f ive-digit code (see page ).If your car’s battery is disconnected
or goes dead, all stored driving
positions will be lost. To store the
driving positions again, see the
storingprocedureonpage .
The Navigation System will also
disableitself.Thenexttimeyouturn
on the ignition switch, the system
will require you to enter a PIN
bef ore it can be used. Ref er to the
Navigation System Owner’s Manual.
1.
2. 103
98
180On cars with Navigation System
Battery
Maint enance274
Charging the battery with the cables
connected can seriously damage your
car’s electronic controls. Detach the
battery cables bef ore connecting the
battery to a charger.

µ
Check the condition of the wiper
blades at least every six months.
Look f or signs of cracking in the
rubber, or areas that are getting
hard. Replace the blades if you f ind
these signs, or if they leave streaks
and unwiped areas when used.
To replace the blade:Turn the ignition ON (II), switch
the wipers to INT or (low
position), then turn the ignition
OFF when the wiper arm is
approximately midway in its travel. Disconnect the blade assembly
fromthewiperarmbypushingin
the lock tab. Hold the lock tab in
while you push the blade assembly
toward the base of the arm.
2.
1.
CONT INUED
Wiper Blades
Maint enance275
WIPER ARMS LOCK
TAB

Remove the blade f rom its holder
by grasping the tabbed end of the
blade. Pull f irmly until the tabs
come out of the holder.Examine the new wiper blades. If
they have no plastic or metal rein-
f orcement along the back edge,
remove the metal reinf orcement
strips f rom the old wiper blade and
install them in the slots along the
edge of the new blade.Slide the new wiper blade into the
holder until the tabs lock.
Slide the wiper blade assembly
onto the wiper arm. Make sure it
locks in place.
Turn the ignition switch ON (II)
andreturnthewindshieldwipers
to their park position.
3. 4. 5.
6.
7.
Wiper Blades
Maint enance276
BLADE
BLADE
REINFORCEMENT

If you have a f lat tire while driving,
stop in a saf e place to change it.
Stopping in traf f ic or on the shoulder
of a busy road is dangerous. Drive
slowly along the shoulder until you
gettoanexitoranareatostopthat
is far away from the traffic lanes.Open the trunk. Raise the trunk
f loor by lif ting up on the back edge.
To keep the trunk f loor out of the
way, attach the hook into the slot
in the trunk lid.
Take the tool kit out of the trunk.
Unscrew the wing bolt and take
the spare tire out of its well.
Park the vehicle on f irm, level, and
non-slippery ground away f rom
traffic. Put the transmission in
Park. Apply the parking brake.
If you are towing a trailer, unhitch
the trailer.
Turn on the hazard warning lights,
and turn the ignition switch to
LOCK (0). Have all the
passengers get out of the vehicle
while you change the tire. 5. 4. 3.
2. 1.
CONT INUED
Changing a Flat T ire
T aking Care of t he Unexpect ed309
TRUNK FLOOR HOOK
JACK SPARE TIRE TOOL KIT
The vehicle can easily roll off
the jack, seriously injuring
anyone underneath.
Follow the directions for
changing a tire exactly, and
never get under the vehicle
when it is supported only by the
jack.

Diagnosing why your engine won’t
start f alls into two areas, depending
on what you hear when you turn the
key to START (III):You hear nothing, or almost
nothing. The engine’s starter
motor does not operate at all, or
operates very slowly.
You can hear the starter motor
operating normally, or the starter
motor sounds like it is spinning
f aster than normal, but the engine
does not start up and run. When you turn the ignition switch to
START (III), you do not hear the
normal noise of the engine trying to
start. You may hear a clicking sound
or series of clicks, or nothing at all.
Check these things:
Check the transmission interlock.
The transmission must be in Park
orNeutralorthestarterwillnot
operate.
Sliptheholeatthetopof thejack
over the bracket in the trunk well.
Turn the jack’s end bracket to lock
it in place. Store the tool kit back
in its place.
Close the trunk lid. Store the center cap and spacer
basket in the trunk. Make sure the
center cap will not get scratched
or damaged. Unclip the hook f rom the trunk lid
and lower the trunk f loor.
Your car has the Immobilizer
System. You should use a
properly-coded master or valet key
to start the engine (see page ).
A key that is not properly coded
will cause the immobilizer system
indicator in the dash panel to blink
rapidly.
19.
20.
21.
22. 80
Changing a Flat Tire, If Your Engine Won’t Start
T aking Care of t he Unexpect ed
If Your Engine Won’t Start Nothing Happens or the Starter
Motor Operates Very Slowly
314
Loose items can fly around the
interior in a crash and could
seriously injure the occupants.
Store the wheel, jack, and tools
securely before driving.

Turn the ignition switch to ON (II).
Turn on the headlights and check
their brightness. If the headlights
are very dim or don’t light at all,
the battery is discharged. Seeon page .
Turn the ignition switch to START
(III). If the headlights do not dim,
check the condition of the f uses. If
thefusesareOK,thereisproba-
bly something wrong with the
electrical circuit for the ignition
switch or starter motor. You will
need a qualif ied technician to
determine the problem. (See on page .) Do you have f uel? Turn the
ignition switch to ON (II) for a
minute and watch the f uel gauge.
The low f uel level warning light
may not be working, so you were
not reminded to f ill the tank.
There may be an electrical
problem, such as no power to the
f uel pump. Check all the f uses
(see page ).
If youfindnothingwrong,youwill
need a qualif ied technician to f ind
the problem. See on page .
If the headlights dim noticeably or
go out when you try to start the
engine, either the battery is dis-
charged or the connections are
corroded. Check the condition of
the battery and terminal connec-
tions (see page ). You can
then try jump starting the vehicle
f rom a booster battery (see page
).
Are you using the proper starting
procedure? Ref er to on page .
In this case, the starter motor’s
speed sounds normal, or even f aster
than normal, when you turn the
ignition switch to START (III), but
the engine does not run.
316
332 272
316
217 328
332
If Your Engine Won’t Start
T aking Care of t he Unexpect ed
Jump Starting
Emergency T owing Emergency
Towing
Starting the
Engine
T he Starter Operates Normally
315