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'03 tl-s wouldn't take the radio code

Hey everyone!

I've got a situation with my radio and its not accepting the code behavior and it probably has been discussed here before but after searching on the web and other forums I couldn't find anything feasible. Here's what happened. I've gotten a new battery from the dealer and had it installed by myself. That, of course, put my stock radio into the "CODE" mode, for which I thought I was 100% prepared as my dealer did verify the code against the radio's serial number and I also called the Acura's 800 number where they had me go through the "U" and the "L" number readouts directly from the radio display itself... To my dismay, after being done with the battery replacement, the radio wouldn't take the code, period, constantly displaying "Err#" after each try and then finally locking up with the "ErrE" message on the display, after which I'd have to leave it for one hour for it to reset and then the story repeats itself... Now, seeing this, I quickly called the dealer to tell him about it and he without a second thought immediately stated that it's a known problem with the stock radios on the 02 and 03 models and said that the only way to make the radio accept the code would be for me to remove the radio, unplug the antenna jack and the ground it for a few seconds so that it lets go of the static charge that's causing the radio to lock up in the "security" mode. Obviously not wanting to go through the console removal procedure and hoping there's another way to do this I called the 800 number for Acura again and told them the whole story. They claimed that the dealer would probably know best in these types of situations but also suggested that maybe disconnecting both battery terminals from the car and then touching the 2 cable clips together for a few seconds may do the same trick... That sounded like an easy way out for me but alas, it didn't help. Today, I also thought of another way which is grounding that antenna plug but not where it connects to the radio, but at the point where it jacks into the rear view window, where it's easily accessible without me having have to disassemble anything at all. Unfortunately that didn't help me either. I'm really desperate at this moment as I can't drive without my stereo anymore :) and am ready to go with my last (dealer suggested) resort, which is taking the radio out but now the problem is that I can't find a good DIY anywhere on how to do it on this generation's TL. The couple of references that I found on some forums point to URLs that are no longer up.

So if anyone had (or heard of) a similar situation and were able to find a solution, or if anyone has any suggestions I'd greatly appreciate it!

Thanks a lot in advance!

Dimitri

Reply to
Dimitri Cohen
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You need to ground out the antenna jack? That's what it sounds like, as you've been grounding the radio, and that doesn't seem to be working. It sounds kind of bogus to me, but short of learning how to remove the console and radio, which shouldn't be "that" big of a deal if you're into the other forms of diy repair you've mentioned, is to call the dealer, and make an appointment for a quickie job on this. It shouldn't take long - if they actually know what they're doing it'll take less than an hour.

Reply to
Yoda

Yes, further searching on the forums I was able to confirm that the antenna jack does need to be unplugged, and then, while it's unplugged, the code needs to be entered, I couldn't find confirmation on needing to ground the antenna though.

And I did call them - they want $100 for the job, and that's why I was trying to see if anyone has done it on their own. I'm finding some verbal, very concise descriptions on how to take the center console apart but nothing that would really help me (I meantioned that a couple of very nice and elaborate DIYs that I found references to were no longer there).

I guess if nothing turns up in the next couple of days, I'll, obviously, just go to the dealer...

Thanks!

Reply to
Dimitri Cohen

Wouldn't it just be simpler to pay the 100 and get it over with?

Reply to
michael t

in another case, where it's obvious that something needs repair due to normal wear and tear (or even a road accident; something due to my own fault, in other words), I wouldn't even think twice. But in this case, I truly feel that I shouldn't be paying for something that the dealer himself admitted happens to be a generic problem with the particular model and year. The battery was from the dealer as well. Unfortunately, I'm very aware of my chances of winning the battle over not having have to pay from something like that, hence my efforts here to find alternate ways... Like I said, I WILL go to the dealer just as soon as it's determined that I have no other options.

Tnx.

Reply to
Dimitri Cohen

Eureka! My persistence paid off! I was very close on thinking that rather than messing around with the antenna jack in the radio unit itself, the antenna plug on the rear view window can be used for that purpose. Only, no grounding was needed (in my case at least). What I did was: After locking up the radio with another 10 error returning attempts, I left it alone overnight which reset it to "CODE" again (one would probably need to leave it alone just one hour as that's how long it takes for the radio to reset from "ErrE" to "CODE"). Then, before trying to punch in any codes again, I unplugged the antenna plug on REAR VIEW window. Left it like that for about 5 minutes (not sure if that was actually necessary) and then turned on the radio and put in the code, at which point the radio took it in on the very first try!.. I'll try to proliferate this solution to other sources.

Thanks everyone!

Reply to
Dimitri Cohen

Good on you, sad that the dealer missed out on his 100 though.

Reply to
michael t

I'd say the dealer owes him 100$!

Reply to
Yoda

IT WORKS!!!! After several days dealing with Acura "techs", it was this solution that got my radio back in business. Great posting Dimitri!!

Reply to
Cavallo

Reply to
Cavallo

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