Emma03TLtypeS

So...I'm a newbie...female...no car experience whatsoever.

Had a friend replace my battery for my 03 TL Type S w/Navi this past weekend and my radio code won't work. Been told by 3 different dealerships that I have to disconnect the antenna. My dealership wanted to charge me $100 for that!

Can someone describe to me...in layman's terms, the step by step method of disconnecting the antenna...from removing my console paneling to actually disconnecting the antenna?

Whatever help and advice would be appreciated! Thank you so much!

Bob_F

Check out this link:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169565

Forum member acutee has some nice instructions:

It is very easy:
1. pull up the side wood panel, on driver's side by the cup holder, starting from the rear. it is just clip-on.
2. remove driver knee panel, very easy, just a few screws.
3. remove the side panel below the woodtrim on #1.
4. use a nose pliers and pull the antenna out.
5. reverse order to install.

And you may not even need pliars if you can reach your hand behind the radio.

But before trying the antenna disconnect trick, try pulling the radio fuse as mentioned by merkin110 in this thread:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170820

"I had the exact same issue and all I did was removed the radio fuse from the passenger side fuse box and then enter in the code."

'03TL-S

iTrader: (10)

For a female, everybody will help LOL.

Q1911

welcome to the forum Emma.

Bob pretty much just summed it up for ya.


+1

Emma03TLtypeS

You guys are all AWESOME! Thank you! Will try to give it a whirl this evening after work.

I hate to sound like those helpless females, but unfortunately, I just don't know about cars and refuse to pay $100 to get my radio to work just because I decided to have a friend change out the battery instead of the dealerships.

Been an Acura owner for 5 years and am barely discovering this site now. It's so nice to see that there are others out there who experience some of the same problems I have with my TL. And everyone's super nice and helpful. You guys are going into my Favorites folder!

fsttyms1

Welcome to the forum.

Hope the info helps. If you have any other questions or problems feel free to ask.

FirePR2002

Let us know how it turns out and which one of the solutions worked for you.

Agentphan007

or pulling the fuse like stated above is good

Agentphan007

i would just pull the radio fuse but if you are not able to read the diagram you can also just disconnect the battery again and wait like 5 min before connecting it back which will allow you to re enter a new set of code before locking itself agian

Emma03TLtypeS

So far, I've tried all the suggestions that don't involve pulling the radio antenna out and have not been successful. Looks like it'll have to be removal of my panels to get to the antenna. This will be interesting...will keep you all posted with the results.

fsttyms1

Its really not that hard. You only have to remove the wood trim and one side panel. It should only take a few min to do.

fsttyms1

Thats not the problem. On some radios the antenna has to be pulled out inorder for the radio to accept the code

Emma03TLtypeS

Hallelujah!! Success! High fives all around!

With a little bit of help, I was able to get my radio up and running again after a week of silence. I followed BraveDemon's step-by-step instructions on disconnecting the antenna and everything worked out perfectly (after about 50 mins!).

Thank you to all my new friends who have been kind enough to take the time to help out. See you around on the boards!

And Happy New Year to all!

Bob_F

That great news! Thanks for the update.

Did you follow BraveDemon's step by step instructions in the following thread?

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150428

Emma03TLtypeS

Yes I did. They were very descriptive and easy to follow. Perfect for the completely clueless!

Bob_F

Yes, those are very descriptive instructions.

To keep everything in one thread for future reference, here they are again, courtesy of BraveDemon:

You don't need to take the radio out.

1. On your driver side panel, get a flat head screw driver and pop off the wood trim.

2. Take out the 3-4 screws holding on the driver side panel that runs from the armrest to where the steering column begins. Note: There is also one screw right next to the steering column that is not directly visible. Make sure you unscrew this screw before taking off the panel!!!

3. Gently bend the area that attaches to the center arm rest area and pry away the side panel.

4. Now you should have access to the left side of the radio. There will be alot of wires there, and hardly any room to move around. Don't worry. For step four run into the house and get some needle nose pliers.

5. With either hand, reach beind the radio and feel the bottem left corner. You should feel a wire right at the corner of the radio unit. At the point where it actually goes into the radio, it should feel like a metal circle with rivets in it. (It should feel like the head of the self screwing bolts that are common these days on computers to hold the side panels on)

6. With the needle nose pliers, carefully grab hold of the metal circular portion of the wire and push the wire back - away from the radio unit. It should pop out. You DO NOT need to pull it back too far, just enough so that it's no longer firmly in place.

7. Turn on the electrical power in the car.

8. Type in your radio code. It will work now.
It really is a shame that the dealerships will charge $100 of more to do this.

phee

iTrader: (5)

maybe that thread should be stickied..

CoreMaimer

Just a quick headsup (found this thread via Google) - this problem continues unabated, and the solution remains the same:
My 2003 TL-S started rejecting the Radio code in 2009 after a battery change - and the dealership ripped me off to the tune of +$100 to do whatever they had to do to "fix" this. Fast forward to early 2013 : new battery, same thing. Followed the instructions here to take off the kick panel and unplugged the antenna, entered the code, put it all back together, for about a 40-min total, most of which was spent reaching for the most-hidden screw near the steering wheel: pushing down the panel under the steering wheel (only the right side moves) and jamming a small Maglite flashlight into it, and then using a long screw driver forward over the right side gets it. I took some pictures, looking to upload and post them here...

Taylor Holloway

So I tried pulling the fuse to be avail in mine. Same issue, I was previously able to use the code when my car died three years ago. Now, it just says Err#. I tried to look at the previous thread about how to remove panels and unplug antenna, but the link is invalid. Can anyone help me identify the antenna? I have the panel off.

Iggy

Try this:

Taylor Holloway

Thanks Iggy! I just need needle nose pliers. Can't quite grab it with my hand. I'll have this thing fixed in no time now.

Homestead12

Tried this trick for the first time this past weekend when I replaced my starter. Tune your radio to an AM station that you get no reception on and is all static. Disconnect your battery and do whatever work on the car you have to do. Then.... After you reconnect the battery and have to input the radio code, it will work on the first try!

Can't believe I didn't think of this before. I used to drive through the midtown tunnel just to lose radio reception in order for my car to lose reception and accept the radio code. Remember the this trick because it will save you a lot of trouble.

marso

How do you tune to an AM station when the radio is locked?

SaucyM

I had this same issue, if you go into an underground parking level 2-3 should suffice, this blocks your antenna and you are able to enter your code. It worked like a charm! If you don't have an underground parking structure, unfortunately the only way to disconnect your antenna is to remove the lower dash panel, trim piece and left side console panel. I ended up having to remove my center console to remove my radio to fix the CD player, but if this ever happens again I know I don't need to take anything apart, just find an underground parking structure, luckily I have one just a couple of miles away. Hope this helps.