well my car has been running good ever since yesterday. started my car, went to work, started my car again after work and went home. everything was fine until i tried to go into town last night at about 11pm. i flipped on my headlights like i usually do and then tried to start it but the battery just died instantly. the headlights looked like they were bright as normal. anyway asked for a jump but that dodn't help. took my battery back to walmart and got a new one. still nothing. the only thing that is weird is that i can see my dash lights but they are pretty dim. ran out of what i thought i could do. has anyone ran into this before?? sucks cuz i need to go to work today and got no ride. piece a chit acura. anyway any suggestions would be helpful thanks.

 

bad alternator?

 

check for spark. You might have a bad distributor or a coil and your not getting sparks anymore. I'm assumeing the engine turns over right?

 

Sounds like it is definately an ignition problem. Distributor, etc.

 

but if it was the distributor it wouldn't matter because if i got a new battery (which i specified above that i did get a new one) the car would start but go dead pretty quick since the alternator isn't working. so that eliminates the alternator and the starter. my dash lights and dom light are very dim EVEN AFTER I GOT THE NEW BATTERY. i put the new battery in, made sure nothing would run it down (like dom light being on, accidently pushing the brakes and so on) and then turned the key to try to start it but the NEW battery seemed like it was dead just like the one i thought was shot that i took back to waltmart. well when i tried to start it it wouldn't even click. it seems like it is just as dead as my old battery because my dash and dom light are as dim as the old one. anything else or objections to my assumptions are welcomed. thanks

 

too add to my post i also checked every fuse under the hood and under my dash and are all fine (if i even needed to waste the time to do so)

 

Maybe a bad grounding strap? Are the headlights still bright or are they dim like the dash and dome lights?

 

get a volt meter and start checking voltages. See if your starter is getting the full voltage. Maybe you have poor contact with the battery.

 

check all your plugs and wires
also all connections and grounds

 

when i turn on the headlights it completely kills everything. just like when i hit the brakes everything dies. but the power comes back very slowly