Strange Electrical Issues

[JasTheAce]

I have a 2015 Genesis 5.0 NOT ultimate. Current mileage: 37600, bought new (demo) with 5000 miles on it. Aside from maintenance, I have had zero issues until this summer.

In mid-June, I noticed I started to have a couple of strange issues when turning the car off. Occasionally I would hear a loud popping noise, see the analog clock reset to 0, or the trip odometers reset to 0 miles. I had issues with the left turn signal bulb (also DRL) burning out a couple of weeks before, which I had not thought anything of. At the end of June, the turn signal blew out again, so I took it to the dealership for them to change it and to look at the strange electrical issues on 6/29. They said there was no issues at all.

Incident #1:
3 days later on 7/2, the whole electrical system of the car shut down during the start sequence (pushed the button, steering unlocked, and the whole car shut off - zero power) on the first start after running a morning errand. It had to be towed to the dealership because it wouldn't start. Upon arrival at the dealership it was in the 'on' mode, started fine, but was having difficulty staying running. Dealer found a short in the fuel pump which prevented it from operating normally (no issues prior to this) and replaced the part. Car returned on 7/6. Driving out of the lot, noted the other blinker had failed. Called to bring it back on Saturday. Replaced bulb at dealer.

Incident #2:
2 days later on 7/8 the popping noise occurred again and trip odometer was reset. Took it back to the dealer on 7/9 where a junction box was replaced which had a short in it. Car returned on 7/13.

Incident #3:
6 days later on 7/19, the whole electrical system of the car shut down again (same symptoms as #1) during a cold morning start. Towed to the dealership, and once again was 'on'. Dealer looked at the battery terminals and determined one of the posts wasn't tightening fully and was freewheeling. Terminal post replaced/repaired. Car returned on 7/25.

Here's my issue - based on my experience with computers and electronics, losing power wouldn't cause components to short out, but would just stop them from working. Furthermore, if the battery was disconnecting, I would have much different issues and wouldn't have power to lock doors, wait overnight, and unlock doors in the morning. I don't think the issue has been solved, and I've escalated it to corporate. Not sure what to do at this point, but I'm really wanting to make sure I've looked at everything it could possibly be. I'm terrified that the car is going to leave me stranded somewhere, and it's bad enough that I didn't even bother putting the shift lock plug back in after the second tow. Furthermore, I'm not sure how comfortable I would be selling the car to someone (i.e. Carmax, dealer, or private) knowing that the electrical issues could strike them as well.

Any advice/thoughts/expertise is welcome.

Thanks!

 

[pmckechnie]

The last problem of the battery terminal loose can cause all the problems you mentioned. With todays onboard computers coming on and going off at times when they should not be changing will cause really strange thing to happen.
When you turn the car off, all power consumers are not stopped at once, instead they are powered down in a fixed order. They are also powered on in an orderly sequence. So I think you are OK.
However:
I would want the charging system checked because alternators can be damaged when bad connections cause the current flow to change from alternator to battery and then back to alternator then battery over and over. If the regulator is damaged and causes over charging, the car could actually be totaled (not worth fixing). I don't think this has happened to your car, but get it checked just in case.

 

[Scooby]

Agree, I have a Jeep Rubicon and the Jeep would go crazy, limp mode, dash light up like a Christmas tree, etc., with a weak battery. The funny thing is, everything can work fine one minute with your Jeep and the next minute the battery can be completely dead. I'm a moderator on a Jeep forum and have solved hundreds (yes, I said hundreds) of electrical issues by simply having the owner, check for loose terminals and/or have their battery tested/replaced. The electronics on these vehicles get real finicky if they don't have the correct voltage. I suspect this is similar with our Genesis.

Good luck!

 

[EdP]

Incident #3:
Dealer looked at the battery terminals and determined one of the posts wasn't tightening fully and was freewheeling. Terminal post replaced/repaired. Car returned on 7/25.

I'm terrified that the car is going to leave me stranded somewhere, and it's bad enough that I didn't even bother putting the shift lock plug back in after the second tow. Furthermore, I'm not sure how comfortable I would be selling the car to someone (i.e. Carmax, dealer, or private) knowing that the electrical issues could strike them as well.

Battery terminal may have been the problem. If so, your confidence will grow every time you use it trouble free.

If there is an Indecent #4 though, I'd be driving home in a new G80. I'd not sell the car private, but I'd not hesitate to trade it and be done. One pop sound or clock reset would have me a new car.

 

[JasTheAce]

while I agree battery could cause some of these issues, the part that really is causing concern for me is the fact that a loose battery terminal would not cause parts to short out. typically, you don't damage electronic components by supplying low or no voltage. They are damaged by providing excess voltage outside of their operating limits (surge). it also seems rather strange that the car would have enough power to turn on all of the lights and dash, move the seat, Etc. It's only after I push the button to start the car that the battery would then exhibit a disconnect.

 

[pmckechnie]

The only way I can explain how something is damaged is to say there was voltage spikes.
If you go to the car and turn the ignition on all the computers start their power on routine. This takes a while. Some of the systems boot up, and others wait. The engine computer is one of the first. Every thing looks good (to the system) so the starter is engaged. The increased current flow through the intermittent connection is more than it can handle so it opens up and everything is shut down. No current flow now causes the connection to maybe conduct again and all or some of the computers start up again and may do some crazy things but damage is not one of them .
Notice I haven't described any voltage spikes yet.
So lets talk about some of the failures
Turn signal bulbs burning out has nothing to do with anything we have discussed so far. Bulbs burn out. If something in the system caused a bulb or 2 to burn out, you would have more problems that just a bulb burning out.
Fuel pump "shorting out" is one I can't explain but still could have been acting up because of the voltage changing. But if the pump was "shorting out" you would have seen a lot of other strange things happening.
Junction block "shorted out" could happen. These cars have many, many junction blocks. One could short out but I don't think so. If something "shorts out" there will either be blown fuses or smoke from wires burning.
I think in this case, you had 2 burned out bulbs and a loose battery cable. The dealer made a lot of money out of it.

Now for the voltage spike question. A spike usually means the voltage went higher than normal. The only thing that can cause that is the charging system. Once running the alternator tries to keep the voltage somewhere around 14V. It will increase the amperage up to 150 amps (or what ever it was designed for) to get and maintain the 14V. All of a sudden the battery is disconnected from the system (the bad connection) and the voltage jumps before the alternator can get the amperage back down. It gets it down to what ever is needed and then the bad connection connects again, the amperage needed to charge the battery again goes up. All this jumping up and down can cause voltage spikes. The electrical systems are designed to handle these spikes and no damage is done. It is very stressful to the alternator however and can cause it to either quit all together or overcharge. If it's failure is causing over charging the voltage can go wild. Go over about 16v or more and you really have problems. I have seen batteries blow up like a bomb. I have seen computers destroyed. I have seen electrical fires burn the car down. Believe me, I have seen it all over the past 60 years of working on cars and trucks.

SO PLEASE HAVE THE CHARGING SYSTEM CHECKED OR CHECK IT YOUR SELF. All you need is a volt meter hooked to the battery. Start the car with every thing turned off that you can,like A/C, headlights, sound systems, etc. but keep the engine running. Rev the engine to 2000 rpm or so while watching the voltage. If it stays below 15V then all is OK. There are a lot of other checks that can be done but this is the most critical.
If you have any other problems let me know.

 

[donta17]

I have a 2015 Genesis 5.0 NOT ultimate. Current mileage: 37600, bought new (demo) with 5000 miles on it. Aside from maintenance, I have had zero issues until this summer.

In mid-June, I noticed I started to have a couple of strange issues when turning the car off. Occasionally I would hear a loud popping noise, see the analog clock reset to 0, or the trip odometers reset to 0 miles. I had issues with the left turn signal bulb (also DRL) burning out a couple of weeks before, which I had not thought anything of. At the end of June, the turn signal blew out again, so I took it to the dealership for them to change it and to look at the strange electrical issues on 6/29. They said there was no issues at all.

Incident #1:
3 days later on 7/2, the whole electrical system of the car shut down during the start sequence (pushed the button, steering unlocked, and the whole car shut off - zero power) on the first start after running a morning errand. It had to be towed to the dealership because it wouldn't start. Upon arrival at the dealership it was in the 'on' mode, started fine, but was having difficulty staying running. Dealer found a short in the fuel pump which prevented it from operating normally (no issues prior to this) and replaced the part. Car returned on 7/6. Driving out of the lot, noted the other blinker had failed. Called to bring it back on Saturday. Replaced bulb at dealer.

Incident #2:
2 days later on 7/8 the popping noise occurred again and trip odometer was reset. Took it back to the dealer on 7/9 where a junction box was replaced which had a short in it. Car returned on 7/13.

Incident #3:
6 days later on 7/19, the whole electrical system of the car shut down again (same symptoms as #1) during a cold morning start. Towed to the dealership, and once again was 'on'. Dealer looked at the battery terminals and determined one of the posts wasn't tightening fully and was freewheeling. Terminal post replaced/repaired. Car returned on 7/25.

Here's my issue - based on my experience with computers and electronics, losing power wouldn't cause components to short out, but would just stop them from working. Furthermore, if the battery was disconnecting, I would have much different issues and wouldn't have power to lock doors, wait overnight, and unlock doors in the morning. I don't think the issue has been solved, and I've escalated it to corporate. Not sure what to do at this point, but I'm really wanting to make sure I've looked at everything it could possibly be. I'm terrified that the car is going to leave me stranded somewhere, and it's bad enough that I didn't even bother putting the shift lock plug back in after the second tow. Furthermore, I'm not sure how comfortable I would be selling the car to someone (i.e. Carmax, dealer, or private) knowing that the electrical issues could strike them as well.

Any advice/thoughts/expertise is welcome.

Thanks!

I have 2015 my car is doing the exact same thing.... This crazy because the dealer don't know what the problem is and is fixing random stuff saying that it when its not. Somebody really need to look into this...

 

[astrix]

My 2015 is showing almost all the issues. No loose battery terminals and battery is healthy. I am suspecting loose wire somewhere or arcing causing pitting somewhere.

 

[EdP]

My 2015 is showing almost all the issues. No loose battery terminals and battery is healthy. I am suspecting loose wire somewhere or arcing causing pitting somewhere.

Check the other end of the battery cables. Ground contact can cause lots of problems

 

[maxximus9]

I have the same problem. In addition, the radio in my car turns off and on every now and then. The genesis logo is displayed on the home screen and nothing else.

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[skipgen]

My 2015 is showing almost all the issues. No loose battery terminals and battery is healthy. I am suspecting loose wire somewhere or arcing causing pitting somewhere.

Like someone else here said - the positive battery fuse block is hot garbage. Replacing it likely will solve many problems...

 

[Suburbazine]

I have the same problem. In addition, the radio in my car turns off and on every now and then. The genesis logo is displayed on the home screen and nothing else.

Improved positive battery terminal box

By improved, I mean liberally butchered with a rotozip. But hey, my car no longer dies without rhyme or reason... and remote start works again. Exhibit A: pot metal terminal made by Hyundai and sold for $1400 Exhibit B: pot metal terminal made by Hyundai for $14. Of superior design...

genesisowners.com

 

[Ltv]

Replace the battery box on the positive terminal now. I had the same issues and no problems since.

 

[G-224821]

I have the same problem. In addition, the radio in my car turns off and on every now and then. The genesis logo is displayed on the home screen and nothing else.

Have younfixed it

 

[skipgen]

I've got an odd one - Front Parking Sensors work sometimes... Sometimes they don't.

 

[Nashinios]

Im having the same issues not. I checked the battery terminal and nothing is loose. I notice this when I turn my steering wheel when trying to parallel park or if I break really quickly. I'll notice that the GPS screen will cut off first and if I shut the car off, it just cuts off and I hear a high popping noise. furthermore, I noticed a red (steering wheel with exclamation point) light pop on and off for a split second. Any advise?

 

[theGreatMorpheus]

Im having the same issues not. I checked the battery terminal and nothing is loose. I notice this when I turn my steering wheel when trying to parallel park or if I break really quickly. I'll notice that the GPS screen will cut off first and if I shut the car off, it just cuts off and I hear a high popping noise. furthermore, I noticed a red (steering wheel with exclamation point) light pop on and off for a split second. Any advise?

I am having the EXACT SAME PROBLEM. I have a 2016 3.8. Did you figure out what is wrong? It happened to me just now and won't turn on now. I'll call someone to come out and give me a jump. thanks!

 

[Musicman]

I am having the EXACT SAME PROBLEM. I have a 2016 3.8. Did you figure out what is wrong? It happened to me just now and won't turn on now. I'll call someone to come out and give me a jump. thanks!

I'm having same kinda problem

 

[Musicman]

Replace the battery box on the positive terminal now. I had the same issues and no problems since.

Where did you get a new one, please advise!

 

[MBB 2015]

Im having the same issues not. I checked the battery terminal and nothing is loose. I notice this when I turn my steering wheel when trying to parallel park or if I break really quickly. I'll notice that the GPS screen will cut off first and if I shut the car off, it just cuts off and I hear a high popping noise. furthermore, I noticed a red (steering wheel with exclamation point) light pop on and off for a split second. Any advise?

Did you ever get this figured out having the same issue 2015 3.8 technology package thanks