2015 3.8 Battery question

[ATL Sparty]

I replaced the original battery a year and a half ago. A few weeks ago my car began to get temperamental about starting. if I drive every day, it starts fine, if the car sits for more than a couple of days it needs to be jumped. Right after being jumped, I can run multiple errands with many stops and starts and the car starts and behaves normally. The battery has shown 91% charge just 15 minutes after being jumped. The cable connections are clean and secure. There are no notifications or warnings being displayed. I've been especially careful lately to make sure that all doors are closed and nothing is left "On" when I park the car at home. My questions are, has anyone had this issue? How do you troubleshoot / identify the cause of what is draining the battery when the car sits?

 

[Nameneeded]

Had this happen on my last.

You can use a volt meter to check residual drain.

Here are instructions how. The only thing these videos forget is that when you first hook up a battery many things turn on and it takes a min or so for them to turn off. So watch the meter and see when it stops dropping then you will accurately see if they're is a drain. Anything over .060 means they're is likely a drain.

 

[arcman]

As in the above video, you have a parasitic draw, usually some module that's not going to sleep. (were any electronic updates added to the car like stereo or remote start?)

There is a somewhat easier way to find parasitic draws. By checking voltage drop across fuses. This method also requires a voltmeter and downloading a chart off the internet to compare the fuse amp rating vs voltage.

This video shows how.

The Genesis has fuse blocks under the hood, under the left side dash and right side of trunk. (you can download service manuals off the web)

Watch the video. Any time you open doors, trunk or hood, it will awake the system, so wait 10-15minutes or so to make sure all modules are asleep before testing.

Pine Hollow Auto Diagnostics on youtube has many great videos on finding parasitic draws. They can get complicated...

 

[G-382448]

As in the above video, you have a parasitic draw, usually some module that's not going to sleep. (were any electronic updates added to the car like stereo or remote start?)

There is a somewhat easier way to find parasitic draws. By checking voltage drop across fuses. This method also requires a voltmeter and downloading a chart off the internet to compare the fuse amp rating vs voltage.

This video shows how.

The Genesis has fuse blocks under the hood, under the left side dash and right side of trunk. (you can download service manuals off the web)

Watch the video. Any time you open doors, trunk or hood, it will awake the system, so wait 10-15minutes or so to make sure all modules are asleep before testing.

Pine Hollow Auto Diagnostics on youtube has many great videos on finding parasitic draws. They can get complicated...

Good information - thanks. With 2 fuse boxes, I could see a dealership taking a lot of time ( and charging a lot for it) to identify the parasitic circuit.

 

[ATL Sparty]

Had this happen on my last.

You can use a volt meter to check residual drain.

Here are instructions how. The only thing these videos forget is that when you first hook up a battery many things turn on and it takes a min or so for them to turn off. So watch the meter and see when it stops dropping then you will accurately see if they're is a drain. Anything over .060 means they're is likely a drain.

Thanks, Nameneeded - this is great info.

 

[ATL Sparty]

Had this happen on my last.

You can use a volt meter to check residual drain.

Here are instructions how. The only thing these videos forget is that when you first hook up a battery many things turn on and it takes a min or so for them to turn off. So watch the meter and see when it stops dropping then you will accurately see if they're is a drain. Anything over .060 means they're is likely a drain.

As in the above video, you have a parasitic draw, usually some module that's not going to sleep. (were any electronic updates added to the car like stereo or remote start?)

There is a somewhat easier way to find parasitic draws. By checking voltage drop across fuses. This method also requires a voltmeter and downloading a chart off the internet to compare the fuse amp rating vs voltage.

This video shows how.

The Genesis has fuse blocks under the hood, under the left side dash and right side of trunk. (you can download service manuals off the web)

Watch the video. Any time you open doors, trunk or hood, it will awake the system, so wait 10-15minutes or so to make sure all modules are asleep before testing.

Pine Hollow Auto Diagnostics on youtube has many great videos on finding parasitic draws. They can get complicated...

Thanks. Since my original post, it occurred to me that my Kenwood dashcam could be the culprit. I installed it more than a year ago, using a fuse jumper cable to tap into an unused fuse under the dash. I used an unswitched circuit so that the cam is always able to awaken in response to bumps to the car or motion in front of it. The fuse jumper cable has a small circuit box that is supposed to shut the cam off completely if it detects that the battery has fallen below 11 volts. I'm going to uninstall the dashcam and see what happens.

 

[joegr]

Thanks. Since my original post, it occurred to me that my Kenwood dashcam could be the culprit. I installed it more than a year ago, using a fuse jumper cable to tap into an unused fuse under the dash. I used an unswitched circuit so that the cam is always able to awaken in response to bumps to the car or motion in front of it. The fuse jumper cable has a small circuit box that is supposed to shut the cam off completely if it detects that the battery has fallen below 11 volts. I'm going to uninstall the dashcam and see what happens.

At normal temperatures, below 12.6 is pretty discharged, 11 is dead.

 

[ATL Sparty]

Thanks again to all for your input. It turns out that my suspect dashcam was not the problem. After my battery situation deteriorated to where my car would not hold a charge overnight, I took it to the same trusted shop (not a Hyundai or Genesis dealer) that I have used for about 15 years. They quickly determined that my 1.5 year old Duralast Gold battery with a 3 year replacement warranty was toast. I picked up my car from the shop with my paid invoice that detailed all the tests they had performed and drove to the AutoZone where I had purchased the battery. A month ago the manager at that store tested the battery and said it was fine, so I expected a real "battle royale." The same manager tested my battery and this time he says, "This battery is shot - you get a free replacement." That's what I got and the car has been performing just fine.