2014 R-Spec 5.0 won't crank -- radiator fan stuck on

[MrTimothyHay]

Hello all! I'm having trouble with my 2014 Genesis 5.0 TAU, and I am stumped.

The issue I am having is this: When I turn on the ignition without pressing the brake, the dash, radio, A/C blower, etc all come on. There is a low battery indicator on the dash which I believe is normal with the ignition on and the alt not running. With the ignition turned on, the radiator fan comes on and starts blowing on high. It will not stop again unless the battery is disconnected. When I attempt to start the engine by holding the brake and pressing the start button, the dash and all accessories shut off (almost like there is a short) and the engine does not try to start. There is no clicking sound or indication that the starter is being activated. There is also not a check engine light.

A little back story: The car was sitting for about 2 weeks since I recently purchased a new truck. I replaced the passenger side valve cover gasket because it was very slowly leaking at in the rear bottom corner. The job went smoothly and as you all know, these cars are a joy to work on -- very straight forward process. After finishing the repair, I started the engine and it started right up. No indication of a low battery (although I probably should have charged it after sitting for two weeks). A bit of smoke started coming off of the exhaust manifold from previous oil drops, totally normal. The car ran smoothly and sounded very happy for about two minutes -- then all of a sudden the engine shut off. No weird noises, it just sounded like someone turned off the ignition. The radiator fan continued to run on high, and I got back in the car to start it. That is when the above issue began.

I am very confused since the car started and ran perfectly for two minutes after the repair. The car has also had no previous issues before this event and has been my daily driver for years now.

Steps that I have tried so far:
- Disconnected the battery for a full day and charged the battery at 10 amps with the car disconnected
- Checked battery connections, inline starter fuse, and chassis ground connection in trunk
- Tried to start the car with a 200 amp engine start boost after charging the battery -- no change
- Checked fuses in all four locations -- have not tested or swapped any relays yet
- Checked for unplugged wires / wires resting on the exhaust manifold that may have melted -- nothing found
- Checked for new oil leaks after the new gasket replacement and found none
- Tried starting in neutral instead of park
- Tried pressing very hard on the brake pedal when attempting to start

Thank you all so much for your time and help with this. I've been lurking this forum for years and you all have helped me through many projects and questions. Let me know if there is any other information that I've left out which would be helpful. Thank you!

 

[joegr]

...With the ignition turned on, the radiator fan comes on and starts blowing on high. It will not stop again unless the battery is disconnected. ...There is also not a check engine light.
... The radiator fan continued to run on high, ...

These are classic symptoms that the PCM (Electronic engine controller/computer) is not running. It could be an internal failure of the PCM, or it could be that it is not getting power. I'd start by checking for power at the correct pins of the PCM after pressing start twice.

 

[MrTimothyHay]

These are classic symptoms that the PCM (Electronic engine controller/computer) is not running. It could be an internal failure of the PCM, or it could be that it is not getting power. I'd start by checking for power at the correct pins of the PCM after pressing start twice.

Thank you! I've heard of these going out and that would explain the lack of check engine light I believe as well. The timing and series of events is suspicious to me but I suppose an ECU failure is possible at any time -- and I do have 115k miles on her. I will do some research and investigate the ECU today and report back!

 

[Gunkk]

Antitheft light steady on or blinking?

What does it do when you try to start the car with the key in the fob holder (dash slot)?

Suggestion if the above is not the solution: look at the Power Distribution Module (PDM) first, then IPM, before the ECU. The PDM is what controls the accessory power, starter relay and ignition power relay.

My guess if it's all going dark when it should be starting up, then I'd suspect something wrong with the PDM. If the dash fob holder slot works, then I'd suspect IPM.

 

[MrTimothyHay]

Antitheft light steady on or blinking?

What does it do when you try to start the car with the key in the fob holder (dash slot)?

Suggestion if the above is not the solution: look at the Power Distribution Module (PDM) first, then IPM, before the ECU. The PDM is what controls the accessory power, starter relay and ignition power relay.

My guess if it's all going dark when it should be starting up, then I'd suspect something wrong with the PDM. If the dash fob holder slot works, then I'd suspect IPM.


View attachment 57927

Thank you for this! You bring up a very legitimate point. I could be wrong but I believe that my car does not have a key slot, I believe they phased that out in some (or all) models around 2013. I believe the current protocol is to press the start button with the fob itself. I did try this and it didn't work. However, when I press the start button and everything cuts out, I just noticed that the "key" light comes on the dash. This could very well be a case of the IPM module malfunctioning.
I will say that if I have the ignition on and I step out of the car with the key, it does say "Key not in vehicle", and when I re-enter with the key, that message does go away. So it is sensing the key fob on some level. However, that does not mean that the IPM and PDM are both functioning correctly.
The radiator fan being stuck on is also suspicious still. But the "key" dash light on the start failure is large in my mind right now. I will take your advice and start with investigating the IPM and PDM systems before the ECU.

 

[G-586188]

Hello all! I'm having trouble with my 2014 Genesis 5.0 TAU, and I am stumped.

The issue I am having is this: When I turn on the ignition without pressing the brake, the dash, radio, A/C blower, etc all come on. There is a low battery indicator on the dash which I believe is normal with the ignition on and the alt not running. With the ignition turned on, the radiator fan comes on and starts blowing on high. It will not stop again unless the battery is disconnected. When I attempt to start the engine by holding the brake and pressing the start button, the dash and all accessories shut off (almost like there is a short) and the engine does not try to start. There is no clicking sound or indication that the starter is being activated. There is also not a check engine light.

A little back story: The car was sitting for about 2 weeks since I recently purchased a new truck. I replaced the passenger side valve cover gasket because it was very slowly leaking at in the rear bottom corner. The job went smoothly and as you all know, these cars are a joy to work on -- very straight forward process. After finishing the repair, I started the engine and it started right up. No indication of a low battery (although I probably should have charged it after sitting for two weeks). A bit of smoke started coming off of the exhaust manifold from previous oil drops, totally normal. The car ran smoothly and sounded very happy for about two minutes -- then all of a sudden the engine shut off. No weird noises, it just sounded like someone turned off the ignition. The radiator fan continued to run on high, and I got back in the car to start it. That is when the above issue began.

I am very confused since the car started and ran perfectly for two minutes after the repair. The car has also had no previous issues before this event and has been my daily driver for years now.

Steps that I have tried so far:
- Disconnected the battery for a full day and charged the battery at 10 amps with the car disconnected
- Checked battery connections, inline starter fuse, and chassis ground connection in trunk
- Tried to start the car with a 200 amp engine start boost after charging the battery -- no change
- Checked fuses in all four locations -- have not tested or swapped any relays yet
- Checked for unplugged wires / wires resting on the exhaust manifold that may have melted -- nothing found
- Checked for new oil leaks after the new gasket replacement and found none
- Tried starting in neutral instead of park
- Tried pressing very hard on the brake pedal when attempting to start

Thank you all so much for your time and help with this. I've been lurking this forum for years and you all have helped me through many projects and questions. Let me know if there is any other information that I've left out which would be helpful. Thank you!

I have the exact issue, including cooking fan running. Currently at repair shop. Did you ever find a resolution?

 

[MrTimothyHay]

I have the exact issue, including cooking fan running. Currently at repair shop. Did you ever find a resolution?

Hello! Sorry, I committed the cardinal sin of not posting my eventual findings and resolution! The truth is that after I diagnosed the issue, it took me quite some time to find a reputable vendor / decide what route to go to fix it. TLDR at the end!

So the IPM and PDM suggestions in this thread were completely valid and made a lot of sense. However, my gut told me to pop out the ECM first and just check that quickly due to the oddity of the issues I was having. I used a heat gun and three ECM disassembly tools to carefully crack open the ECM. I struck gold right away and found that one of the two main capacitors inside the ECM had blown, and the other was close to blowing and had started leaking. I carefully desoldered and removed the blown capacitor and gently cleaned up the board, but the damage from the capacitor failure was actually pretty severe and had burned / damaged the board all the way through, and compromised some near-by leads. The lifespan of these cheap capacitors that Hyundai used is about 10-15 years from what I gather, which is just about the age of our vehicles.

I reached out to a few different companies that refurbish and reprogram used ECMs for our vehicles, but after speaking to two on the phone and reading some very bad reviews, I decided not to send my ECM to any of those companies. I'm not risk adverse, but the people I spoke with really seemed downright shady.

Long story short, I ended up finding a company on eBay that was selling refurbs and cloning ECMs, and after contacting them with detailed photos of the damage, their tech actually replied and said he thought he could still clone mine even with the damage! Less than two weeks later, the new ECM was plug and play, and I did not have to have a Hyundai tech reprogram anything. I plugged it in and everything just worked perfectly, immediately, for about $1,100.

You also have the option of just buying a brand new replacement ECM and having Hyundai program it for you! This would end up between $2,000 and $2,500 depending on what you find the part for, and how much your service center likes you. Whichever route you decide, I wish you the best in diagnosing your vehicle and hope that you're able to get it back on the road as inexpensively as possible! If you have any other questions (or want the name of the vendor I used), just let me know.

TLDR: In my case, the ECM capacitors had failed and despite serious damage to the ECM board, a company I found was able to clone my fried ECM to a refurbished model for about $1,100. A brand new ECM installed and programmed by Hyundai would also have solved my issue for around twice the price.

Thank you all for your help, and God bless you!

EDIT: I would recommend verifying that the ECM is blown before spending all that money on a replacement -- it is possible that the cause of your issue is different than mine was.

 

[Gunkk]

Thank you for sharing! Unfortunate, but good to know that the caps lifetime is on the order of 10-15 years. What was the name of the company on Ebay that did the work? I expect they may see some more business coming their way from folks in this community with similar problems. Good to know there's an aftermarket repair alternative to the dealers.

 

[MrTimothyHay]

Thank you for sharing! Unfortunate, but good to know that the caps lifetime is on the order of 10-15 years. What was the name of the company on Ebay that did the work? I expect they may see some more business coming their way from folks in this community with similar problems. Good to know there's an aftermarket repair alternative to the dealers.

I didn’t know if it was against the rules to shout it out! But I guess if it is we can remove it. The seller I used on eBay was “Vanaza” and it looks like they’re still active. I had a great experience with them on both the purchase of the refurbished ECU and the programming. If anyone is considering going this route, I’d recommend sending them a message first and let them know what you’re trying to do and they will take care of you if they can!

 

[joegr]

I didn’t know if it was against the rules to shout it out! But I guess if it is we can remove it. The seller I used on eBay was “Vanaza” and it looks like they’re still active. I had a great experience with them on both the purchase of the refurbished ECU and the programming. If anyone is considering going this route, I’d recommend sending them a message first and let them know what you’re trying to do and they will take care of you if they can!

Things like this are always good to know.
Thanks

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