2013 R-Spec 5.0 Battery Discharge Indicator

[TheMikeJones]

Hey team.

Haven't been on the forums in a while, back here again seeking some opinions.

I have a 2013 Genesis 5.0 sedan and just the other day I turn on my car to drive home and as I'm driving I get the battery discharge warning on the navi screen.

I've seen this message before when the car was on ACC mode but not running but I've never seen it when the car was running until today.

About half way through my drive, my cooled seats turned off, every light on the dashboard came on, and eventually I even lost power steering.

This is a 2013 and mind you the battery is the original so it's lasted quite some time so I assume it was the battery.

By the time I get home, the windows will barely roll up and after I turn the car off, it never turns on again and even the electric parking brake doesn't engage.

So I go to my local AutoZone and buy an H8 AGK battery for $200, take it home and install it, and the car fires up fine, all items work now except for the cooled/heated seats and the battery discharge warning still displays on the navi screen.

I have a friend run a multimeter test for me and the voltage is only at 12.5V with the car running.

The easy explanation is that the alternator is dead, but is that the only reason these symptoms could have happened, or is there anyone out there experiencing these symptoms for some reason other than the alternator?

Any input is appreciated!

_Michael

 

[toxicavenger70]

Check to see how many volts are coming out of the alternator. It should be over 13v. If it is then check it at the battery. If the two readings have a big distance between them you might have a corroded cable connecting the two. If the alternator is not putting out over 13v then I would get it tested.

 

[Shakur]

Hey team.

Haven't been on the forums in a while, back here again seeking some opinions.

I have a 2013 Genesis 5.0 sedan and just the other day I turn on my car to drive home and as I'm driving I get the battery discharge warning on the navi screen.

I've seen this message before when the car was on ACC mode but not running but I've never seen it when the car was running until today.

About half way through my drive, my cooled seats turned off, every light on the dashboard came on, and eventually I even lost power steering.

This is a 2013 and mind you the battery is the original so it's lasted quite some time so I assume it was the battery.

By the time I get home, the windows will barely roll up and after I turn the car off, it never turns on again and even the electric parking brake doesn't engage.

So I go to my local AutoZone and buy an H8 AGK battery for $200, take it home and install it, and the car fires up fine, all items work now except for the cooled/heated seats and the battery discharge warning still displays on the navi screen.

I have a friend run a multimeter test for me and the voltage is only at 12.5V with the car running.

The easy explanation is that the alternator is dead, but is that the only reason these symptoms could have happened, or is there anyone out there experiencing these symptoms for some reason other than the alternator?

Any input is appreciated!

_Michael

Sounds like an alternator. Rspec just did that, it's was the alternator.

 

[joegr]

Sounds like your charging system has failed. That could be the alternator itself, or the wiring to it, or possibly and electronic module. Most often it is the alternator, since that is a "wear" part. However, there are diagnostic tests that can be done to determine for certain what it is, before throwing parts at it.
It's possible that the old (8 or 9 years is a lot for a battery) worn out battery added enough stress to the alternator to cause it to fail.

 

[TheMikeJones]

Thanks folks.

That's kind of what I was thinking.

It is odd to me that the seat heater/coolers won't turn on when the car is running but I guess if the alternator is not providing enough power, maybe those systems turn themselves off?

 

[joegr]

Thanks folks.

That's kind of what I was thinking.

It is odd to me that the seat heater/coolers won't turn on when the car is running but I guess if the alternator is not providing enough power, maybe those systems turn themselves off?

Maybe it's an attempt to prolong what battery power you do have by cutting large but unnecessary loads?

 

[TheMikeJones]

Agreed.

Here is another interesting variable I've noticed.

So even on the old battery I would occasionally put my street bike trickle charger on it overnight and usually after about 8 hours the indicator on the trickle charger would go green to show its reached a full charge and is now floating.

The day of my current battery dying and the other issues, the charger stayed red which indicates constant charging and never turned green.

Fast forward to yesterday, I got the brand new battery in, drove for about 30 minutes, had the discharge indicator on, got home and put the trickle charger on and roughly 12 hours later the battery indicator on the charger is red saying it is still charging.

Any chance I have a parasitic loss occurring in the car, possibly alongside the bummy alternator, that could be draining the battery even when the car is off and locked?

 

[joegr]

...Any chance I have a parasitic loss occurring in the car, possibly alongside the bummy alternator, that could be draining the battery even when the car is off and locked?

Yes, that's possible, but not necessary to explain the symptom. A new high capacity battery that is somewhat discharged could take many days for a trickle charger to bring to full charge. (An old and weak battery may seem to the charger to fully charge quickly because it's internal resistance is high and that causes a higher voltage reading with less current going in.)

You can measure the car's sleeping drain from the battery. It should be less than 50 mA (0.05 amps) when the car sleeps, but note that it may take 30 minutes for the car to go to sleep after you connect the meter, and you can't bring the fob near or open a door or anything while you are waiting. Non-sleep idle current could be a few hundred mA.

 

[TheMikeJones]

Yes, that's possible, but not necessary to explain the symptom. A new high capacity battery that is somewhat discharged could take many days for a trickle charger to bring to full charge. (An old and weak battery may seem to the charger to fully charge quickly because it's internal resistance is high and that causes a higher voltage reading with less current going in.)

You can measure the car's sleeping drain from the battery. It should be less than 50 mA (0.05 amps) when the car sleeps, but note that it may take 30 minutes for the car to go to sleep after you connect the meter, and you can't bring the fob near or open a door or anything while you are waiting. Non-sleep idle current could be a few hundred mA.

Hey Joegr.

That actually makes a lot of sense, I guess I didn't consider that.

The new battery has so much more capacity that the charger may take longer to get to a full charge as compared to the old battery.

I have an inspection at Hyundai tomorrow and I'm sure it will end up being the alternator and fortunately I still have my extended warranty, so we shall see, just seems odd that it happened out of nowhere but I guess that's how all failures occur.

Never seemed to be a slow loss, the car never had a rough start ever even with the old battery and even on the day I drove it and got all the issues the start didn't seem out of place, just had the discharge warning on the navi screen which I had never seen when the car was one, and before I even got home, all the other things like loss of power steering and the like.

I'll post back after my inspection tomorrow!

Appreciate the input folks.

 

[joegr]

That's how most battery/alternator failures are now.
In the (not so) good old days, the starter got weaker and weaker, so you noticed before complete failure. The battery only had to power the starter and the ignition, both of which worked down to fairly low voltages. Now, the battery has to power various computers and such. They tend to fail by or before the battery voltage under load goes below 7.5 volts.

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[TheMikeJones]

That's how most battery/alternator failures are now.
In the (not so) good old days, the starter got weaker and weaker, so you noticed before complete failure. The battery only had to power the starter and the ignition, both of which worked down to fairly low voltages. Now, the battery has to power various computers and such. They tend to fail by or before the battery voltage under load goes below 7.5 volts.

That makes sense.

And honestly I should have already changed out this battery but it never had any issues, I just knew it was the original so I felt like I was helping out with the trickle charger and all my starts were strong, even when it's 30 degrees in the morning here in winter, so it didn't occur to me to make the swap.

Likewise, been looking to sell her and get a G80 Sport or Ultimate so didn't want to buy a new battery, but now I am working through these issues now, ideally covered by warranty.

We shall see!

 

[Gunkk]

OP, the alternator failed.

 

[TheMikeJones]

OP, the alternator failed.

Feels like it.

Just dropped it off at the dealership, they are assessing it now.

 

[TheMikeJones]

For those wondering, yes, it was the alternator.

Covered under warranty which was nice, problem resolved.

Appreciate the input from you all as always.

Have a great weekend!

_Michael

 

[zaqmurr]

Hey Joegr.

That actually makes a lot of sense, I guess I didn't consider that.

The new battery has so much more capacity that the charger may take longer to get to a full charge as compared to the old battery.

I have an inspection at Hyundai tomorrow and I'm sure it will end up being the alternator and fortunately I still have my extended warranty, so we shall see, just seems odd that it happened out of nowhere but I guess that's how all failures occur.

Never seemed to be a slow loss, the car never had a rough start ever even with the old battery and even on the day I drove it and got all the issues the start didn't seem out of place, just had the discharge warning on the navi screen which I had never seen when the car was one, and before I even got home, all the other things like loss of power steering and the like.

I'll post back after my inspection tomorrow!

Appreciate the input folks.

Just experienced a similar situation in my 2011 4.6.
Was pulling into driveway and the steering started to feel notchy, but no battery indicator light. The next day, it started up but there was no power steering, ESC light, & ABS light. Started driving and the car went into a limp mode; the gauges were not working, the infotainment system said "do not operate entertainment system while the vehicle is off", and I was limited to only 3rd gear. Shortly after, the battery light appeared. Luckily was able to make it back into the driveway before I was greeted with more warning lights (air bag malfunction, auto hold error, etc...). At that point, I was only able to shift the car into neutral and had to use the shift release to get it back into park.

I was able to jump start the car again as we tried to figure out what was wrong, but I believe it was running entirely off of my friends f250 battery. Eventually, the lights reappeared and we lost all electrical power, shutting the car off. (this would have been a good time to utilize the engineering menu)

I gave up at this point and searched the forums. It seems like most of the posts on here all have similar symptoms, and my case was no different.
I found a remanufactured duralast alternator from autozone and was able to swap them in a little over 2 hrs. Had to jump the car to get it started, because I drained the battery trying to figure out what was wrong. Drove around for a bit to charge the battery, and everything has been normal since.

One piece of advice if you plan to tackle yourself: watch a tutorial on how to remove the alternator bracket that shows the location of all the bolts.
This will save a lot of time and fighting!

Thank you to the guys who had this issue before me
Hope this helps anyone who might run into it after me