Annoying battery discharge warning

[skross]

Can anyone help me with this one ?

I like to watch the odd DVD while I am waiting for my wife at the shopping mall. Approximately every two minutes a message comes up on the screen saying that the video system should not be operated without the car running to prevent accidental discharge of the battery. That absolutely infuriates me !
The battery in the 4.6 could likely run that DVD player for a month without discharge. I don't need to be told this every two minutes. I called Hyundai USA and they said the car must be left running. The DVD cannot be operated while driving yet this warning makes the unit essentially unwatchable when parked. Does this make any sense to run a V8 motor to run a DVD player ?

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Seriously? It can't possibly draw THAT much power.....

 

[nearwater]

Warning messages every two minutes would be very annoying.
For me, I keep the engine running when I listen to music on the parking lot.

Dan

 

[tjc78]

Actually I think it does use a lot of power. You have the amp (a fairly powerful one), the screen, the DVD player, and all the other systems that are running while the car is in the "on" position. I know on my non-tech model when I am washing the car the radio will switch off if I leave it on for more than a half hour. I wouldn't be surprised if the video system could drain the battery enough after about an hour (maybe 1 1/2) of playing a movie that starting the car could be difficult.

 

[sherrod]

I like to watch the odd DVD while I am waiting for my wife at the shopping mall. Approximately every two minutes a message comes up on the screen saying that the video system should not be operated without the car running to prevent accidental discharge of the battery. That absolutely infuriates me!

I agree completely! A DVD is not going to run down the battery in a Genesis in several hours. Compare the dinky batteries in a portable DVD player with a Genesis battery, and you can pretty well imagine that you could watch DVDs for a long time without having any major impact on the battery.

If they want to display a warning once an hour, I can live with that. But the warning every two minutes is ridiculous. I can't even finish adding an entry to the navigation address book without getting a couple of warnings.

 

[sarge]

The amp draw on a DVD player will not drain both batteries in a Genesis in the time it takes to watch a movie.

 

[dataguy]

It's not the screen or the DVD drive...it's the sound system's amplifier. 528 watts is a lot different from the < 10 watts that a portable DVD players speakers push.

 

[nearwater]

The amp draw on a DVD player will not drain both batteries in a Genesis in the time it takes to watch a movie.

Both? Meaning there are 2 batteries in the Genesis?

Dan

 

[nearwater]

Compare the dinky batteries in a portable DVD player with a Genesis battery, and you can pretty well imagine that you could watch DVDs for a long time without having any major impact on the battery.

Well, that portable DVD player with the "dinky batteries" don't push 528 watts through 17 speakers, now does it?

Dan

 

[ctrcbob]

Warning messages every two minutes would be very annoying.
For me, I keep the engine running when I listen to music on the parking lot.

Dan

Last week, while sitting at the new Sea Plane Base in Tavares Florida, I parked with my engine off, car on acc, and listened to the radio. I have one of those little voltmeters plugged into the cigarette lighter and in the hour I listened, the voltmeter went from 12.6V down to 12.1V, where it stayed for quite a while. What surprised me was that just sitting there, listening to the radio, after an hour, the acc switched itself off, the radio went off, the seat went back to its resting position, etc. Don't know if the car is designed to do this after an hour, or if it was just my car, but it sure surprised me when it did.

BTW, I don't know exactly how long I sat there as I did not look at my watch, so an hour is only an estimate. Could have been more, could have been less. Next time I do that, I will make note of the time.

My point is, the voltage only dropped down to 12.1 volts, and the car started up easy.

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[AZGeny]

I have owned my 4.6 for less than a month but noticed the annoying “battery warning” message immediately. According to the Driver Info System handbook, P31:

"The message disappears automatically after a short time and will be redisplayed for 5 seconds every 10 minutes continuously."

10 seconds would be reasonable. On my Genny it pops up as often as every minute when using the Info system with the engine off and this is really annoying. Checked the battery voltage with a DMM and noticed it can vary from 12.8v just after driving for a while to a low of 12.1v after running the Info system for ~30 minutes. I speculate that the frequency of the warning message is tied to the battery voltage. The lower the voltage the more frequent the warning. Same goes for the auto-off feature mentioned in an earlier post.

Checking the charging voltage with the car running, the battery voltage measures ~14.15v which is significantly below what is commonly recommended for calcium/lead batteries, see info at:

http://landiss.com/battery.htm

Perhaps if the charging system would operate at a higher voltage the battery could power the Info system for more than a few minutes without causing such a large drop in voltage.

Tried another experiment where I put a Schumacher trickle charger (3A max, auto maintenance feature) on the fully charged Genny battery. After 12+ hours the battery voltage was only ~12.8v and the charger was still indicating the battery was not fully charged (not sure if this is driven by voltage or current). The same charger has no problem bringing an Optima (also calcium/lead chemistry) up to 13.8v and indicating fully charged. Not sure I have a marginal battery or this is typical for this battery. If it is a marginal battery it probably won’t make through the summer here in Phoenix.

 

[Midnightsun]

My point is, the voltage only dropped down to 12.1 volts, and the car started up easy.

Although 12.1 V sounds like a lot, it is not. Below is a typical scale for reading a car battery via voltage giving percentage of discharge. This reading must be taken while at rest (no charging device connected) and at least 1/2 hour after the engine has been shut off to eliminate residual charge voltage. If you are using a device such as the dvd player after shut down, the residual voltage would be gone in a matter of 5 mins or less.


12.65V = 100%
12.45V = 75%
12.24V = 50%
12.06V = 25%
11.89V or less Discharged

 

[DubaiRich]

Both? Meaning there are 2 batteries in the Genesis?

Dan

Is this true??? I will changing my steering wheel emblem this weekend and would hate to not know there are 2 to disconnect.

 

[Midnightsun]

No, only 1 battery.

 

[DubaiRich]

No, only 1 battery.

Thanks. I can breathe easier.

 

[sarge]

No, only 1 battery.

No, two batteries - at least in my '09 4.6 tech.

One under the hood, and one in the trunk. Lift the false bottom in the trunk and check it out.

 

[sarge]

Well, that portable DVD player with the "dinky batteries" don't push 528 watts through 17 speakers, now does it?

Dan

528 watts @ 13v is only about 40 amps. The batteries in a Genesis should provide 40 amps continuous for considerably longer than the 2 hours it takes to watch a DVD.

 

[scottdk]

No, two batteries - at least in my '09 4.6 tech.

One under the hood, and one in the trunk. Lift the false bottom in the trunk and check it out.

Where's this 2nd battery under the hood at??

 

[sarge]

Where's this 2nd battery under the hood at??

Guess what happens when you assume?

I lifted the trunk floor when I needed to get to the towing eye. I saw the battery in the trunk - and assumed that the car was like my Chrysler 300, with two batteries, one in the trunk and one under the hood.

I was mistaken, as I just verified by getting up and walking out to the parking lot and lifting the hood. You are all correct - one battery.