battery draining when car in garage, is a parasidic draw my problem?

[joev]

my car has gone through 3 batteries in as many years. I took a reading on amps while sitting in garage and it was 2.85. does anyone out there know what is normal for my 2009 sedan. I also own a 08 santa fe and likewise took an amp reading of 1.35 while in the garage. Maybe my easiest solution is to buy a trickle charger and let it do it's thing. Any advice

 

[mikec]

That sounds like a fairly high current draw. How long can your car remain parked and still reliably start? At least a week? If not, something is abnormal in your car. What trim level - Tech or Premium? The Tech cars at least will set the stereo/nav system to a "standby" mode when you first turn off the car. About 20 minutes later, if there is no activity on any door, hood, etc., the blue light on the edge of the CD/DVD slot will flash and the system will fully shut down. ANY sensor that makes the car think a door, hood, or the trunk is open prevents the full shutdown which does lead to dead batteries in a day or two. A VERY common problem is missing the rubber bumper on the underside of the hood that is part of the car alarm. With the hood open you should see two rubber disks in the front corners; these are the hood stops for when it's closed. On the driver side about half way between the large disk and the hinge there is another rubber disk that's roughly 3/4inch in diameter. This pushes on a switch in that dress-up plastic covering the engine bay to tell the alarm "hood is closed." If that rubber bit is missing, or screwed into the hood too far, or if the wires to the switch have failed, or the switch itself is bad, the car electronics think "hood is open" so the alarm never really arms AND the interior electronics stay in that "standby" mode rather than fully shutting down. There have been a few posts about this bumper dating back to 2009 or so on this site; there's even a Hyundai TSB on it now. (this site knew about this bug before the TSB was released!)

Other things that have caused battery drains include the trunk being slightly open. If it's not fully latched the car again stays in standby rather than fully OFF mode. Since the trunk doesn't lift up much when you pull the interior release, some folks have walked right past it not realizing it's open/unlocked.

mike c.

 

[EdP]

my car has gone through 3 batteries in as many years. I took a reading on amps while sitting in garage and it was 2.85. does anyone out there know what is normal for my 2009 sedan. I also own a 08 santa fe and likewise took an amp reading of 1.35 while in the garage. Maybe my easiest solution is to buy a trickle charger and let it do it's thing. Any advice

There was some mention that of you keep the fob close to the car when parked it increases the drain as it is looking for a command. I don't know if it really matters. Do you leave the fob close when it is in the garage?

 

[joev]

Not any longer. It used to reside approximately 10-15 feet behind the car in another room however someone suggested that could contribute to my problem so moved the fob to a bedroom. The amp reading is my latest effort to determine what may be happening and to that end I am trying to figure out simple way to rig up amp meter and start process of pulling fuses to see reaction. What's difficult for me is to take into consideration the trunk lid is open , the door on either side may be open and so forth. This will all effect my search due to switches I can't see or locate.

 

[Gunkk]

Here's the location of the rubber stopper that engages the hood alarm switch. The correct replacement part is the larger of the two(92736-3A000). If your rubber stopper is still there, see your dealer for the larger one (cost is <$10).

 

[EdP]

Not any longer. It used to reside approximately 10-15 feet behind the car in another room however someone suggested that could contribute to my problem so moved the fob to a bedroom. The amp reading is my latest effort to determine what may be happening and to that end I am trying to figure out simple way to rig up amp meter and start process of pulling fuses to see reaction. What's difficult for me is to take into consideration the trunk lid is open , the door on either side may be open and so forth. This will all effect my search due to switches I can't see or locate.

Trunk lid open can be solved by longer wires and clips so the meter is outside. As for the doors, you may have to use an assistant to watch the meter as you contort yourself inside pulling fuses. That may find the problem though.

 

[dilligaff225]

i was having the same issue and it turned out that i had a fuse in a spot that it shouldnt be. it was in the E/R junction box under hood. between the heated glass relay fuse and the washer relay fuse.
it would let me kill the engine ,lights, etc. but wasn't shutting down entirely. the only way to lock car was manually, with emergency key that is housed in fob. also the telescoping feature on steering wheel wasnt working. I would have to jump f the car was parked for 36 hours or more. i didnt remember putting the fuse there but then again i dont remember doing things all the time.