Dead Kona EV!

I would have a load test done on the 12 volt battery. This can be done at the dealer or at any auto parts store (its usually free at the auto parts store). it will show if the battery has a bad cell. If it does then it needs to be replaced, if not there is another cause draining the battery. The actual load test just takes about 30 seconds. A little longer to actually hook to the battery.
 
CJC said:
Wildeyed I remember some Kona EV group discussing have dead 12 volt issues when having dash cam installed so they recommended a certain procedure to prevent that. However here is a discussion that is interesting concerning the battery saver shutting down after 10 consecutive starts. https://www.speakev.com/threads/flat-12v-battery-even-with-aux-battery-saver.140408/
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Interesting thread. Thanks. I don't recall ever having seen any notice come up about aux battery charging, though, months ago, I did see the grill light on. Looks like all signs are pointing to a faulty 12 volt battery.
 
Fastnf said:
I would have a load test done on the 12 volt battery. This can be done at the dealer or at any auto parts store (its usually free at the auto parts store). it will show if the battery has a bad cell. If it does then it needs to be replaced, if not there is another cause draining the battery. The actual load test just takes about 30 seconds. A little longer to actually hook to the battery.
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I let the garage know that the issue was definitely 12 volt battery centric. Gives them a starting point for first thing Monday morning. Thanks to everyone for the assistance. I was really stuck.
 
One thing I've noticed is that I often left the car when it was turned ON. Most times I notice the nag and get back in just to turn it off. I have not tested this over time to see if it will auto-shut down. In my opinion the car should power down and auto-lock when the key is not present, but I guess they are saving some features for a more expensive model.
 
EnerG said:
One thing I've noticed is that I often left the car when it was turned ON. Most times I notice the nag and get back in just to turn it off. I have not tested this over time to see if it will auto-shut down. In my opinion the car should power down and auto-lock when the key is not present, but I guess they are saving some features for a more expensive model.
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I do this all the time if I have a passenger and leave the AC on while I run an errand. I imagine the car could run for days while turned on and not driving.
 
Wildeyed said:
The car was last used 2 days ago. Nothing unusual happened. Didn't use any unusual accessories. It was plugged in and charged without incident when I came home.

Now, two days before that I did use a DC fast charger for the first time. But it drove 300km over two days after that, again, with no unusual behaviour.
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Here in Florida, 12 Volt car batteries don't last too long due to heat and humidity. I rarely get a long time out of them. On my ICE cars, I always get them from Costco due to their 5 year warranty. I'm on my 4th 12 Volt battery on my wife's minivan now in 5 years, all replaced under COSTCO's warranty....
 
BlueKonaEV said:
Here in Florida, 12 Volt car batteries don't last too long due to heat and humidity. I rarely get a long time out of them. On my ICE cars, I always get them from Costco due to their 5 year warranty. I'm on my 4th 12 Volt battery on my wife's minivan now in 5 years, all replaced under COSTCO's warranty....
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I assume you must be dealing with salt air? It's funny, I've owned 35 years worth of cars and have bought new batteries maybe twice in that span. And that's in Ontario where we deal with huge temperature swings - and salty winter roads.
 
Wildeyed said:
I assume you must be dealing with salt air? It's funny, I've owned 35 years worth of cars and have bought new batteries maybe twice in that span. And that's in Ontario where we deal with huge temperature swings - and salty winter roads.
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I'm 40 miles from the closest salt water area and 50 miles from the Gulf of Mexico beaches, so I doubt that it is salt in the air. I believe that it's mostly the extreme heat and humidity. It can be 140+ degrees in the garage in summer and my wife is usually home during the day, so the car is in the garage. It's hot about 8 months of the year and warm for the remaining 4. Humidity is extremely high with heavy rain on most summer days too. The rain drives up the humidity and heat index is usually 105+ degrees every day in summer (42 C).
BTW, today we had 96 degrees, 35 C..
Batteries in Florida last about half the time that they last in cold areas..

https://www.autolist.com/guides/how-long-do-car-batteries-last-in-florida

Of course, we also drive a lot.. we added 110k miles to our minivan in the last 4 years..
Since I got the Kona, we drive the Van about 1000 miles instead of 2500 miles per month.
 
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Wildeyed said:
I do this all the time if I have a passenger and leave the AC on while I run an errand. I imagine the car could run for days while turned on and not driving.
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FWIW, the car has a 'Utility' mode that is precisely for times of extended accessory use while not moving. In Utility model the high voltage battery will cover the accessories rather than the 12 volt battery. They cover it in the manual. I use it when waiting for kids and such.
 
I tend to leave the car in run mode parked in my carport (DRLs off) once a month for 2 hours and maybe twice a month for the same time when the weather gets cooler. I do have a meter and find the charging algorithm to be much improved over the last 2 Leafs I owned but not substantial enough with the loads imposed on the 45 Ah stock accessory battery supplied by Hyundai. I did discuss this with the dealership Techs and they agree it is a wise thing to do (even with the "battery saver option" enabled). A meter would be a good investment as you can purchase some half decent ones cheap now, and try not to let the resting voltage (without any parasitic loads) fall below 12.6 V.
 
electriceddy said:
I tend to leave the car in run mode parked in my carport (DRLs off) once a month for 2 hours and maybe twice a month for the same time when the weather gets cooler. I do have a meter and find the charging algorithm to be much improved over the last 2 Leafs I owned but not substantial enough with the loads imposed on the 45 Ah stock accessory battery supplied by Hyundai. I did discuss this with the dealership Techs and they agree it is a wise thing to do (even with the "battery saver option" enabled). A meter would be a good investment as you can purchase some half decent ones cheap now, and try not to let the resting voltage (without any parasitic loads) fall below 12.6 V.
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I'm sorry if I'm being thick but, you do that why?
 
I use one of these on my ICE car to monitor the battery. If it is driven infrequently and just short trips the battery will run down. If it gets below about 12.2V, I will give it an charge with my external charger to full. On the Kona there is a 12V outlet on the lower console bottom left front that can be seen from the driver seat. I might put one there, too, just to keep an eye on the 12V battery. And gives you some additional USB charging capacity.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01C493VV4?ref=em_1p_0_ti&ref_=pe_2331390_389077260

https://www.amazon.ca/Senhai-Cigare...CT6PQJJRAQ3&psc=1&refRID=ZXT0C5CVZCT6PQJJRAQ3
 
There have been at least three incidents of Kona Electric 12V batteries loosing charge reported on FaceBook. It's always the same scenario - car only left overnight and for no obvious reason. The only speculation is that the car was left on, which seems odd since that's hard to do with all the beeping, you can't lock it and it should charge the battery anyway if in 'run'. My Kona sits for days at a time and has never had a problem.
 
Wildeyed said:
I'm sorry if I'm being thick but, you do that why?
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Because it applies a constant 14.4 V charge to the 12 V battery , until of course it ramps down to less than 13 V, at which point I check the resting voltage with the car shut off after 10 minutes and it will rest at a comfortable 12.6 or above voltage. This is of course my timed pattern developed by my driving habits and may vary in duration with yours.
 
KiwiME said:
There have been at least three incidents of Kona Electric 12V batteries loosing charge reported on FaceBook. It's always the same scenario - car only left overnight and for no obvious reason. The only speculation is that the car was left on, which seems odd since that's hard to do with all the beeping, you can't lock it and it should charge the battery anyway if in 'run'. My Kona sits for days at a time and has never had a problem.
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There's zero chance the car was "on" in my case. Besides, it was well charged when I parked it. I plugged it in and it reported a full charge thereafter. The only slightly weird thing I noticed yesterday was that the car appeared to be charging again (green light in the charging port) late last night even though the car was reporting 100% charge already.
 
electriceddy said:
Because it applies a constant 14.4 V charge to the 12 V battery , until of course it ramps down to less than 13 V, at which point I check the resting voltage with the car shut off after 10 minutes and it will rest at a comfortable 12.6 or above voltage. This is of course my timed pattern developed by my driving habits and may vary in duration with yours.
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Okay, but why do you feel you need to leave the car "on" when it already has a built in battery saver function?
 
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