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Kia Forte 2014 LX 1.8 - Battery Draining

8K views 30 replies 7 participants last post by  seifer 
#1 ·
Hello everyone,
I have Kia Forte 2014 LX, 1.8 engine, automatic.
I'm having issue with my battery. I have installed brand new battery on 31 March 2022 and it drain if I don’t drive my car for at least 3 days (working from home), I'm having trouble starting it normally. Need to jump start. I had the same issue with my old battery and then the battery itself not holding the charge so I decide to change it.

I'm not a mechanic, but can do basic troubleshooting with help of forums and YouTube videos.

I did the following tests and every things seem to be ok, except for 2 things.

- I have 9 inch screen aftermarket radio/head unit is installed with backup camera. And it was draining the battery so I decide to remove the 15 Amp (Multimedia #1) fuse from passenger compartment fuse box. No power in radio, don't use it for now.
Question: Is removing the 15 Amp radio fuse (multimedia #1) will stop the draining? Radio is still connected.

- The 7.5 Amps (Memory) fuse, does NOT goes to Ohm 0.00, it stays at between 0.09 - 0.11. So little draining here. Also replaced "Memory" 7.5 Amp fuse. Following are connected on Memory fuse:

Driver IMS Module, Driver Smart Key Outside Handle, Passenger Smart Key Outside Handle, BCM, Tire Pressure Monitoring Module, Auto Light & Photo Sensor Instrument Cluster, Data Link Connector, Multipurpose Check Connector, Digital Clock, A/C Control Module, Electro Chromic Mirror, Driver Power Outside Mirror Passenger Power Outside Mirror

  • Tested all fuses in Passenger compartment, all OK (except, the draining on "Memory" 7.5 Amp & "Multimedia" 15 Amp (unplugged)).
  • Tested all fuses in engine compartment and all OK.
  • Tested all relay in engine compartment (click/close/open noise and Ohms test) and all OK.
  • Alternator voltage tested, voltage goes to 14.52 when starting the car.
  • Alternator is charging the battery.
  • Cleaned/grinded, ground connection (Driver side strut tower, Behind the ECU, passenger side from the engine). Battery voltage confirmed Ok prior to cleaning/grinding ground.
  • Glove box light is turned off when closing the box.
  • Trunk light is off when trunk is closed.
  • Doors (open/close) light switch set to off position.
  • No corrosion on battery or battery post.
  • Brand new battery so no dust or anything on it which can drain the battery.
  • Headlight, Wiper or other switches area always set to off after using it.
  • Car drives perfect when it’s running
  • I also have alarm system with remote started installed.

See attached pictures.

What could be the cause of the draining?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks for helping.
 

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#3 · (Edited)
Recheck your aftermarket wiring to the vehicle wires.

Power, Negative & illumination from aftermarket install to vehicles wires. You might have hooked on constant power to aftermarket.

Unplug all the aftermarket wire harnesses. See if battery drain stops for a few days.
Hello mobileterminaluser,
Thank you for the replay.
Just for your information, I have removed/unplugged the "Multimedia" 15 amp for my radio since 3 weeks now. Even the fuse is NOT connected, the battery would drain for radio?

When I installed the aftermarket radio, it came with the harness. So I unplugged the factory radio and just plugged the aftermarket harness. I had to solder the backup/reverse camera a "Pink" wire. The rest was plug and play (using harness).
 
#6 ·
I start noticing the drain since I started working from home because of the covid-19 from the march 2020. Had to change the battery in Aug 2020 (7 years old battery). I own the car since 2014. Radio was installed in 2019 and never noticed the drain or any issue with battery. Because I use to drive 5-6 days a week. Installed 2nd new battery in March 2022.
 
#7 ·
Can you install your multimeter in series with the battery (i.e disconnect the negative terminal connection and put your multi meter in between it and the negative battery terminal and tell us how much drain there is with everything off? Just to note you may need to wait 20 mins or so until after the doors are closed etc to make sure the car has fully "shut down". Also keep your key fob away from the car as that could keep the car slightly awake listening for it.

Once you have that number you can Google to see if that's high and then start to pull fuses until the drain goes down to an acceptable level. You can then be sure of what fuse the component is on that's causing the drain and can then narrow it down further to what it actually is. Let us know how it goes.
 
#8 ·
Can you install your multimeter in series with the battery (i.e disconnect the negative terminal connection and put your multi meter in between it and the negative battery terminal and tell us how much drain there is with everything off? Just to note you may need to wait 20 mins or so until after the doors are closed etc to make sure the car has fully "shut down". Also keep your key fob away from the car as that could keep the car slightly awake listening for it.

Once you have that number you can Google to see if that's high and then start to pull fuses until the drain goes down to an acceptable level. You can then be sure of what fuse the component is on that's causing the drain and can then narrow it down further to what it actually is. Let us know how it goes.
Hello Seifer, thanks for your replay.
I just want to do this test right. Are you talking about the same tests explained in this video:
A
Code:
https://youtu.be/XH2wdHBZ6eE
B
Code:
https://youtu.be/xBVmbYBxMyo
Let me know, I will do the test explained in video A by pulling the fuses. I have done this test before but at that time the multimeter is connected to Battery positive to multimeter postive wire and Battery negative to multimeter negative wire and I found that Multimedia (Radio) 15 amp was causing the issue but I dont remember the voltage drops number.
 
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#10 ·
Have you tested alternator voltage, when the engine is hot, too?
It's been a couple of years and with a different car, alternator voltage was good, on the high side, actually, when starting the car, but once the engine reached normal operating temperature, it dropped to 11.7 Volts, and would not go above 13V if engine speed was less than 3000 rpm. If your voltage regulator is going out, those semi-conductors will work for a while, then stop working properly.
 
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#11 ·
After checking any reachable wires, connections, plugs, harnesses, fuses & relays for corrosion, rust, breaks, looseness, frayed, cracked, uninsulated,, needs repair/fixing replacement, check the alternator & battery.

Bench test or flat out buy an alternator.

A few weeks ago finished repairs my friends pos Audi A6 2.7t quattro. I told him he needed an alternator. Eventually it sunk into his YouTube university education when it stranded him. Wasn't fun removing the front end for an alternator.
 
#16 ·
That's quite a lot of investigating you've done which is great, however I think you may have overcomplicated it and possibly might be focusing on the wrong place, since you haven't isolated the problem to the radio yet. As you say you've had the radio for several years without issue (even if you were driving it more before lockdowns). It's quite possible it's a different component that's causing the problem all together.

I notice you've been measuring voltages which is possible to gather some insight into drain from but it's really hard to tell as you've found as it's not specific. I know your battery is new but if it's faulty with a bad cell it could act like an old battery that doesn't hold charge, so if that's the case even a small drain that's normally acceptable would cause the battery to go "flat" overnight.

Were you able to put your multi meter in series with the battery and the negative wire to measure how much power the car is using while off? As mentioned, if it's a high number then start pulling fuses to see which one causes it to go back to down to normal levels and then investigate from there.
 
#17 ·
Were you able to put your multi meter in series with the battery and the negative wire to measure how much power the car is using while off? As mentioned, if it's a high number then start pulling fuses to see which one causes it to go back to down to normal levels and then investigate from there.
Oh yes I did that test, I forgot to mention in my post #15. I did follow the video A from post #8 as follow:
1) Unplugging the - negative (Black) clamp from the battery while the + Positive (Red) is still connected to the battery/Car.
2) Put multimeter on proper setting as explained in video A.
3) Touch the red (multimeter) lid to the disconnected - negative clamp.
4) Touch the black (multimeter) lid to the battery - negative post while red (multimeter) lid is connected/touching the - negative clamp.
Result: The multimeter stays at 0.00 (re confirmed if my multimeter is bad but multimeter is working properly).

Even if the multimeter were showing 0.00 I pulled all the fuses (it was not necessary). And didn't see any changes on multimeter. Also pulled connector on alternator and no change on multimeter.

I'm keep taking notes of voltage drop, just to see by cutting reverse backup camera wire will isolate the problem.

21) 12.10v 08 May 2022 @ 09:38 am
22) 12.10v 09 May 2022 @ 09:38 am. No drop in 24 hours.
Note: Didn't drive or start the car since 08 May 2022 @ 09.38 am.

Also planing to do the following test tomorrow as suggested in post #10 (alternator voltage, when the engine is hot).
 
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#18 ·
It sounds like you may have blown the internal fuse in your multimeter, maybe you had it the measurement too low or the draw is much higher than you expected (which strongly suggests a bad alternator). I would suggest to replace the fuse in the multimeter and try again, or grab a cheap replacement meter if that's too much trouble.

Here's a bit of reading for you: No reading when trying to check parasitic drain with multimeter. Help!
 
#20 ·
It sounds like you may have blown the internal fuse in your multimeter, maybe you had it the measurement too low or the draw is much higher than you expected (which strongly suggests a bad alternator). I would suggest to replace the fuse in the multimeter and try again, or grab a cheap replacement meter if that's too much trouble.

Here's a bit of reading for you: No reading when trying to check parasitic drain with multimeter. Help!
Damn it! You are right. The internal ceramic fuse is dead. I tested with another multimeter and look like the radio (15 amps "Multimedia) is draining the battery.
I followed this video C:
Code:
https://youtu.be/B1moJh5HpyY
Test 1: Without removing the 15 Amp "Multimedia" fuse: Multimeter shows 1.08 A (highest), 0.73 A (lowest) - holding for about minute.
Note: Unplugging the alternator connector didnt change the draw. So I guess this issue has nothing to do with the alternator.

Test 2: 15 Amp "Multimedia" fuse removed: Multimeter shows 0.65 A (highest) then drop to 0.33 A and then goes to 0.09 - 0.11(lowest) - holding for about minute.

So now we are 95% sure its a radio then what is my solution? By installing the circuit fuse on the 12V/B+/Constent wire on aftermarket will solve the issue? If so, can you please provide me the item link.
 

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#19 ·
Yea there should be at least a little bit of draw to power certain electronics in the car
 
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#21 ·
That's great progress. 1.08 A is a huge draw, ideally it should be around 50 milliamps or less so 0.09 - 0.11 amps with that fuse out sounds a lot more manageable.

Just to be sure it's the radio, did you try keeping the fuse in but disconnecting the radio harness to make sure the power draw went down?

Installing a fuse won't help with reducing power draw unfortunately, it will do nothing unless the draw goes over a certain threshold and will then "trip" so the circuit breaks and is no longer powered. This protects the wires and circuits from overheating and burning out.

What model head unit do you have? When the cars off it should go into low power mode and not draw that much power. If it's a smart unit you may want to check the settings menu to make sure the option for that is turned on (it could be off so the radio is on full power all the time).

Next thing you may want to look into is that the wire that should be connected to ACC (which is powered off when the car is off) could be wired to a constant power connection instead. This would mean the unit thinks the car is on all the time and keeps everything on it running which would result in a high draw.

If that isn't the problem then the only real solution would be to disconnect each wire in the harness individually and see which one "fixes" the problem. If the only wire that is the culprit is the connection to battery you may want to try divert that to an ACC wire instead (like one from the cigarette lighter connection) so it's only on when the car is on.

If that doesn't work out I would contact the seller you bought the radio off with your concerns. If nothing comes from that then your only option would be to buy a new radio instead.


I have this sort of radio which is Android based and it correctly goes into low power mode when the car is off and (touch wood) never had any problem with starting the car even after days of no driving.

Let us know how you get on.
 
#22 ·
Just to be sure it's the radio, did you try keeping the fuse in but disconnecting the radio harness to make sure the power draw went down?
At this point, the radio is connected and turned off:
So the time I touch the black multimeter lead to negative battery post, its goes to 0.66-0.67 then rapidly goes to 0.99 to 1.07 (highest), then drop down to 0.33 and then stays between 0.09-0.11.
  • Touch black multimeter lead to negative battery post, it start from 0.66-0.67 then goes to 1.07 (withing 7-8 seconds).
  • Then drop down to 0.33 (withing 7-8 seconds).
  • Then drop down to 0.09-011 (withing 20 seconds)
  • Stays at 0.09-0.11 (no change, holding down for 2 minutes from here)

At this point, the radio is disconnected completely:
So the time I touch the black multimeter lead to negative battery post, its goes to 0.66-0.67 (highest) (does not go to 1.07 because the radio is disconnected), then drop to 0.33 then stays between 0.09-0.11. Please see scenario 4 at the bottom for question.

What model head unit do you have? When the cars off it should go into low power mode and not draw that much power. If it's a smart unit you may want to check the settings menu to make sure the option for that is turned on (it could be off so the radio is on full power all the time).
I have the exact same model you posted from AliExpress but the brand is different (you know the chinese brand and company, they change the name every month).
It's an android radio with 9" inch screen. Android OS shows android v8.0 but the API level is 23 (which is Android 6.0 Marshmallow :D).
CPU-Z shows:
Model: Sofia 3GR Car (sofia3gr_car_64)
CPU Info: Intel ATOM 4 QuandCore (x86), GPU4D: Mali-450 MP4,X86
RAM: 1GB

Next thing you may want to look into is that the wire that should be connected to ACC (which is powered off when the car is off) could be wired to a constant power connection instead. This would mean the unit thinks the car is on all the time and keeps everything on it running which would result in a high draw.
Yes, you are right. In the Android OS, there is an app call "Car Setting", open it, then it will ask you the factory 4 pin, enter the PIN & hit OK. Once I'm in the car settings, there is an options call:
Sleep mode settings ---> Sleep mode when ACC off ==> ON (This options will sleep the radio when turning off the car), next time you start the car or put the key on ACC, the radio will just WAKE ON home screen (withing 2-3 seconds).
Sleep mode settings ---> Sleep mode when ACC off ==> OFF (This options will shutdown the radio completely when turning off the car), next time you start the car or put the key on ACC, the radio will REBOOT. This will take time to reboot (about 3-5 minutes).
I have already played with this option in the past but it didn't change the draining. Also tried to disable others relevant options like: "Press any key to start = OFF", OSD Time = OFF", GPS Mix = OFF", but didn't fix the draw.

If that isn't the problem then the only real solution would be to disconnect each wire in the harness individually and see which one "fixes" the problem. If the only wire that is the culprit is the connection to battery you may want to try divert that to an ACC wire instead (like one from the cigarette lighter connection) so it's only on when the car is on.
I know the drop happens when connector B is connected, connector A looks ok. So connector B, have only 7 cables, as follow:
Ground (Thick Black) - Pin 24 (Power ground)
Ground (Thin Black shared from Pin 24 wire) - for Pin 17 (Remote control ground)
B+ (Yellow) - Pin 12 (Battery B+)
ACC (Red) - Pin 11 (ACC)
Key 1 ---> (Brown solid) - Pin 4 (Steering remocon)
Key 2 ---> (Brown with black stripe) - Pin 5 (Empty, Note: no wires on forte 2014 LX factory harness because my car does not have the Key 2 on steering wheel)
Single Black wire very thin 4 wires (red, green, black and white) for Pin 6 (USB data line D+), Pin 7 (USB/iPod VDD), Pin 18 (USB data line D-), Pin 19 (USB/iPod ground) which I always leave disconnected.

Scenario 1: When this option --> Sleep mode settings ---> Sleep mode when ACC off ==> OFF: The multimeter is reading:
B+ = 12.40v
ACC = 1.37v (Highest). Car key is removed, not set to ACC.
ACC = 12.40v, car key is on ACC.
Key 1 = 0.74v
Key 1 = 0.74v

Scenario 2: When this option --> Sleep mode settings ---> Sleep mode when ACC off ==> ON: The multimeter is reading:
B+ = 12.40v
ACC = 3.07v (highest) - 2.36v (lowest), sometime 1.37v (Highest). Car key is removed, not set to ACC.
ACC = 12.40v, car key is on ACC.
Key 1 = 0.74v
Key 1 = 0.74v

Scenario 3: Disconnected connector from the radio but the factory and aftermarket harness are connected (testing harness only). The multimeter is reading:
B+ = 12.40v
ACC = 0.00v, car key is removed, not set to ACC.
ACC = 12.40v, car key is on ACC.
Key 1 = 0.00v
Key 1 = 0.00v
This explained that when the radio is connected in scenario 1 & 2, no matter "Sleep mode when ACC off" is ON or OFF, the ACC, Key1 and Key2 shows draw.

Scenario 4:
At this point, the radio is disconnected completely: Continuing from Scenario 3, I Did "Diagnose/Fix PARASITIC BATTERY DRAW"
Code:
https://youtu.be/B1moJh5HpyY
So the time I touch the black multimeter lead to negative battery post, its goes to 0.66-0.67 (highest) (does not go to 1.07 because the radio is disconnected), then drop to 0.33 then stays between 0.09-0.11.

Question: Is it normal that its goes to 0.66-0.67 (highest) even the radio is disconnected or there is something else going on with this draw?

If that doesn't work out I would contact the seller you bought the radio off with your concerns. If nothing comes from that then your only option would be to buy a new radio instead.
Seller does not exist, cannot contact.

I have this sort of radio which is Android based and it correctly goes into low power mode when the car is off and (touch wood) never had any problem with starting the car even after days of no driving.

Let us know how you get on.
Exact same (look wise) but different brand. See on the top for specifications.

Have you tested alternator voltage, when the engine is hot, too?
It's been a couple of years and with a different car, alternator voltage was good, on the high side, actually, when starting the car, but once the engine reached normal operating temperature, it dropped to 11.7 Volts, and would not go above 13V if engine speed was less than 3000 rpm. If your voltage regulator is going out, those semi-conductors will work for a while, then stop working properly.
Scenario 5: Alternator test when starting the car:
5A) Cold start: Shows 14.31v then goes to 14.52v
5B) Hot start (After driving for about an hour): Shows 14.23v then goes to 14.29v.
 
#25 ·
You've done well to try diagnose this problem.

Not sure if you tested but just one last thing is to check that ACC wire on the factory side plug is 0.0v with the key off. If you have a schematic for the pins of the radio/aftermarket harness you might just want to double check the wires "join up" to the pin it expects ACC from, i.e it doesn't go from ACC on the factory plug to some other pin on the radio side. If it does you could fix that.

Otherwise it really does sound like this radio is faulty and the best option is to try again with a new radio. Go for a seller with high ratings/good feedback. Now you know what to look for you can quickly test it when it arrives and consult with them if there is a similar problem.
 
#26 ·
You've done well to try diagnose this problem.

Not sure if you tested but just one last thing is to check that ACC wire on the factory side plug is 0.0v with the key off. If you have a schematic for the pins of the radio/aftermarket harness you might just want to double check the wires "join up" to the pin it expects ACC from, i.e it doesn't go from ACC on the factory plug to some other pin on the radio side. If it does you could fix that.
Yes, its 0.00v when is off. Aftermarket harness is also read 0.00v if radio is not connected. As soon as I connect the radio, no matter (with or without key on ACC) it read some voltage (so the radio is draining some voltage). Unfortunately I don't have the schematic. Cannot contact the seller either (store does not exist).

By looking at the factory harness, on connector B:
pin 11 (ACC) blue wire (thin) goes to red wire (thin)on aftermarket harness, then to the radio on thin pin
pin 12 (B+) orange wire (thick) goes to yellow wire (thick) on aftermarket harness, then to the radio on thick pin.
pin 24 (power ground) black wire (thick) goes to black wire (thick) on aftermarket harness, then to the radio on thick pin.

Question: Do you think the ground and B+ pin are reversed (top & bottom) on the radio? Because my factory harness shows ACC and B+ one beside other and ground at the bottom. On aftermarket harness, the ACC and ground one beside other and B+ at the bottom. see the attachment.

Otherwise it really does sound like this radio is faulty and the best option is to try again with a new radio. Go for a seller with high ratings/good feedback. Now you know what to look for you can quickly test it when it arrives and consult with them if there is a similar problem.
Yes, I agree with you.
 

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