Battery Problem

Markie · **June 21, 2017, 20:56:29**

Hi. I have a 2011 i30 Diesel Estate CRDI wirh 100,000 miles on the clock. It's an ex police car and has full service history (most parts replaced!). It drives like new. I've nituced a strange problem. It has a heavy duty battery fitted. When the car has been left for two days it cranks over fast and starts straight away. I can drive 50 miles on the motorway pull up at McDonald's with engine off but the ignition on for 30 minutes listening to the radio and using the electric window once. When I go to start the car the dashboard dins and the car cranks slow but starts. Checked the battery and it kicks out 12.6 volts and 14.7 while charging at tickover. Temperature gauge only goes to 80c.

I'm thinking battery drain or faulty battery. Are the glow plugs staying on?

AlanHo · **Reply #1: June 21, 2017, 21:13:51**

You don't need the ignition on to use the radio - the first aux position of the ignition switch energises the radio but not the engine.

Checking battery voltage will not give an accurate assessment of battery condition. You need to have it load tested at a reliable garage or battery shop.

Markie · **Reply #2: June 21, 2017, 21:27:12**

Thanks for the reply. Why would the battery get worse after driving 50 miles at 70moh. You would think it would be worse on cold startup

eye30 · **Reply #3: June 21, 2017, 21:30:31**

Are the leads on tight?

Also trace wires and see if any are loose at terminals.

Markie · **Reply #4: June 21, 2017, 22:02:18**

Yes they are. I flattened the nmbattery after two hours of interior light being on. The recovery guy tightened the connectors and said the battery is fine.

Shambles · **Reply #5: June 21, 2017, 22:06:23**

Just dumping a thought here, though it doesn't marry with the reported worsening after a drive.

It's been reported that the MDPS can occasionally continue to draw power when the ignition is off. If I find time later I'll get some links up.

Oh, and

Markie · **Reply #6: June 21, 2017, 22:17:25**

Thanks mate. Appreciate the help. Apology for the random letters in the messages, fat fingers on a tiny keyboard.

Markie · **Reply #7: June 21, 2017, 22:22:23**

Also. After turning the car off I can here a faint alarm sound from the engine bay and then a relay click and the sound goes. Around 20-30 seconds.

Asterix · **Reply #8: June 22, 2017, 09:20:59**

Quote from: Markie on June 21, 2017, 22:22:23

Also. After turning the car off I can here a faint alarm sound from the engine bay and then a relay click and the sound goes. Around 20-30 seconds.

That's normal, I hope. Mine also do that...

I'm on the original battery with 9,5 years and 275,000 km.

diesel1984 · **Reply #9: June 22, 2017, 09:27:11**

I'm at 3rd battery right now after 9 years. Batteries this days don't last very long,not longer then 2-3 years.

Paolo5 · **Reply #10: June 22, 2017, 23:19:55**

My first battery expired after 51 weeks...and just made it replaceable (albeit begrudgingly by Hyundai) under warranty.

Their replacement was a Rocket (Korean brand) directly from Hyundai. This week marks the end of its 6th year of duty.

I have noticed that within the last fortnight, the starter is a tad more sluggish than I remember.

I plan to hit Autobarn tomorrow morning and get one of these:-

SuperCharge GoldPlus Battery MF80D26L-720CCA
at 30% off the listed price.

The original had 630CCA and this new one has 720CCA. I am hoping that the SuperCharge battery will be at least as good as the Rocket.

Phil №❶ · **Reply #11: June 23, 2017, 08:42:47**

Why not get the 810 cca for the same price

diesel1984 · **Reply #12: June 23, 2017, 08:59:51**

Quote from: Paolo5 on June 22, 2017, 23:19:55

My first battery expired after 51 weeks...and just made it replaceable (albeit begrudgingly by Hyundai) under warranty.

Their replacement was a Rocket (Korean brand) directly from Hyundai. This week marks the end of its 6th year of duty.

I have noticed that within the last fortnight, the starter is a tad more sluggish than I remember.

I plan to hit Autobarn tomorrow morning and get one of these:-
SuperCharge GoldPlus Battery MF80D26L-720CCA
at 30% off the listed price.

The original had 630CCA and this new one has 720CCA. I am hoping that the SuperCharge battery will be at least as good as the Rocket.

Oh my.. 229$ for a battery even with 30% off is too much.

I bought 74ah battery with 720CCA for 50 eur.

The Gonz · **Reply #13: June 23, 2017, 09:58:38**

Mine was fitted since new, worked flawlessly for 7 full years, and then was disconnected and left idle while Firty was in storage for 15 months. The battery soldiered on for another week when revived but showed signs of weakening. The type, brand and price are all here in the saga:

Jitters Over Firty's Revival

Paolo5 · **Reply #14: June 24, 2017, 10:25:22**

Quote from: Phil №❶ on June 23, 2017, 08:42:47

Why not get the 810 cca for the same price

Hi Phil,
I looked into that...the 810cca battery is physically too big to fit into the i30 battery 'insulation'....like Maxwell Smart used to say..."Missed it by that much!"

The Gonz · **Reply #15: June 24, 2017, 10:36:12**

I was down to a choice of SuperCheap v Battery World but it was actually only the Battery World item that would fit properly. And yes, by that much.

diesel1984 · **Reply #16: June 24, 2017, 12:41:18**

You don't have to buy that 220$ battery to fit i30 battery holder. Just cut the outer edge of lower holder and you can buy any other "normal" battery for 50$.

The Gonz · **Reply #17: June 24, 2017, 12:54:52**

I can see how that could work, but in my case I didn't have the time to muck around. I had a day to get the car moving and that included a full servicing.

"ns"

CraigB · **Reply #18: June 24, 2017, 13:13:06**

Quote from: diesel1984 on June 24, 2017, 12:41:18

You don't have to buy that 220$ battery to fit i30 battery holder. Just cut the outer edge of lower holder and you can buy any other "normal" battery for 50$.

Actually it's not a bad price for a premium gold plus battery, it'll out last the cheap crap ones

diesel1984 · **Reply #19: June 24, 2017, 22:09:42**

4 times?

Dazzler · **Reply #20: June 24, 2017, 22:46:13**

Quote from: diesel1984 on June 24, 2017, 22:09:42

4 times?

I think we've established before that batteries and tyres are generally a lot dearer in Australia than in the UK. We have some things affected less than others by our "Australia (isolation )Tax" but batteries and tyres are definitely dearer in general.

Without doing a big search now I haven't seen a decent car battery under $100 "off the shelf" for many years. I recently paid nearly $118 for a new ride on mower battery!

Markie · **Reply #21: July 06, 2017, 19:58:24**

Update: it was the battery lol. Alternator is fine. Bought a 63ah, 560CCA for £62 delivered.

Dazzler · **Reply #22: July 06, 2017, 20:10:45**

That's great to hear. Thanks for letting us know.

paul_h · **Reply #23: July 06, 2017, 22:34:08**

My 2009 plate Hyundai i30 Comfort demonstrated similar problems about three months back. Any power drain such as radio or lights being left on would affect the battery which was the original Hduty. Vehicle mileage abou 85k. It reached a point were the battery was incapable of starting the car even with a battery assist unit. Once the car had been jump started the battery would seemingly be good until the next time you sat in the car with say the radio on for a while. The battery was fully checked out a couple of times at Halfords and was given a clean bill of health. Also using my battery charger was telling me the battery was fully charged. Not being a battery expert I can only speculate and concluded that there was a periodic failure of a number of cells that testing could not reveal.
Solution :- I bought a new battery for about £60 and not had any problems since.