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Battery going flat. It’s 5 months old

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Offline Hi30turbs

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Gday, I’ve recently bought a 2011 i30 CW Diesel. The battery is forever going flat and it’s a 5 month old genuine Hyundai battery. It’s a Delkor 5523L. I’m noticing the instrument panel on the dash flickers all the time. Could that flickers be a cause to draining the battery? Had battery tested and all comes up ok. Any help much appreciated. Thanks

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Online The Gonz

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The FD has had many cases of flickering dashboard, especially in warmer weather, but rarely causing battery drain. However, if the testing is passing, investigate the drain at the battery overall with an ammeter. Most voltmeters can be used as ammeters by using the correct cable socket positions, switching to 'current / Amps' and placing the meter in series between one of the posts and its clamp. With the car not running and no lights on, see what current you measure.
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Offline TerryT

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...The battery is forever going flat and it’s a 5 month old genuine Hyundai battery. It’s a Delkor 5523L.

Further to Gonz's post above, and just in case you didn't know, your battery is experiencing "parasitic draw" or "parasitic drain".  Most vehicles experience a little battery draw, even if all the electronic components are turned off, but your battery has a nasty case of it.

Typically, the normal amount of parasitic draw is say, between 50~85mA (0.5~0.85A) in newer cars and less than 50mA (0.5A) for older cars (your 12-y-o car?).

You can get more information about the cause and the cure of this problem by looking it up on say, YouTube.  I would limit myself to following videos posted by workshops, mechanics, battery manufacturers/retailers, or reliable contributors like "Chris Fix" or "Eric the Car Guy".

The usual steps are.
1. Using a multimeter, measure what is the battery's current draw, as explained by Gonz above. 
2. Locate the source of the draw, which is often the most tedious part of the process. 

I cannot remember whether your car's age (2011) makes it okay to pull out car fuses, one by one, until the multimeter registers a drop in the draw on the screen (which means that particular fuse controls the circuit responsible for the draw).  On newer cars the "pull fuses" technique is often not recommended.  See the YouTube videos.   

Following all of the numerous but simple steps is important to get the right result.  For example, I switch off everything in the car; remove ignition key (and store about 2m away), let the car 'rest' for say, an hour (to let the car's computers go to sleep); ensure the boot is closed (so no boot light on); disable the bonnet switch, if fitted, etc etc.
« Last Edit: March 14, 2024, 01:27:02 by TerryT »
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Offline Hi30turbs

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Thanks mate I will look into for sure. Appreciate your advice.
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Offline TerryT

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Thanks mate I will look into for sure. Appreciate your advice.

No problems, hope you can sort it out.  (BTW, I have edited my post to show your car's correct year is 2011, not 2010 as I originally misread.  A small error but annoying to us Virgo's if left uncorrected :)).
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Online The Gonz

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This Leo can confirm the fuse pulling in sequence to isolate current draw is safe on the FD.
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Offline TerryT

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Thanks mate I will look into for sure. Appreciate your advice.

No problems, hope you can sort it out. 

@Hi30turbs.  Just curious.  How did you go finding and/or sorting out the problem?
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