[AlanHo]

I joined the esteemed flat battery club today.

This morning I went to the garage to collect the car in order to be the chauffeur to take my wife to visit her sister.  I found that the car battery was totally flat.  Whilst I dislike visiting my sister in law I was not pleased to find that the car had joined forces.

By flat I mean completely exhausted - the key fob would not open the doors and when I used the key to open the driver's door nothing electrical would come alive.
The battery was completely and utterly fu fu fu fu fu fu flat.

I checked the car to see if anything had been left on - but all light switches were off, the hatch was fully closed - as was the bonnet - and nothing was plugged into the power sockets.

The car was last used 48 hours ago and I was unable to find any reason for the flat battery.

I plugged in my charger and an hour later (late) the car started and ran OK.  I had to reset the date and time setting and was surprised to see that the sat-nav had retained the favourites. It is now back in the garage with the trickle charger trickling away overnight  - but I am slightly nervous of a repeat performance

[Dazzler]

Don't you hate these unexplained failures. 

[asathorny]

Didja check the map light UNDER the sun visor 

[Dazzler]

Didja check the map light UNDER the sun visor 

It's only a Kia mate (do they run to such luxuries?) 

[asathorny]

Didja check the map light UNDER the sun visor 

It's only a Kia mate (do they run to such luxuries?) 

 

[Shambles]

Didja check the map light UNDER the sun visor 

It's only a Kia mate (do they run to such luxuries?) 

All joking aside, I'm fairly sure those Kia's are equipped with sun visors

[AlanHo]

Didja check the map light UNDER the sun visor 

Yes - I also checked that the car cams (front and back) were off and that the halogen fluid in both headlights were topped to the correct level.

The auto gear lever was in park and the glove box lid was closed

The driver and passenger heated seats were off and the radio was not set to radio Flatulence

I believe that my checks were quite thorough......

[eye30]

Look on the positive side alan, 1 hour less with the sil.

Or was the negative, just a little dash of ionised water.....

[wbm00]

Is there a way to test how full a battery is, using a multi-meter (I've heard measuring voltage may not tell the full story)? Just wondering whether you could try and measure the state of the battery at specific intervals to try and isolate the drain, assuming it's not the battery itself.

The Toyota Auris had a known issue which may be of interest in case it's something Kia aren't aware of as yet: Toyota Auris owners - 12 volt flat batteries - Toyota

[AlanHo]

I cannot remember ever experiencing a flat battery before. It would be OK if I had been able to detect the reason - but I didn't. Hence it will make me nervous about when the problem might hit me again. I left the car at a Heathrow hotel for 9 days two weeks ago and it started fine when we got back to the UK on a freezing cold evening at about 10 pm.  I would have been totally pissed off if it had happened then.

Lester - you are uncannily right to point out the other side of the coin - an hour without the SIL is pure unadulterated heaven.

[asathorny]

it's good to see your sense of humour is still in tact Alan.

I am sure that your battery is not FUBAR, a good trickle charge and get someone to check out that all the doors and tailgate and other battery draining devices are shut/off/closed properly, ya know what you old coffin dodgers are like dontcha   

[FatBoy]

I had something similar with my ute. We returned from our holiday to Hong Kong to find the battery totally dead, after only one week in the shed. I found it unusual as I often leave it for two weeks at the airport when I travelled to work.

Haven't had a recurrence since.

[Phil №❶]

SG of the electrolyte is the only way to test for capacity, but some batteries are sealed. Failing that, a load test which requires a bit of fiddling around to do is one other way.

If it was mine, I'd be connecting a multimeter in series and measure the current when parked and locked. If the electric steering is not switching off you will have a blat fattery next day.

[Shambles]

The Venga appears to employ MDPS, like the i30.

There are reports of the MDPS remaining alive for lengthy periods when the key has been removed, resulting in a fart buttery.

[Aussie Keith]

Alan it has been my experience that when a battery inexplicably goes flat overnight, its likely to have suffered irreversible internal damage. Charging will make it work again briefly however it will continue to go flat, always at an inconvenient time. I'd suggest getting it load tested and if necessary replaced without delay.