[scar4ace]

Hi all

Wonder if you can please give me some advice - noob alert

I have a Hyun 2007 i30 2.0 Petrol SX - great drive.  went off on holiday for around 2 months and, predictably, have returned to a flat battery.

First indication was when I tried to unlock the car and the remote key fob unlock didn't work. I unlocked the car manually with the key, plugged in key in ignition and turned it - but nothing back - just plain dead, no sound, no lights.

Should I attempt jump starting from a donor car?

Alternately I have been reading up on battery chargers for cars -  For those in Aus, I saw some battery chargers on  Bunnings websites ranging from 12V on wards - Are these the type I need (e.g. AEG Rapid Charger http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_product_aeg-rapid-charger-12v18v_39370.aspx?search=battery+charger&searchType=any&searchSubType=products )

The i30 manual says I should only jump start from a donor battery of 12V however no voltage rating is given for battery chargers.

Also the manual doesnt really say how to disconnect the battery - Google tells me I need a wrench and to disconnect the negative then positive, move the batter to a ventilated area and then charge it (the i30 manual seems to suggest a 2 hour charge on 20-30A)

Any advice would be much much appreciated

regards
Sam

That is not what you want, that's a power tool charger!

Something more like this: http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/Calibre-Battery-Charger-12V-4-Amp-3-Stage-Intelligent-Pulse.aspx?pid=276835#Description although you will probably find one cheaper but it will look similar, with fly leads with a black and a red bulldog clip.

Don't try to jumper start from another car, the battery is too flat. Instead get a cheap charger like above and leave on overnight. Disconnect the charger then start it in the morning. If it doesn't start (crank over easily) then the battery is probably stuffed or you didn't connect the charger properly.

Others might disagree but I personally wouldn't bother disconnecting the battery terminals and I certainly wouldn't remove the battery. Just take care to connect the charger the right way around and leave the bonnet up or at least cracked open for ventilation.

BTW welcome.

[Keith]

I agree with Pip but I would disconnect the +ve terminal... Just me! 

[eye30]

Personally I'd play safer again and disconect both terminals, leave battery in the car a charge

[scar4ace]

Thanks Guys

Ill head in to repco/bunnings to get the battery charger similar to above - the price range is suitable too!  I wont try jump starting it.

One question - the charger would probably need to be connected to mains overnight too? In that case Ill have to d/c battery and transfer it to my apartment as the car is parked in a basement garage with no mains socket that I can use.

I havent d/c a battery before - google has some info ( use a wrench, -ve first, then +ve etc) but it has some dire warnings as well (explosions, burning hands, the full works) - Do you reckon I should be Ok to do it first time? I can d/c it bring it home and leave it on charger overnight....

Would these battery chargers have some indication/reading of the voltage level of the battery once I hook them up (i.e. so I monitor it for over charging etc) - Also I suppose I need to bring it up to around 12-14v ?

thanks HEAPS!.

[AlanHo]

Only charge a battery indoors in a well ventilated room and in a cool location. I have done it plenty of times and I'm still here.

Only buy a reputable brand of charger - the no-name Chinese ones are not to be trusted

A good charger will have :-
Auto overload and short circuit protection
A charge indicator
Amp meter
Polarity reverse protection
Sturdy clamp type connectors
Colour coded leads

You don't need to worry about voltage - a 12 hour charge should be adequate to get the car going. You will see high amps at first but the amps will steadily fall as the battery charge builds up - until eventually it is just trickling.

[Dazzler]

Welcome scar4ace,

5 years is roughly the life of a car battery although some last longer.. and when they get this flat there is a possibility they will not charge up very well...

Maybe you should lash out and get some short cut bacon (sorry Subway) I mean a new battery 

[Surferdude]

I agree with most of the above.
If you are charging in your unit, can you do it on a balcony?
Also, buy from Repco not Bunnings. Tell them what you need and they'll guide you a bit.
However, the battery is, if original, 5 years old.
Maybe you're better off putting the cost of the charger towards a new battery. The old one's not going to last much longer if it went flat sitting for only two months.

[Surferdude]

^^
Damn. Dazz is a faster typist than I am.

Great minds and all that.

IMO everyone needs a charger sooner or later. Name anyone you know that's never had a flat battery!

I'll bet that both Daz and Surfer have one. 

[Surferdude]

IMO everyone needs a charger sooner or later. Name anyone you know that's never had a flat battery!

I'll bet that both Daz and Surfer have one. 

Sorry. No.
Not since my rallying days (pre 1985).
Haven't had a battery go flat since then that wasn't dead and needed replacing.

[scar4ace]

Guys thanks for the awesome advice!

Yep, The battery is just 4 months short of its 5 year life cycle so I guess I better of getting it replaced (will also invest in a battery charger once I absorb this cost - see if I can get a good deal for one the $70 mark looks reasonable for something this useful).

NRMA willing to replace for a callout of $60 (no breakdown service - will sign up soon  ) and they have 4 battery options - I am going to confirm to them soon, but if anyone has an idea on what battery to get would be appreciated - the 4 options they have (nrma brand) are:

-  $99 (1 yr warranty),
- $129 (2 yr warranty),
- $189 (2 yr warranty, more powerful - thats what he told me),
- and $193 (3 yr warranty, even more powerful - again sales rep words).

They havent revealed any techie details not that I know what to ask, but im gonna check the battery on my car to get more info. - I only need the car for 6 months so the $99 1-year warranty is fine for me, but I dont want to use/sell it with an el-cheapo battery

Thanks in advance!, your advice is very much appreciated.
S

[Surferdude]

If it's sold by the NRMA and you are trading/selling the car in six months, the 1 year option should be fine. Under normal circumstances I'd go for option 3.
But if it's $99 plus $60 call out, why don't you jsut go to your nearest Supercheap Autos or K Mart Tyre & Auto and save yourself $60?

[scar4ace]

Yea i got a quote from hyundai dealer for $150 to pickup battery (AC dolko, 2.5 yr warranty) but im not too familiar with the whole works of replacing it,  although it looks easy enough its a learning curve I guess.  i dont have a second car so ill cost me to bring the battery back home too.

dont have much choice i guess and if they can sort it out in next hour and a half then ill be mobile that much faster

ill go for the first option then

cheers guys. once sorted ill post my happy ending here.

If you are not confident with the DIY approach (and you seem reluctant) just go with the professional replacement. In which case you don't need to buy a charger because you will not likely ever use it.

Just because the current battery is near 5 years old does not mean it has reached end of life - I would expect much longer. It still might respond to a charge but of course it's an unknown.

If not too late, against my earlier advice, can I suggest you try a jump start. I said not to bother initially because charging properly was a better option but it will always start with good jumpers and then after 5 or 10 minutes running on a fast idle (remove jumpers immediately it starts) turn off and try to restart. If it starts or shows very good indication that the battery has regained some life I'd take that to mean it will respond well to a proper recharge and does not need replacing. In fact if it restarts easily I'd just take it for a good half hour's drive and call it quits.

So long as you go on reasonably longish drives for the next several days the battery should recharge from the alternator ok. Even if you have to buy the jumper leads you will have saved some dosh, and just like I reckon a charger is a good accessory to have I always carry jumper leads. 

[scar4ace]

thanks Pip

Just got sorted actually. I was inclined to jump start it but it the battery was completely unresponsive - NRMA dude meausred voltage it was at 0V and he said it needed replacing and charging it wouldnt work for long. Looks like I had left a light on - plus a phone charger in the 5V power socket even though unplugged it seems it wasnt a good idea.

So I got it replaced - he suggested not going for the $99 option as it rated CA 420 whereas my existing (old) one was CA450 so the like for like was the $159 option (not $129 as I initially thought) + $60 = $219 and now on the road. 2 year warranty. 

Next time I travel I will disconnect the -ve terminal. Theres only 3 points to remove the battery (+ve and -Ve terminals, and a hidden one near the base of the battery). Am I Ok simply disconnecting the one negative terminal and leaving the battery in? (thats what NRMA mechanic advised me)

Despite the 2-year warranty for battery am I ok to assume it should last me (if kept well) atleast 5 years? I am told this is maintenance free so should not be doing anything maintenance wise to the battery.

One interesting thing I noticed with the battery dead I couldn't acces the rear boot space where the tyre/tools stay?!? it has no key hole and the unlock wouldnt work cause of the battery. There should be a work around in an emergency?

Again much thanks to all.

regards

A push start was not going to work on a dead flat battery but a jump start (connect to another battery) would have. In fact NMRA etc can always do that, and me being a tight arse would have asked for that to see what happened as I suggested above .  Lead acid batteries do not like being fully discharged so there was always a chance that it was stuffed. I wouldn't have made that diagnosis without trying to charge it myself and 0 volts simply means it was very flat (which you already knew) but not necessarily stuffed .

All academic now and you have your car back. You are a few bucks lighter but you are going. 

WRT your other questions: I've had batteries last in excess of 10 years. You can open the hatch manually when no power is available by crawling through inside and opening a cover in the inside of the hatch to access the mechanism. Check it out some time so you know where it is for next time. 

And to add, no need to disconnect the battery unless idle for an extended time, say 4+ weeks. It will be a PITA because you will lose all the preset info for the radio etc. Just undo the negative. A better alternative would be to buy a solar panel trickle charger and leave all connected.

[Surferdude]

thanks Pip

One interesting thing I noticed with the battery dead I couldn't acces the rear boot space where the tyre/tools stay?!? it has no key hole and the unlock wouldnt work cause of the battery. There should be a work around in an emergency?

regards

Yep. There is. From the back seat, lay down one of the seats and reach through to the little toggle in the base of the tailgate.
Open it up first and you'll see it just above the bottom lip, behind a cover.
It's explained in your manual.

[Shambles]

Do you guys not get a "memory fuse" in your cabin fusebox?

It's a non-removable fuse that simply pulls up from its base, removing power to potential drain points. Designed to reduce the chances of coming home to a dead set of cells.

[Surferdude]

Do you guys not get a "memory fuse" in your cabin fusebox?

It's a non-removable fuse that simply pulls up from its base, removing power to potential drain points. Designed to reduce the chances of coming home to a dead set of cells.

Don't know. I'll have to have a look.
Meanwhile, I'm off to see "Storm Surfers 3D".

[AlanHo]

The fuse box in my dashboard has a switch marked “Fuse Switch”. There is no mention of this in the owners manual for when you change fuses – so what exactly might it do.

[Shambles]

Good pics. You do seem to have two memory fuses though (bottom left) tho what that fuse switch is for is for you to find out and let us know anybodys guess.

[Dazzler]

Interesting thread ...Glad Trev and I were right  (only kidding Pip) 

[eye30]

Here is another take on this saga.

Can you borrow a charger or jump start as shown in your handbook.

If so and before you shell out for a new battery or indeed a new charger, charge it up and then go to a battery supplier and ask them to do a "drop test".

By doing the "drop test" it will show whether the battery will hold its charge.

This will then give you the evidence as to whether to buy a new battery.



Amended as an idea for others to try before buying a new battery.

[Dazzler]

Bit late now Lester 

New Battery is a done deal 

Interesting thread ...Glad Trev and I were right  (only kidding Pip) 

So the fella that sells the batteries says "I measure 0 volts so it needs a new one!" is to be trusted? We already new it was flat but its ability to be recharged was never tested.

Sorry, case not proven.

In any case his customer was happy so I'm not suggesting he did the wrong thing, just that his ready diagnosis of dead battery was questionable.

[Surferdude]

Interesting thread ...Glad Trev and I were right  (only kidding Pip) 

So the fella that sells the batteries says "I measure 0 volts so it needs a new one!" is to be trusted? We already new it was flat but its ability to be recharged was never tested.

Sorry, case not proven.

In any case his customer was happy so I'm not suggesting he did the wrong thing, just that his ready diagnosis of dead battery was questionable.

I was going to say the NRMA guys should be dependable but then I remembered many years ago when a lady arrived in my store after a new battery. The RACQ had come and tested her battery and proclaime dit "dead" then jump started her so she coule drive in for a new one.
I lifted the bonnet and could see something which didn't look right. Grabbed the earth lead at the terminal and lifted it off. Tightened it up, tested it, including SG as we did in those days and a load test. Turned the car off and it started easily.
The battery lasted another two years and the lady was not impressed with the RACQ.

[Phil №❶]

I figure the battery could have been revived, however, the way to do this is a nice slow, low amp charge, not >4amps. At 0 volts, some chargers, like mine, will not charge the battery at all. Water level should be checked and topped up prior to charging with demineralised water. Charging batteries emit Hydrogen & oxygen in the stoichometric ratio and will explode if ignited, so a well ventilated area is required. My charger was a 4 amp RMS cheapie and I added a voltage sensing kit from Jaycar and can now leave it connected 24/7 at a preset 14.5 volts, so the battery thinks the car is always running.