That is far too high. I would recheck that voltage with another meter, and if confirmed, it would suggest the alternator's voltage control pack is faulty.
Kia Picanto parasitic battery draw
- Thread starter SenileGit
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That is far too high. I would recheck that voltage with another meter, and if confirmed, it would suggest the alternator's voltage control pack is faulty.
Would a fault code get flagged if the alternator was supplying too high of a voltage?
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Not necessarily on its own.
But lots of codes might get flagged by voltage "triggers"
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I've checked the battery voltage, while the engine was running, with a better quality multimeter, it says 14.48V, no fluctuations.
I have thrown out the other multimeter, and I'm going to buy an even better quality one, that I know I can rely on (i.e. not some no name brand from Ebay, but from RS Electronics or some other proper company).
I will also be fitting the kill switch in a few days, because I've just found battery terminal adaptors for Japanese cars (even though the Picanto is Korean, I think) that fit over the little terminals on the battery, and will let me use the kill switch.
I also can't get the keyfob to open the doors, I have to manually use the key. I am just watching a video on how to fix that. If I am sitting in the car and I press the driver door button down, all the others go down too, so it looks like the door lock motors are all working fine.
But at least it looks like I won't have to replace the alternator!
I've found my car code reader (in the back footwell of the car, just after I bought a new one on Ebay for £12 last night!) and I will plug that in and see if it shows any error codes too.
I have thrown out the other multimeter, and I'm going to buy an even better quality one, that I know I can rely on (i.e. not some no name brand from Ebay, but from RS Electronics or some other proper company).
I will also be fitting the kill switch in a few days, because I've just found battery terminal adaptors for Japanese cars (even though the Picanto is Korean, I think) that fit over the little terminals on the battery, and will let me use the kill switch.
I also can't get the keyfob to open the doors, I have to manually use the key. I am just watching a video on how to fix that. If I am sitting in the car and I press the driver door button down, all the others go down too, so it looks like the door lock motors are all working fine.
But at least it looks like I won't have to replace the alternator!
I've found my car code reader (in the back footwell of the car, just after I bought a new one on Ebay for £12 last night!) and I will plug that in and see if it shows any error codes too.
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I've just discovered that when the 10A 'R/LP' fuse is removed (as shown in the photos in my post on page 3 of this thread), the keyfob doesn't work. So I've put the fuse back in, the keyfob works fine, but the boot warning light on the dashboard is on all the time now. I have squirted WD40 into the boot lock mechanism, in case that helps, but it hasn't made any difference. So as OldSalt said on the first page of this thread - I need to fix the boot light/switch!
I have disconnected the battery again, I will work on the boot switch tomorrow, I know the replacement switches are only £10-£15 on Ebay.
I have run my code scanner, there are no error codes - in case anybody else needs to know, the OBD2 port is under the dash on the driver's side, i.e. under where the fusebox is, but in the centre-ish - underneath all the plastic of the dashboard, you have to get right down low to see it.
I have disconnected the battery again, I will work on the boot switch tomorrow, I know the replacement switches are only £10-£15 on Ebay.
I have run my code scanner, there are no error codes - in case anybody else needs to know, the OBD2 port is under the dash on the driver's side, i.e. under where the fusebox is, but in the centre-ish - underneath all the plastic of the dashboard, you have to get right down low to see it.
I was once caught out by an old Sinclair digital meter, on a job. It read 300v on a 240v circuit. It had been stored in the boot, which had leaked water. Since then, I have never assumed any single meter reads correctly, always have three to hand, then if one value seems a little unusual, test with the other two.
My multimeter read 19v when testing my sterling B2B charger (should have been around 14v). Fortunately, before throwing the charger and the meter I changed the battery in the meter and all was well - there is a low battery icon on the screen but it wasn't on.
I googled Kia drain and watched a vid about a guy who's sun visor vanity light would do all sorts of funny things if left in the "on" position.
I googled Kia drain and watched a vid about a guy who's sun visor vanity light would do all sorts of funny things if left in the "on" position.
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I have just tried to find the boot switch which tells the car the boot is open, but for the life of me, I can't find it. I have removed the plastic cover inside the boot lid, and I can see the inside part of the boot handle, but I can't work out where the switch is.
All the videos I can find online show a switch that is somehow attached to the boot handle, but these are for more recent models of Kia cars, mine is 2009. I don't see how a switch on the handle can be telling the car that the boot is open, since the handle will be in the closed position when the boot is up and open. I presume the switch/sensor I am looking for knows what position the catch is in, because that is either 'locked' or 'unlocked'.
All the videos I can find online show a switch that is somehow attached to the boot handle, but these are for more recent models of Kia cars, mine is 2009. I don't see how a switch on the handle can be telling the car that the boot is open, since the handle will be in the closed position when the boot is up and open. I presume the switch/sensor I am looking for knows what position the catch is in, because that is either 'locked' or 'unlocked'.
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So far as I know, my own car has no such switches, rather they are some sort of sensor, maybe Hall Effect - don't know, I've never had reason to seek them out. What ever the trigger mechanism, that feeds into a LSM (light switch module), which controls all the lighting on the car, and can be reprogrammed, to do various things such as leave the headlights, or tail lights on, for a period, after you get out of the car.
Opening a door, any door, or the boot, fades all interior, and boot lighting on, close them, and they fade back off. Leave the boot, or a door open, and undisturbed for 20 minutes, and the lights are shut off automatically to save the battery. Close and reopen the door, then the 20 minutes restarts. My guess is that you perhaps have a similar system, which is intermittently retriggering the system, hence your flattened battery.
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Yes, I think that's what's going on, Harry.
I still can't work out what the boot switch actually does - this sort of switch:
It fits behind the boot handle, so it senses when the handle is pulled open - but what does it do then? On my Picanto, when you pull the boot handle, there is a lever attached inside, which is attached to a metal rod, which goes down to the 'claw' and opens it. (There are two other metal rods which also go to the 'claw' - one is from the key operated lock, the other is from a flat motor, that is part of the central locking. All the rods go to the same place, but operate independently of each other.)
So I can't understand what the car does with the signal that it receives from this switch, and therefore I can't understand why it's there! And as you say, it's probably some sort of sensor. Which I can't find!
If I can't work it out for myself by the end of tomorrow, I'll just take the car to my local garage, they can probably fix it with their eyes closed.
I still can't work out what the boot switch actually does - this sort of switch:
It fits behind the boot handle, so it senses when the handle is pulled open - but what does it do then? On my Picanto, when you pull the boot handle, there is a lever attached inside, which is attached to a metal rod, which goes down to the 'claw' and opens it. (There are two other metal rods which also go to the 'claw' - one is from the key operated lock, the other is from a flat motor, that is part of the central locking. All the rods go to the same place, but operate independently of each other.)
So I can't understand what the car does with the signal that it receives from this switch, and therefore I can't understand why it's there! And as you say, it's probably some sort of sensor. Which I can't find!
If I can't work it out for myself by the end of tomorrow, I'll just take the car to my local garage, they can probably fix it with their eyes closed.
Two terminals/wires, so I would guess at a reed switch, operated by a magnet. Basically, a metal strip, encased in a sealed glass tube. Put is near a magnet, the metal strip will move to either make, or break the contact.
You can test its operation with a continuity meter, and a magnet.
Kia forums would suggest the boot light switch
“is located right next to the catch under the flap at the rear of the trunk floor. “
“is located right next to the catch under the flap at the rear of the trunk floor. “
Hall sensor effect.