[pgh1949]

I've read on this forum of many people having issues with the 12v battery running down but I've been lucky so far. However just to be sure a while ago I bought a battery monitor to keep an eye on things. It's been showing how the battery gets a boost every 4 hours when not in use. See screenshot below...

But then it's suddenly changed and a couple of recent days show completely different behaviour...

In the last shot the peak was an automatic boost and I wasn't using the car. In all cases the car was not being charged. Now while I can see the battery is nice and stable at around 12.5v I can't understand why things have suddenly changed.

It has had all the recall updates and the last one was done about a week before things went screwy. I can’t see the indicator light in the front badge from the house so I can't say if it comes on or not. Has anyone else seen this behaviour?

 

[MikeS]

Mine shows that ‘different’ behaviour when it has been driven and for a short period afterwards. Then it goes back to the 4hr cycle.

 

[Dion Rust]

That’s interesting and strange at the same time.

Might be worth showing these graphs to the dealers, they might be able to apply a fix before the battery knackers out.

 

[Gadget Geek]

I've read on this forum of many people having issues with the 12v battery running down but I've been lucky so far. However just to be sure a while ago I bought a battery monitor to keep an eye on things. It's been showing how the battery gets a boost every 4 hours when not in use. See screenshot below...

View attachment 141602

But then it's suddenly changed and a couple of recent days show completely different behaviour...

View attachment 141603

View attachment 141604

In the last shot the peak was an automatic boost and I wasn't using the car. In all cases the car was not being charged. Now while I can see the battery is nice and stable at around 12.5v I can't understand why things have suddenly changed.

It has had all the recall updates and the last one was done about a week before things went screwy. I can’t see the indicator light in the front badge from the house so I can't say if it comes on or not. Has anyone else seen this behaviour?

I haven't been monitoring the 12V battery, but a couple of weeks ago I couldn't even open the doors as the battery was so depleted. Eventually I got the doors open and put it on charge. Since then it's been fine but I still don't know what caused it.

 

[esprit1st]

I haven't been monitoring the 12V battery, but a couple of weeks ago I couldn't even open the doors as the battery was so depleted. Eventually I got the doors open and put it on charge. Since then it's been fine but I still don't know what caused it.

Exact same thing here. The car gets driven regularly. Never any issues for the 2 years I had it. Then last weekend: battery dead!
I started it with a battery pack and left it on for a few hours. Since then all seems fine.

 

[Jflex4]

Can the 12V battery be charged by a "regular" car battery charger? the one i use for my ICE car?
I know that they are much less powerful than the ICE car batteries.

 

[KiwiME]

... But then it's suddenly changed and a couple of recent days show completely different behaviour... Has anyone else seen this behaviour?

It looks normal. After parking the aux battery charging cycle is for 20 minutes each every 4:20 hours for the first 56 hours, then it goes to once every 24:20 hours until you either drive it or charge it. EDIT: it's not entirely clear why the latter schedule did not sync to the prior.

The other glitches are due to either you doing things like opening a door or maybe querying the car using the app, or the car doing things on its own accord, all normal.

EDIT: I would suggest your 12V battery does seem a bit low on charge. A couple of hours in Utility mode should correct that. Depending on temperature charging should leave it closer to 13 V.

 

[peterca]

Can the 12V battery be charged by a "regular" car battery charger? the one i use for my ICE car?
I know that they are much less powerful than the ICE car batteries.

Yes, the 12 volt battery can be charged with a regular battery charger - although it is best to use an intelligent one which measures the state of the battery in deciding the charge level. The Kia e-Niro will also charge the battery if it is placed in utility mode - but I am not sure if that is available in the Kona.

 

[esprit1st]

The Kia e-Niro will also charge the battery if it is placed in utility mode - but I am not sure if that is available in the Kona.

Yes, otherwise my car wouldn't drive. That's exactly what I did. Left it in drive and utility mode for a few hours.

 

[EVlove]

I wonder if your Nina kona had received the latest updates?

 

[pgh1949]

It looks normal. After parking the aux battery charging cycle is for 20 minutes each every 4:20 hours for the first 56 hours, then it goes to once every 24:20 hours until you either drive it or charge it. EDIT: it's not entirely clear why the latter schedule did not sync to the prior.

The other glitches are due to either you doing things like opening a door or maybe querying the car using the app, or the car doing things on its own accord, all normal.

EDIT: I would suggest your 12V battery does seem a bit low on charge. A couple of hours in Utility mode should correct that. Depending on temperature charging should leave it closer to 13 V.

Thanks @KiwiME, that's very reassuring. I've not been driving much lately and even then only local trips of less than an hour. And yes, what you describe about querying the car with Bluelink ties in perfectly.

I'll keep an eye on things but I won't worry.

 

[Gadget Geek]

Can the 12V battery be charged by a "regular" car battery charger? the one i use for my ICE car?
I know that they are much less powerful than the ICE car batteries.

I used a regular charger on mine. Just avoid connecting to the battery sensor on the positive terminal (buggers up the sensor apparantly).

 

[esprit1st]

I wonder if your Nina kona had received the latest updates?

I have all updates. Other than the battery replacement

 

[peterca]

Yes, otherwise my car wouldn't drive. That's exactly what I did. Left it in drive and utility mode for a few hours.

Sorry, I do not think you understood my reply about utility mode because I cannot leave my e-Niro in both drive mode and utility mode at the same time. On the e-Niro (and I thought the Kona but may be wrong) you need to put the car into ready to drive mode and then switch to utility mode in the "convenience" menu. When switched to utility mode the car cannot be driven, but all the accessories are powered from the high voltage battery and the 12 volt battery is charged at the same time.

 

[esprit1st]

Oh yes, that's the same with the Kona. But why would you want both modes at the same time?
Although I do understand that going directly into utility mode would be nice, however when you go into utility mode it basically only deactivated the great switcher. They are basically the same.

 

[rompik]

@pgh1949 , what did you use to monitor the battery? (Sorry, I know there were some recommendations before).

My battery behaved well for couple of months... until today

• Drove yesterday 2x35 miles (about 1.5hrs in total). All door locked afterwards.
• Went to drop kids to school today morning. When starting the car it very briefly displayed a message about 12v battery - maybe half second.
• Drove and parked in school (5m away). Switched off & Switched on immediately - a message "12volt battery low. Please stop safely". But the car still switched on without issues.
• I kept the car in fully on state (ready to drive) for about 10 mins (we were too early to school) - to make sure it charges 12v battery.
• Dropped kids, came back, opened the car and message "no key in the car". Locked the car and then was not even able to open the door with physical key. Lots of click-click-click as if the car still tried to lock the doors.
• Finally managed to get in and use booster.
• Drove for 30 minutes and everything was working again. Parked for 2 hrs. Then went to lot of short journeys (5-7 miles) with parking time in between (anything for 30 minutes to 2 hrs) the battery was still fine.

I do use smart charger regularly for the last 12 months after last battery replacement but I do not feel it helps anything at all. It feels like sometimes the battery does not getting recharged at all. And then it works fine for a day, a week, couple of months.

I went through check at dealer already 10-15 times and nothing found. Like a software bug that happens randomly.

 

[KiwiME]

One thing that I've noticed that may have changed after the 196 update (which I only got in Dec last year) is that the Run mode 30 minute aux charging period seems to have either disappeared or is inconsistent. It used to charge solidly at 14.6 V for 30 minutes, or for as long as Run mode was engaged, irrespective of whether you were actually moving or not.

Subsequent to that 30 min period it would dither between a regulated 13.1 and 14.6 V, depending on what 12V loads are present. E.g, having AC on keeps it at the higher end. At all times however in Run mode it does not deplete the aux battery because 13.1 by itself is sufficiently high enough to avoid that.

Although I haven't specifically focused on this observation, during Run mode now the system appears to go straight into the dithering mode, which may not do a whole lot of charging.

The key to this is that opening the car and entering Run mode causes a moderate depletion of the aux battery while the system is waking up, ironically much like starting a diesel car with glow plugs. The Kona aux battery seems to be more dependant on the 4 hourly scheduled charging than it did before and as such short trips within a few hours may be taking a cumulative toll on the aux battery charge level.

With a BM-2 monitor (I wish I could get a commision on these) you can monitor this easily and quickly. When the (undisturbed by opening a door) battery voltage gets low, say under 12.5 V, one or two hours in Utility Mode will make up for the losses from those numerous short trips.

 

[pgh1949]

@pgh1949 , what did you use to monitor the battery? (Sorry, I know there were some recommendations before).

Hi @rompik this is what I got from Amazon.

Your problem certainly sounds like a duff 12v battery as all that time fully powered on should have been more than enough to charge the battery sufficiently.

While writing this reply I just checked my 12v battery and the usual charging cycle seems to have reestablished itself after an overnight charge and a couple of short drives yesterday (see below)

 

[rompik]

Thanks guys!
Today the story repeated itself. Started the car ok in the morning (no message about 12v battery anymore), took kids to school (12 mins drive), came back after 10 minutes, opened the car, and upon powering on (withg brake pedal depressed) the car "kinf of started" and displayed warning about 12v battery. Not possible to put to drive mode.
So I powered off and tried to power on but that was not successful - it complained about missing key in the car.
So I used booster again to start the car, drove 7 mins to local shop, parked came back after 10 minutes and everything was fine. Got home (another 5 mins drive), powered off, powered on and all is back to normal.

I need to get one of those BM2s asap.
@pgh1949 , Is this the one you have?
anmas power - Auto Battery Monitor BM2 Bluetooth 4.0 12V Device Car Battery Tester

I see several of them being sold under different brands. They are probably all the same thing - might use different apps.
What did you get? Which app are you using?

Many thanks!!!

 

[pgh1949]

I need to get one of those BM2s asap.
@pgh1949 , Is this the one you have?
anmas power - Auto Battery Monitor BM2 Bluetooth 4.0 12V Device Car Battery Tester

I see several of them being sold under different brands. They are probably all the same thing - might use different apps.
What did you get? Which app are you using?

Many thanks!!!

@rompik, yes that's the one. I'm pretty sure the app came with it (was listed in the documentation). It's Called "Battery Monitor" Mine's iOS, I can't speak for Android. The icon is an orange circle with an orange V in the centre.

Good luck!