Weird electrical issues

cookiebun

Active Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2008
Messages
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Car(s)
a bad one
I have a 2004 Kia Optima EX V6. The battery was a year old in November. The car has not been driven much since May when I lost my job. When I got the oil changed in December they said the battey's "Cold crank" was too low an I should replace it. I told them the battery was under warranty still so I'd look in to it. Anyway, the car has recently developed some weird electrical problems. First the "open trunk" light would not go off when the car was off. I was afraid it would drain the battery so I disconnected the light bulb in the trunk. That worked for when the car is off but the "trunk open" light on stays on when the car is running now. Secondly, every time I turn the car on it wants to run the AC at 25c. I usually crank the heat to the max (32c) but it doesn't stay at that temp. Also, the blower settings aren't saved either. I direct the heat to the floor but when I turn the car on it's blowing on the windshield. I didn't used to have to reset this every time I turned the car on. Finally, I no longer have a clock. It's totally gone. Does anyone have any idea what's wrong with my car? At the moment, I'm letting it run for an hour. Thanks in advance for any help.
 
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Start with charging your battery and see what happens after that
 
Start with charging your battery and see what happens after that
Will running the car for an hour get it fully charged?
I just noticed I have no radio/CD player either.
 
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Indeed, if you had no other option then driving it is the best way as you need to get the revs up. Most post-2000 cars will hate having a low battery, I speak from experience as Bugsy goes loopy on a low battery.
 
Depends on how depleted it is, but the best way is to hook it up to a charger over night
I don't have a charger. I Live in an apartment and have no automotive tools of any kind.
 
August 2018 I came back to my 2012 Jeep Patriot showing weird electrical issues similar to yours, first and foremost, you’re going to need to drive more regularly if you don’t have a charger or any means to get/barrow one. 30 minutes A day for a week may help. The next step would be to check the battery terminals and/or clean them. If the car has sat, you would need to check any grounds that are near possible places of water like say, rainwater running down an edge and dripping onto or near some grounds/earths. Sometimes moisture can cause issues. Another one I saw on Eric The Car Guy was making sure the top of your battery is clean. Build up of junk and cause a battery to drain as the junk can become “live” so to speak.

Once you can verify all that is good, you have to either get some tools or take it somewhere and have it looked at. My Jeep issue was down to a couple things, dirty batter connectors on the posts, and a corroded connector in the engine bay fuse box.
 
August 2018 I came back to my 2012 Jeep Patriot showing weird electrical issues similar to yours, first and foremost, you’re going to need to drive more regularly if you don’t have a charger or any means to get/barrow one. 30 minutes A day for a week may help. The next step would be to check the battery terminals and/or clean them. If the car has sat, you would need to check any grounds that are near possible places of water like say, rainwater running down an edge and dripping onto or near some grounds/earths. Sometimes moisture can cause issues. Another one I saw on Eric The Car Guy was making sure the top of your battery is clean. Build up of junk and cause a battery to drain as the junk can become “live” so to speak.

Once you can verify all that is good, you have to either get some tools or take it somewhere and have it looked at. My Jeep issue was down to a couple things, dirty batter connectors on the posts, and a corroded connector in the engine bay fuse box.
Thanks for the replies. I think I;'m going to try replacing at least 3 of the fuses in the passenger compartment. I will check for corrosion on the battery and fuse box connectors too.
 
Thanks for the replies. I think I;'m going to try replacing at least 3 of the fuses in the passenger compartment. I will check for corrosion on the battery and fuse box connectors too.

Why replace fuses? I wouldn’t replace them just because. If you have a multimeter and can measure resistance through the fuse, then yes because I’ve seen that before. I’d only replace the fuses if there’s a clear break in it.
 
also, replacing fuses in corroded connectors won't do much to the problem!
 
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