12v battery or DC Conterter problem?

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FerdSoul

New member
Joined
Oct 10, 2018
Messages
1
2017 Kia Soul EV +
4,800 miles

Day 1: Car won’t turn on, Internal electronics won’t turn on. Borrowed trickle charger and charged overnight.
12v = 5.12v.

Day 3: Car won’t turn on, internal electronics won’t turn on. Called Kia Roadside Assistance. Tow Truck Driver verified battery problem, and needed the physical key to open the door. Towed to Kia of Escondido. I called for a status, but didn’t receive a call back.

Day 6: I called again for status, nobody knew. Was called back later by Daniel, saying the battery tested good by Kia Service. I protested, asked to let the car sit for a day and test again.
12v = 13.95v.

Day 7: The car battery tested good by Kia Service. Interesting, the battery voltage increased from day 6 to 7. This infers that they charged the battery enough to release it back to me, or that the car itself charged the battery.
12v = 14.45v

It ran fine and got me home. However, when I got home, the charge door would not open. I manually opened it with a release cable hidden under the hood. When I plugged in the Level-2 charger, the charge lights would blink, which indicates a problem.
12v = 7.87v.

Day 8: The car did not charge the main battery, and the 12v battery was dead again. I called Daniel for instructions. I confirmed with him that the battery was dead and that the car needed to be towed back to Kia. I called Kia Roadside Assistance again and had the car towed to Kia of Escondido.

Day 9: Called for update. Received call back the the battery was swapped and everything was fixed.

Day 10: Picked up the car and drove it home. The main battery charged okay.

Day 11 (Sunday): The car exhibited the same issues when the 12v battery was dead before. I sent a text to Daniel, who replied that he would contact his Manager for further instructions.

Day 12 (Day 13): I asked Daniel that I would like a call from his Manager.
Daniel called, but Manager not available. Advised to call Kia Roadside Assistance and request a tow to the dealer. Tow truck driver arrives, and the car starts. The battery is at 11.50v and dropping. There is definitely something wrong with the car, so I have it towed.

Day 14: Second request to speak with Daniel’s Manager. Still no call from Manager. Asked for Daniel to drive the car home.

Question: Why is the 12v battery dead at home, but shows full voltage at the dealer? When does the DC Converter charge the 12v battery?
 
Did you ever figure out what was wrong? It sounds like a DC-DC converter problem. If you plug a volt meter into the power port in the car, the voltage should be in the 13-14.x range while driving. That is what I see with mine. Alternatively, if you have access to Torque Pro and an OBDII reader to match you can read the voltage from the car.
 
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