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Battery Discharge Warning Hyundai [Check THIS first]

Hyundai often displays a warning message stating “Battery Discharge Warning.”

Technically, a battery discharge warning does not translate into a bad battery, but it is the current state of your Hyundai car battery.

The Battery Discharge warning on your Hyundai indicates that your vehicle’s battery is draining quicker than it’s charging, indicating something wrong with your Hyundai car. This notice will appear on the display, infotainment system, or dashboard. 

You will get a ‘Battery Discharge Warning‘ if your Hyundai car battery continuously loses charge, and it does not matter if your Hyundai car is switched on and charging.

This occurs when the current into your battery is less than the current out of it.

Battery Discharge Warning Kia and Hyundai

You don’t need to worry about getting a ‘Battery Discharge Warning’ while your engine is switched off.

It will probably take 6-8 hours of radio usage before your battery fully drains. However, getting this message while driving indicates your battery is bad and will need replacement.

This blog will discuss all possible reasons for a ‘Batter Discharge Warning” and how to fix them.

You can fix the battery discharge warning by switching on your Hyundai car or by turning off your radio, lights, climate control, etc., you are using at the moment. You may also need to replace your Hyundai car battery or look for why you are getting this warning. You can also bypass the warning system in a few models.

Are you looking for a new battery and other parts for your car? Check this Amazon parts configurator.

What does a battery discharge warning mean?

You will get a battery discharge warning to inform you that your Hyundai car battery is not charging and is being continuously discharged.

In short, a battery discharge warning is not an error or does not translate into the state of the battery being good or bad.

However, in some cases, this can be a sign of a BAD Hyundai car battery if you get this message while your Hyundai car engine is turned on or driving your Hyundai car.

The 12 V battery system powers the electrical system of your Hyundai car.

Following items in your Hyundai car won’t need a key to be switched on.

  1. Hyundai Car Lights
  2. Hazard Lights
  3. Dashcams

So, if you turn on these items and your Hyundai car battery is not fully charged, you will get an error of “Battery discharge Warning.” Of course, you won’t get this error all the time if your battery is fully charged.

The following Items will start withdrawing power before you start your Hyundai car engine, but the rest of the system is turned on.

  1. Power Windows
  2. Seat Adjustments and Seat Heating
  3. Steering Adjustments
  4. Wind Wipers and Wiper Fluid Pump
  5. Radiator Fan
  6. Radio and Infotainment System
  7. Air Conditioning System (Only fans)
  8. Electronic Control Modul (ECM) with all sensors and system check

You are more likely to get a “Battery Discharge Warning” if you keep your Hyundai car in this state; the battery will continuously discharge. After receiving this warning, you should stop doing so or switch on your Hyundai car engine to recharge your battery.

The following Items will withdraw current from your Hyundai car battery when your engine is turned on.

  1. Steering System
  2. Braking System
  3. Cooling System
  4. Alternator (Only once at the time of starting your Hyundai car)

The alternator will keep your Hyundai car battery charged when your engine is switched on. But, if your Hyundai car battery is terrible state and it’s still not charging correctly, you may get a “Battery Discharge Warning,” which means you should replace it ASAP.

However, you will more likely get this message when your Hyundai car is standing still with your engine turned on. This is because the Hyundai car alternator produces more power and can charge your Hyundai car battery more quickly when your Hyundai car is running.

Other factors that can discharge your Hyundai car battery quickly!

So we discussed all the usual ways to keep draining your Hyundai car battery, but there can be other factors that quickly discharge your Hyundai car battery while everything else is turned off.

Bad Connections or Short Ground

Proper connections in an electrical system prevent energy loss in form of additional resistance. When electrical connections in your Hyundai car are bad due to being rusty, loose, or broken, it can withdraw more current than your 12V electrical system is designed for.

Rusty connections add an additional resistance to the entire electrical system requiring more power for all components to work correctly.

Broken Connections or wires can also result in power leakage, quickly draining your Hyundai car battery.

Faulty Alternator and Charging System

A healthy alternator and charging system must keep your Hyundai car battery fully charged. It’s a complex system interconnected with multiple wires and fuses. There can be a few different reasons for a nonworking charging system.

Fuses: Do check your fuse box to make sure everything is ok. A blown-out fuse box can jeopardize your Hyundai car battery charging system.

Faulty Alternator:

Although a faulty alternator will not help start your Hyundai car in the first place, there can be a scenario where it’s properly working as a motor but not producing enough power as a generator to charge up your Hyundai car battery and power up all electrical systems.

Make sure your Hyundai car alternator is working correctly. You don’t need to worry about your Hyundai car alternator if you get a battery discharge warning while your Hyundai car is stationary.

Faulty Voltage Regulator:

The output from a Hyundai car alternator is inconsistent and varies significantly with the RPM of the Hyundai car engine.

A voltage regulator manages the output power and keeps it consistent. A faulty regulator will not properly charge the 12 V battery, and you will get a battery drainage warning.

Temperatures

Batteries are highly dependent on a suitable temperature to work correctly. Harsh temperatures affect the way a battery responds to loads.

Lower Temperatures:

A fully charged battery won’t be able to provide enough juice at cold temperatures. At lower temperatures, the battery capacity is reduced significantly. Your Hyundai car computer system can report a discharged battery as the terminal voltages, and max current output is highly affected at freezing temperatures.

So, getting a “battery discharge warning” at freezing temperatures is not a problem, and you should wait for your Hyundai car to warm up for the warning to get away. To avoid the problem in the future, try to park your Hyundai car inside a garage.

High Summer Temperatures:

The output current and voltage are not affected much at higher temperatures, but the battery’s overall life is significantly affected. This means you will have to change your Hyundai car battery more frequently if you live somewhere it’s mostly hot.

Bad Battery

Getting a battery discharge warning in case of a bad battery is quite evident.

Quick Discharge: Bad batteries will quickly discharge, and you are most likely to get the battery discharge warning if your Hyundai car engine is switched off and you are using your Hyundai car radio or other components.

Dry Battery: If you use a battery that needs regular maintenance by ensuring the electrolyte level remains consistent, you might get the batter discharge error due to a dry battery. Lower electrolyte level affects your battery’s charging, discharging, and overall life. If your Hyundai car battery is completely dry, filling it up might not work, and you will have to replace it.

Old Battery: Batteries are consumables and can charge/discharge a specific number of times before they lose the total capacity of storing electrical power. So, if your Hyundai car battery is old, it will eventually need a replacement.

If you are planning to get a battery for your Hyundai, make sure to get a maintainance free battery.

Other Faulty Components

Alternator Belt: A Hyundai engine is complex machinery consisting of multiple parts. One of them is the serpentine belt. If it is worn out, it can affect the charging capability of the alternator.

Parasitic Drain: We know a Hyundai car has multiple electronic components. If a component is malfunctioning, it can withdraw continuous current from the battery, also known as “Parasitic Drain,” and discharge your Hyundai car battery.

How to Fix Battery Discharge Warning?

Now let’s discuss how to fix this battery discharge issue in totality. The steps you need to take can vary according to everyone’s situation, but the problem is fixable.

Switch On your Hyundai Car

The quickest remedy of all of them is to switch on your Hyundai. Unfortunately, you are most likely getting this error due to excessive radio usage, charging devices, or climate control on your Hyundai battery while your car engine is switched on.

So after turning on your Hyundai, the message will automatically disappear.

Disable the Warning

Different models of Hyundai have different methods of disabling the battery discharge warning, which I will not recommend. If you are annoyed, check this tutorial on how to disable it.

Reset Battery Switch

Battery Drain Warning is a preventive measure in a few Hyundai cars to avoid complete battery drainage. Newer models may have battery reset pushbuttons once their main computer disconnects the 12V battery system to avoid further drainage.

Here is a quick tutorial on how to do it.

Maintain your Battery

If you are still getting a “Battery Discharge Warning” after resetting or switching on your Hyundai car, you may need a little maintenance on your current battery.

Start with checking all connections, water level, and other factors affecting battery performance.

Replace Battery

The ultimate method of removing the battery discharge warning is replacing your battery if it is bad or too old to hold a charge for a reasonable time.

Conclusion:

So different models of Hyundai cars can face the problem of “Battery Discharge Warning.” It’s not a problem in totality, but a warning to avoid a problem shall be considered severe to avoid degrading your Hyundai car battery’s overall life.