2001 Elantra battery dies.

Hi All,

My 2001 Elantra battery dies every time I forget to turn the head light off. When left in the on mode if you remove the key they turn off as they should but for some reason something still on and drains the battery. The switch on the control stalk is a bit twitchy as in if you barely rotate it the head lights will go off and on much like a micro switch. I here the rellay switch on and off when I rotated the switch with the car running. This has been happening for the last year but I generally remember to manually turn the switch to off and its not an issue, but today my girl friend got stuck at work because she forgot to turn the switch to off.

On another note a few years ago the power door locks stopped working as well, when you put the key in the drivers door and unlock it its supposed to unlock all doors but it doesn't. I checked the wiring diagram and looked for faults but found nothing. I did not want to dig into the door so the fault might be the key switch.

don't know if they are related or not. Any ideas?

Thanks

Reply to
Billy Goat
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I've also got an '01 Elantra.

I've had the battery drain on me mysteriously, about a month after I got a new battery. I figure I hit a weird sequence and the computer left something powerd that it shouldn't have. Another time quite recently when I got out of the car, the head and tail lights stayed on, and the doors wouldn't lock until after I re-opened and closed a door - I think in that case I had turned off the engine right as I opened the door (or something like that - I should have documented it before I forgot!). Fortunately I was only out for a few minutes.

For the power door locks, the first thing to check the fuse (in the fusebox under the steering wheel - there's a little diagram saying which is which). Mine was blown when I bought it (used), and it kept blowing the 5A fuses I was replacing it with, per the diagram on the fuse box.

Then, when I started looking at the diagrams on hmaservice.com, I discovered that in fact it's supposed to be a 15A fuse. I figure they must have mis-printed the diagram - at least, I hope that's the case, and I'm not running with a vastly over-spec fuse. Anyhow, it hasn't blown since.

-Matthew

Reply to
Matthew Fedder

Thanks for the reply, I feel kind of stupid I went out to check the car in the dark and what is happening is the parking lights and interior dash lights are staying on when the car is turned off but the switch is set to on .The headlights turn off when the key is removed but the parking lamps don't. Never saw it as I only have been driving the car during the day most of the time for the last year plus I was in the habit of turning off the headlights any way. I think is just the turn/headlamp switch.

As far as the locks I checked everything except the internal door stuff or the door jam TSB I don't live in a climate where salt is used on the roads so I don't think its the door jam wiring TSB.

Reply to
Billy Goat

There's a thread above that may be related re: electric door locks.

I also posted, and HT answered, about my own door lock issue on a

2000 Sonata, which may be related to your issue. The electric door locks are one of a few circuits that remain live when the keyswitch is off. For example, it's traditional for a car's clock. Nowadays, the main computer (maybe all of them) needs continuous power to hold all its settings, scans, readings, etc.

In my own case, my door locks have been electrically seized. The circuitry is actually quite complicated because all the locks are tied together in one-key-for-all at the _passenger_ door. The seizure, however, was due to what looks to be a shorted switch on the _driver's_ door, distributed to all four locks via the passenger door. HT suggests that the shorting was caused by the driver door latch hanging in mid-position.

Re: run-down battery: yes. My battery was run down so low from this that the radio's stupid "you've lost your presets" alarm was beeping and, much worse, the main computer lost its scan readings right before a smog test was due. The failure mode simulated a momentary switch that was permanently pressed, seizing all the locks into "latching shut" mode.

Intermittent electrical failures are the bane of the electronics repair business (if there's anything left of it).

Now, let's say that you have an intermittent short in your clock's leads, that'll do it. This is on my mind a lot lately because my phone/DSL was going in and out during the winter because animals had chewed the insulation on a phone cable that runs over the roof.

Reply to
Richard Steinfeld

I'd say, based on the OP's two posts that the issue is in the light switch. On the 2001 Elantra, the parking lamps should turn off when the key is removed from the ignition and the driver's door is opened. But if the light switch is turned off and back on, they will reilluminate. Since we already know the light switch isn't working exactly correctly, this is the best place to start and replacement will likely cure the issue.

A less likely scenario is the door wiring corrosion issue. This could cause the car to never see that the driver's door was opened and then keep the lamps on. I've also known of issues with the door switch and key-in-ignition switch.

Reply to
hyundaitech

Thanks for the post I think its the switch myself simply because its very twitchy.

Reply to
Billy Goat

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