2017 EV Soul dead, no power anywhere, nothing

[2017dead]

Parked car at night and charged with the stock level 1 charger. Next morning car was totally dead, no power to any functions. Charger is getting power but not charging.

12 volt battery is dead. Portable battery charger/jump starter doesn't even show it is connected to a battery when clamped on.

OBD II code tester shows nothing. I only have the plug for the standard port for the under dash fuse tester, not the kia diagnostic port, so haven't been able to check that.

Circuit tester shows nothing, no power at fuses.

Secondary problem: How do I release the parking brake when there's no power? . I released the shift lock and it is in neutral. I wanted to push the car to our level 2 charger out of reach.

What else can I do?

 

[notfred]

You need to sort out your 12V problem. It will not charge or do anything without the 12V circuitry working, the OBD-II is also all 12V. The service manual shows how a mechanic can release the electric parking brake by removing the motors from the calipers and winding the piston in by hand with an allen key. It's probably easier to unplug the connections and use a jump start battery to do the winding, but I wouldn't go there to start with, I'd be looking at getting the 12V circuits up and running.

I strongly suspect that it's just your 12V battery that's died if you drove it there and everything was working fine with no issues, and then in the morning it's dead. You could probably just change the 12V battery and it would be fine.

I know you say you tried jump starting it, but I wonder if maybe the battery is too dead or you didn't get a good connection with the jump leads? I have a voltmeter and I'd first use that to see if there are any volts on the 12V battery terminals. A simple circuit tester light is going to need a reasonable voltage to show anything, where a voltmeter can be far more sensitive. If > 12V then it's a fuse that's gone or a bad connection. If < 12V then the battery is dead - question then is did it die of age or was there a short on the car that killed it? There is a big fuse (I think something like 150A) on the side of the underhood fuse box where the battery cable connects in to it. In that fusebox are the main fuses and relays that power up the rest of the car (IG1 etc). Also remember to trace through the negative cable and measure the voltage between the battery negative terminal and the chassis - poor gound connections can cause all kinds of weird symptoms.

 

[2017dead]

Thank you! I will check all of these out and get back to you. Great information!

 

[2017dead]

It works! I tested everything again and honestly got mixed signals that I still don't understand. But on a hunch, I jump started it with cables to our diesel truck and everything came up fully charged and working. Maybe I didnt connect the charge pack well enough like you said. Now, why did it die in the first place...

Thank you notfred!

 

[IanL]

Get your 12V battery load-tested. It may be nearing end-of-life. If so, it will let you down again.

 

[notfred]

100% agree on the need to test the 12V. If it's the original then I'm surprised it has lasted this long.

EV's give you no warning of the 12V dying because you don't hear the engine crank slower, and as soon as you turn on the car then the DCDC converter is supplying 12V from the main traction battery so you don't see dimmer lights. Definitely worth checking the 12V battery every 6 months to a year.

 

[2017dead]

You were right. Dead car this morning. My volt tester now says the 12v is between 4 and 5. I'm going to jump start it again and drive to autozone for a new battery. Hopefully that's it! Thank you again!

 

[DOLSENATOR]

The real problem is that when plugged in, it activates the 12v system which runs the high voltage charger. But when the high voltage charger is complete, it shuts down the DC to DC converter which is maintaining the 12v battery. But since the 12v system remains active, it drains the 12v battery while plugged in and not charging. So, you can't leave it plugged in for much longer than is needed to charge the main battery.

IMO this is a major design flaw.

 

[evsoulnow]

Lots of "Good to know" in this thread. Tesla MS is the same. In theory it warns about the 12V system, in practice it usually warns just as it dies!