So this happened...

[gpeng]

Got back from a 5 day business trip tonight, where I left my CX-5 in an airport parking lot. Coming back to my car, it was completely dead. Battery obviously ate it. Was able to get a jump from an attendant, but all the car's warning lights were on and telling me everything was trouble. Oh, and I think the battery went dead because I may have accidentally flipped on the interior light switch on the way out, but I'm not certain.

Anyway, I tried to pull out, and the car wouldn't shift out of 1st gear, which can be a problem when you need to merge onto the NJ Turnpike. So I immediately pulled into a hotel parking lot and let the car idle for 5 minutes to charge the battery. That seemed to do the trick, and the transmission went back to working. Interesting to see what systems are prioritized here.

However, most of the warnings were still on - warning about SCBS, check engine, TCS was off, TPMS warning on, etc. The radio wouldn't turn on - the screen was completely dead, and the window button refused to do one-touch. But power-steering was working, lights were working, BSM worked, turn signals worked, and the engine and transmission were running.

After a 40 mile drive home, I shut down and immediately restarted the car. The check engine warning went on for a few seconds, then I couldn't get it again. However, the engine oil light stayed on and the screen remains off.

So off to the dealer tomorrow to reboot the system, I presume.

 

[RG_Flyer]

Weird. On one hand, it got you home. Whatever fail-safe or limp mode you ended up in seemed to get you there with the proper coaxing (good job). On the other hand, it is a bit unnerving that modern vehicles can be as finicky as a personal computer after a Windows update. Please let us know the outcome.

 

[gpeng]

Turns out to have been a blown fuse, apparently because of the way it was jumped. I'm guessing the jumper (a plow truck) was possibly using a 24v battery or something, so that blew the fuse on the electronics. The mechanicals seems to have worked. But it was still odd that initially the transmission wouldn't work.

Seems to me to be something that ought to be in the owners manual.

 

[hp79]

Would you suggest unplugging the battery when parking for more than a week?
My Elantra 2007 worked fine even after 10 days of parking in a garage, even with a Progressive Snapshot device plugged in the ODB port.

 

[erhayes]

If the person jumping your vehicle used a high power, high voltage source (24 volts was common years ago) then it can really mess up your electronics. Possibly that is why the fuse was blown, to save you much grief. You should be able to leave a good battery for 30 days and still start the engine, unless you leave a light or something else on. Ed

 

[ecassar]

Luckily you ended up with just a blown fuse and didn't fry any electronics by using a high voltage source to jump start.

 

[bluefan]

Luckily you ended up with just a blown fuse and didn't fry any electronics by using a high voltage source to jump start.

^

My brother got his old Celica jump started with a 24v. Was a nightmare to deal with after that.

 

[hp79]

If the person jumping your vehicle used a high power, high voltage source (24 volts was common years ago) then it can really mess up your electronics. Possibly that is why the fuse was blown, to save you much grief. You should be able to leave a good battery for 30 days and still start the engine, unless you leave a light or something else on. Ed

With 24V, wouldn't that fry the electronics immediately even with the fuse blowing out? ECUs and what not, I think the reliability for most of the components will be all bye-bye.

I think I read in the manual that our CX-5 has automatic lights/electronics off to prevent a dead battery. I do have a dash cam (Lukas HD7900) with a power control box hooked up from the fuse box but that controller cuts off the power when battery falls to 12.4V. I would imagine there's something like this to prevent other accessories using up all the battery, but I don't know for sure.

By the way, is the 12V plug in the trunk area always on? I was thinking of plugging in a Freedompop wi-max hotspot (free up to 500MB/month) device there, but didn't want it to use up the battery when engine is off.

 

[gpeng]

My guess is that I had managed to trip the interior light on the way out. When I was able to restart, it was on, so I'm not sure that happened before or after. My guess is probably before.

Yes I'm concerned that the 24v jump may have done something to the car. As far as I know, it hasn't, as it seems to be acting fine, and the dealer inspection seemed to go okay, for what that's worth. At this point, it sort of is what it is.

The only thing that seems wonky was my gas mileage seemed unusually low on the way back from the airport, before the dealer reboot. I'm assuming that I'm imagining things.

 

[CX-SV]

My guess is that I had managed to trip the interior light on the way out. When I was able to restart, it was on, so I'm not sure that happened before or after.

.

Battery-saver feature turns interior light off after a few minutes.

Edit: after looking at manual, feature might only work for door ajar, not if interior light was turned off manually.

 

[gpeng]

Upon talking to a guy I know who drives a F-350 (probably the same as the plow truck), it wasn't a 24v battery, which would've definitely fried the car. It was probably an improperly done jump, meaning he connected to the negative terminal instead of to the ground. So less to worry about.