Renault Kiger's car battery dies 2 days after taking delivery

I hugely suspect a fault with the wiring harness or with the alternator of the car. But, as per the service centre, they have checked it all & found no issues.

BHPian redbaron91 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My parents took delivery of the Renault Kiger RXZ CVT, on 31 May, 2021.

Delivery was delayed by almost 12 days, due to lockdown situations.

Price details: Rs 9,78,500 (ex-showroom)

OTR (Kerala): Rs 11,08,784 (excluding insurance & additional accessories)

Since I stay in a different city, I am yet to get behind the wheel.

2 days after the delivery, an issue with the battery cropped up. The battery was dead and the car was unable to start.

On top of it, the CVT gear-shifter got stuck at "P" mode. With some online research, I found that shift locker will be enabled during battery failure and one must be manually disabled.

There is a small flap with "Shift Lock" mentioned next to the gear lever. One has to remove the flap using a flat-headed screwdriver, press and hold the button inside it, while simultaneously pressing the brake pedal & gear switch on the lever to move to "N" mode.

The battery issue continued to occur almost every day since then. RSA from Renault jump-started the car 2 times & charged it for a while. For the last 2 weeks, the car is being switched ON for at least 30 minutes & it has clocked around 40-50 km in total. Unable to clock more miles (on daily basis) due to ongoing lockdown situation in Kerala.

I informed this issue at the showroom and escalated it to the RIPL region team leader, via email & phone calls. They have not been able to check the car till date, due to the closure of their service centre.

They are have agreed to take the vehicle to the service centre, once they are allowed to operate by the govt.

It is very annoying & frustrating to have such an issue with a brand new car. I highly suspect some issue with the battery or with the alternator or electrical leakage from a component or wiring harness.

Can anyone throw some light on "How can a service centre technician diagnose such issues with the battery?" Can anything be found using OBD scanners?

Update:

The miserable ordeal with the Renault Kiger CVT continues. The Renault service centre was not able to find the root cause for the battery drain.

I hugely suspect a fault with wiring harness or with the alternator of the car. But, as per service centre they have checked it all & found no issues.

As per the TVS Renault dealership, the installation of the front parking sensor by their technician is causing the battery drain and that has led to the damage of the wiring harness in the dashboard.

Renault official even tried to pin the blame on me, saying why a non-genuine spare part (front parking sensor) was installed in the car. They were quick to retract the statement, when I conveyed the work was done at dealer end, as they showed it as an accessory, while selling the car.

I am yet to receive more details from them regarding the damage of the wiring harness

Few things that worry me here is:

• How the installation of a front parking sensor, damages the entire dashboard wiring harness?
• Is it advisable to replace the entire wiring harness, as it needs disassembling of complete front dashboard trim elements & related components? I am doubtful about fit and finish, post such critical work.

Here's what BHPian Jagann13 had to say on the matter:

I have no insights on whether the installation of front parking sensors drains a battery. But I have had a somewhat similar experience with our Triber. The issue was not draining the battery, but installation of ambient lighting made a relay go kaput and so did the wiring harness.

While, I completely suggest you to get the harness replaced, make it clear that they fit your dash as well as it is now. In my case, after they worked on the dashboard, it was quite clear that the fit wasn't good and had rattles. So, we had to push them to do it again to make it as good as a factory finish.

Here's what BHPian abhishek46 had to say on the matter:

Devices like the front parking sensors use a very tiny amount of power (typically 60mA, 12V i.e. 0.7watt).

It will take a significant 360hours (15days) for a 0.7 watt device to drain a 36Ah automotive battery.

Something doesn't add up.

Here's what BHPian a4anurag had to say on the matter:

If you have the car in your possession, I'll suggest you to get a digital multi-meter and check for parasitic draw.

Here's a thread from vigsom on how to check for the same.

Other than that, I am sure the parking sensors would have some kind of coupler or power source used i.e. from the battery, check the voltage that circuit draws and state of battery with that circuit disconnected.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.