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Is your Hyundai Entourage family road-barge experiencing weird intermittent electrical problems? Does it stall for no apparent reason? Does the air conditioner do weird things like shut off on “high”? Do the headlights dim, the battery acts like its bad, and the starter won't turn, then wait a while and it starts like nothing happened? Do you take it to the dealer, he runs diagnostics, and they tell you there is nothing wrong with it? Or take it to the dealer, they replace something for $600, it's fine for a few weeks, then the problem returns? Or the dealer wants to replace the computer for $2500 with no guarantee is will be successful?
Yes, I've seen these problems. I have a 2003 Kia Sedona AND a 2012 Kia Sedona (which is just like Entourage). BOTH of these cars have this problem. My 2003 Sedona failed to start 50 miles from anywhere in Northwoods Maine, and my 2012 Sedona ( a true Florida car) likes to die going down the road when I drive my Mom around with AC blasting.
THE PROBLEM IS CAUSED BY INSUFFICIENT GROUNDING OF THE MOTOR TO THE BATTERY.
This was a known problem that I was aware of on the Hyundai XG350, which shared nearly the same drivetrain with the early Sedonas, I believe there was a Hyundai recall. My guess is this problem is also found on Hyundai Santa Fe with 3.5 V6, Kia Amati, and other cars which share this motor. They tell me over at the Kia-forums that this is also a common problem for Kia Sorrento, which is just like a Hyundai Tucson. It is likely you find this problem across the entire Kia/Hyundai spectrum in varying degrees.
On my 2012 Kia Sedona ( and probably all models) there are cheesy little ground wires that connect the battery to the body, and the body to the engine. IMHO, the connection is poor. The connectors are bolted to paint on the body, so it means the only connection is through the threads on the bolt. I believe the Sedona, being the electricity hog it is, is gets insufficient grounding when the threads on the attaching bolts get a little corrosion.
The cost-free fix is to identify the ground connections to the body and disconnect them, grind the paint off the surface of the body where the connector contacts, clean up the bolt and the wire connector, put it back together, and maybe smear it with some die-electric grease. That should eliminate the problem.
An even EASIER fix, but could cost a few pesos, is get yourself a piece of negative battery cable and create a new ground independent of the cheesy grounds. Simply bolt the battery cable from the negative terminal on the battery to a solid bolt on the motor, preferably the intended grounding bolt on the motor. This is on the other side of the motor from the battery, so I used a six foot piece of cable that cost $22. Instant relief. It's still a good idea to clean up those grounds on the body even if you use a battery cable.
Good Luck!
Yes, I've seen these problems. I have a 2003 Kia Sedona AND a 2012 Kia Sedona (which is just like Entourage). BOTH of these cars have this problem. My 2003 Sedona failed to start 50 miles from anywhere in Northwoods Maine, and my 2012 Sedona ( a true Florida car) likes to die going down the road when I drive my Mom around with AC blasting.
THE PROBLEM IS CAUSED BY INSUFFICIENT GROUNDING OF THE MOTOR TO THE BATTERY.
This was a known problem that I was aware of on the Hyundai XG350, which shared nearly the same drivetrain with the early Sedonas, I believe there was a Hyundai recall. My guess is this problem is also found on Hyundai Santa Fe with 3.5 V6, Kia Amati, and other cars which share this motor. They tell me over at the Kia-forums that this is also a common problem for Kia Sorrento, which is just like a Hyundai Tucson. It is likely you find this problem across the entire Kia/Hyundai spectrum in varying degrees.
On my 2012 Kia Sedona ( and probably all models) there are cheesy little ground wires that connect the battery to the body, and the body to the engine. IMHO, the connection is poor. The connectors are bolted to paint on the body, so it means the only connection is through the threads on the bolt. I believe the Sedona, being the electricity hog it is, is gets insufficient grounding when the threads on the attaching bolts get a little corrosion.
The cost-free fix is to identify the ground connections to the body and disconnect them, grind the paint off the surface of the body where the connector contacts, clean up the bolt and the wire connector, put it back together, and maybe smear it with some die-electric grease. That should eliminate the problem.
An even EASIER fix, but could cost a few pesos, is get yourself a piece of negative battery cable and create a new ground independent of the cheesy grounds. Simply bolt the battery cable from the negative terminal on the battery to a solid bolt on the motor, preferably the intended grounding bolt on the motor. This is on the other side of the motor from the battery, so I used a six foot piece of cable that cost $22. Instant relief. It's still a good idea to clean up those grounds on the body even if you use a battery cable.
Good Luck!
