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Finally got my hands on a BMW specific code reader as I realized the red "clown nose" alarm light under the rearview mirror should not stay on 24/7 (have had the car for over 10 years now and assumed it was normal). From the above post, the car would continuously die. Took it to my local shop, and they proudly said for me to "drive it more often" which was ridiculous as it was driven three times a week and was never an issue prior to me changing some light bulbs on it. Luckily, when I went to get the car, it would not start at the shop. Eventually, they replaced the battery and all was fine. However, they noted that codes 281D and 299B would not erase no matter what they did on their diagnostic computer. This brings us to around April-May of 2020; the car went bonkers with the alarm going off, not starting, completely dying after jumping it, etc. After some researching, I determined that the IBS went poof, so I bought all OEM parts, replaced it and all was fine. I told my shop about what happened and they said to contact the part website I got it from because it could have gone bad. Based on others, you can determine if the IBS is working if the shifter light goes out after a certain amount of time. Mine shifter light was going off, but I went ahead and returned/replaced the cable with yet another BMW OEM IBS cable. Codes 281D, 299B, 281C continue to show up anyway, yet I was told my alternator is fine.
Currently, the car outputs a solid 14.2v when running. I just went to start the car today to see if I can diagnose my AHL situation and I got these insane codes (please see screenshots below) which I cannot wrap my head around. I did take my car into a different shop (not going back to the previous one) to get several oil leaks fixed about a few weeks ago, not sure if that could have caused any new errors. iDrive does not give me any warnings right now (such as DTC or high voltage). The 279B code is brand new and came after I did a SECOND scan just mins after the first start, never seen that in previous scans.
But any who, the summary of this is that winter is coming, and I realize that my vehicle tends to slightly hesitate when first starting up. It will get stuck for maybe 3-4 seconds while turning the key to start the engine, but she turns over and runs fine. I'm worried that once the cold weather is officially here, I will have problems with starting and that's the last thing I need again.
Apologies for the long story, but thought it might help with any experts about this issue, thank you in advance!
How's your battery charge histogram look? When did you last replace the battery and did you register it?
Hi donpb, always good to hear from you. I have attached a few things: the first being a cold start, you can hear the slight hesitation, but it wasn't too bad compared to other days. Captured the voltage from two different scanners, I was mistaken that the voltage is steady at 14.2 because that is what my little bluetooth adapter thing told me (shouldn't have relied on that and yes it does turn off when the car turns off). When the car was not started, the voltage was around 11.2-11.5v on my multimeter, which I know is not good. Clear 13.5-13.7v when running which is a concern (both readings were measured on the battery terminals, not the cables).
The battery was changed in January of this year after my initial issue of the car just dying on me from my previous post. Yes it was registered, it was the reason why I went to this shop specifically because their price was much better (not completely cheap) compared to the BMW dealership.
A charge histogram shows the percentage of battery charge over time, not voltage. Regardless, your battery storage voltage is too low, s/b about 12.6 vdc.
A charge histogram shows the percentage of battery charge over time, not voltage. Regardless, your battery storage voltage is too low, s/b about 12.6 vdc.
My apologies, I did not read properly. Not sure if I have the correct tools to show a charge histogram, do you have any suggestions for me to be able to see a charge history?
Yes my storage voltage is too low I agree, my guess is the alternator is going out but I could be wrong about that. I'm not sure when the alternator was changed, would have to look at my paperwork for that. Just had my second car (not a BMW) just leak coolant everywhere, so I really need to solve this problem soon so that I have at least one properly working vehicle.
A charge voltage of 14.2 seems ok, but I wonder what charge current was set when your battery was registered. I'm leaning more towards the battery or some parasitic current draw.
A charge voltage of 14.2 seems ok, but I wonder what charge current was set when your battery was registered. I'm leaning more towards the battery or some parasitic current draw.
Is there a way to determine what the charge current was set to using something such as INPA? The battery was just replaced this past January and the shop stated that they did not notice any parasitic current draw.
The IBS cable doesn't need to be registered, correct?
09-06-2021, 01:53 PM
04 530i Electrical Issues?
