I have a BMW 530i 2007, and the battery seemed to have died today. The care didn't start but only gave me a click hum click, then nothing until turn ignition to off and try again, same click hum click. All the lights the lights in the dash seem to be on as normal. Any help would be appriciated.

 

It sounds like there are not enough voltage for the car to crank over. I would suggest getting the battery fully charged and tested first.

Good luck.

 

I just uncovered the battery compartment and it looks like there is some white powery substance on it. I do think that its battery related. Will see if i can get a jump and get the battery tested.

thanks,

 

First jump the car from under the hood, not at the battery.

Then take the car while running directly to any auto parts store that is a national chain. They will hook a hand-held computerized test unit to your car and test your battery, alternator and starter for free.

You can decide to have a dealer replace your battery and register the battery (I have heard dealer quotes range from $275 to $800) or you can buy your battery from a regular store and then take it to an independent BMW mechanic to register the battery.


The BMW electrical system can vary the charging from the alternator to the battery to compensate for the age of the battery, charging an older battery more. Basically the installation date of the battery and battery type is entered into the computer. Each time the car is started the computer then computes the proper charging of the battery based upon that day's date, the type of battery and an algorithm that calculates the proper charging level. The IBS or intelligent battery sensor also provides input for the computer.

Opinions vary as to the importance of registering the battery, and its role in keeping a new battery healthy. If you do not register it the system will probably overcharge the new battery. How much it will overcharge depends upon how long the present battery has been in the car, since the date the old battery was installed is used as the date from which the battery age is calculated. If you don't plan to keep the car much longer it is not that important. However if you plan to keep the car more than 1 year it is probably worth the $50-$75 to have an Indie do the registration.

BTW the clicking sound at least means the starting voltage is getting as far as your solenoid and the solenoid is pulling the gear and contacts in to the starter. It is possible your starter is bad but more likely it is the battery without enough voltage to turn over the starter motor.

If you know how to use a multimeter you can easily check the battery voltage before jumping it. If the battery is fully charged it will be 12V to 12.4V.

 

Tried jumping the car but nothing. I did noticed that there wasnt any clicking noises as I first thought. I tried to listen to the solenoid clicks you discribed but nothing is coming from the engine compartment.

 

If your car has the original battery (white with a "looking glass" charge indicator) I'll bet it has died. Just curious whether you checked the color in the looking glass... If you see anything but green, get a new battery and drive the car straight to an indie to have it registered as outlined in an earlier post. Good luck.

PS: Guess why I am pretty sure your battery had died...

 

I don?t think its an original battery since i could not find the "looking glass". For now the car is sitting until i can get the battery checked. I am buying a meter to check it out but what baffles me is that it did not start even when i jumped it.

 

Define "did not start" - i.e. is it cranking over and just not firing up or is it not even cranking over?

 

its not cranking/turning over, its not doing anything. All the dash lights up as usual but when i go to turn it on it does nothing, not even a click.

 

Does your car have a manual or automatic transmission? All recent cars have a interlock with the clutch that prevents the car from being started without the clutch pedal in. If you don't do that, the car jumps forward as you try to start it if it isn't in neutral. That creates another problem - the clutch interlock relay can go bad. I had a Nissan Maxim that went though two of them in the 10 years I owned it.