Batt high discharge on/off for past 2 months randomly. 1 Code stored.
 

So in the morning every now and then I get a high battery discharge warning with a lift icon on my dash. It happens randomly and I can never duplicate the error the next day. The warning says to remove all charges and accessories etc. but I removed my car charger and have nothing else installed. The problem still comes up randomly in the morning during cold starts.



So it happened today again. This is the code that was stored:



http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a85...psbab20031.jpg







I also checked the battery voltage before I started the car and it was at 12.3V. After starting the car and driving it climbed to 14V.



http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a85...psac2dc89f.jpg



Anyone know what this code means?



Car runs and starts great ever since couple months ago when I first got this error.

I don't drive the car alot, only on weekends, otherwise its in the garage.

Update #1:

Went by my mechanic and he hooked up the battery to some kind of tester and he said the battery is in good condition. Since the battery is about 10 months old, and never gave me any hint ( dimming, struggle to start etc.) im thinking it might not be the battery. But these cars r so all over the place it may be.
The battery is OEM from bmw and it was installed in January, and its a January manufactured battery aswell.

UPDATE #2:

Disconnected the plug that goes into IBS sensor from the negative terminal before I put my car in the garage. Next morning, car started, no warning messages, all good.

Not sure how this disconnecting the IBS sensor can prove the IBS sensor Is bad, since the IBS sensor is the sensor that measures power and power being discharged while the car is off, if the sensor is disconnected, you can still have power being draining power from something, but there wont be a error tripped since the IBS sensor is disconnected. This my thinking correct?


My next step is to check the volts putting the car in the garage ( car off, all accessories and dash off)
And checking the volts again in the morning same way, all while having the IBS disconnected.

The following night im going to try to do the same exact procedure, measure volts of the car in the garage the night before, and then in the morning again, but this time making sure I have the IBS connected all night long.

I think this procedure will be a tell tale sign of if the IBS is drawing power while connected, or is just giving a faulty reading and tripping a battery discharge warning.

Was battery voltage 12.0 V exactly or 12 point something?

A healthy, fully charged battery that has sat idle at least 1/2 hour (to allow surface voltage to dissipate after charging) should have a voltage of 12.6V or more.

The 14.27 V is the output current of the alternator, and is where it should be.

A closed circuit current violation usually indicates that while the engine was not running and at rest the IBS (which wakes up every 40 second to take a system snapshot of voltage and current and then goes back to sleep) read a current in the system that exceeded the preset maximum system closed circuit current at rest. I think that is usually around 80mA for BMWs but it may vary from model to model.

Something other than the systems planned to be operational during engine off sleep (like anti-theft system, remote entry, clock, storage of convenience presets) is drawing current. One occasional problem I have read about is that a malfunctioning convenience door handle can stay activated and draw current. Another possibility is that the IBS is malfunctioning.

The computers that modern cars run cause the batteries lose voltage each day the car sits idle. Starting with a fully charged battery and given normal designed closed circuit current, the car power system designer's goal for how long the car can sit idle before it will not starting again is usually 20-30 days.

Keep taking readings of your voltage before you start the engine, especially if the car sits two or three days where you can see if the battery voltage continues to drop fast the longer the car sits idle.

...or the simple answer maybe that your battery is failing. I had similar issues with my X5 and a new battery solved the problem. Almost daily I was getting the battery icon and instrument cluster resetting. The battery would charge, but that only helped for a few days before the symptoms started again. Since new battery, no battery icon and no instrument cluster reset.

Recently, this behavior is happening to my 5 series...time for a new battery for the 5 as well.

+1 - Hence the first question to establish his voltage before starting.

Thanks! Great advice! And thanks for letting me know what that code means.

I am using my BT cable which reads volts from the IBS sensor.

When I checked the battery, it was at 12.3 and then after a few mins of having the power and accessories on ( not engine running) the Volts fell to 11.8.

What is the proper way to check the battery. Before starting the engine in the morning? Affter a drive with the engine off?

I went to my mechanic today to check the voltage, I started the car this am, and again I got the battery discharge message with the same code. I am not losing my clock settings or anything else.

MY mechanic is about a 5 min drive, I opened the trunk, closed and locked the doors to make sure the accessories were off, and this is what he got:

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a85...ps58115d13.jpg

Thanks so much again!

I think this might def be possible, when I bought my E60 from the dealer, the car batt was dead, they charged it and we went for a drive.

I told them I wanted a new battery, they said they gave me a new battery but no paperwork or nothing in the BMW system. Im suspect that it might be the same 4 year old battery that was dead and recharged when I bought the car.

BTW, car doesn't have a hard time starting, and the message only comes up during cold starts in the AM when the car was sitting 8+ hours.
No settings reset or erased or clock being reset either.

Thanks a lot!

Ok, well I left the car sitting outside for about 2 hours after I drove it earlier. Connected my Bavarian technic tool to see the voltage with just opening the door, no key in ignition or pressing the start button, and from the voltage reading from the IBS sensor is at 12.30v.

I put the car in the garage and will check in the morning again what the voltage is. What do you think? 12.30v too low?

After a proper drive (15-20 minutes plus) and then sitting 2 hours the batter should be 12.6V or more.

I would double check the IBS reading of 12.3V with a multimeter (if you don't have one an auto store will usually test for free). A voltage of 12.3V equates to a little over 50% battery capacity. I would say you need a new battery.

After battery installation you can see if the closed circuit current violation error shows up again. It is really a different error than getting the battery icon on the dash, which means the battery is getting to the point of not being able to start the car.

These cars and computers are really complicated and hopefully installing and registering a new battery will clear everything up and you won't see any more errors.

Good luck!

Will recheck the voltage today after going for a 30 min drive..

I disconnected the ibs sensor, will see of that helps? Isnt it the ibs that reads and sends these codes to the dme? So if ita disconnected, even if it was the problem, a high battery drain wouldn't appear since the sensor is disconnected?

I checked my battery, its a 1/13 manufactured date battery.. Dealer installed oem battery... My alternator is good aswell from the running charge of 14v+.

My advice FWIW: You (OP) are spending a considerable amount of time attempting to verify a failing battery is actually failing. The age of battery really has nothing to do with things. Any age battery can fail at anytime. Since the battery is so new, simple remove it, take it the place of purchase and them it is failing and needs to be replaced. They will probably load test the battery to verify and ultimately give you a new battery under full warranty. Done and done, no more worries.

https://5series.net/forums/e60-discu...sensor-135632/

see my thread i started explains what went on