fritolay

2004 530i automatic

I drive my car once a week, on the weekends mostly. A month ago I left my lights on. I had it jumped and it was fine.

Last week one time when I went to start the car, it hesitated, turned over a couple times, then started. The next day the battery was dead. It tried once and that was all.

I read various posts about the battery and battery registration. The battery that was in it was a white OEM BMW Exide battery from 2009. I took the battery to battery outfitters and they said it was low. They charged it over night and then today said the battery was not holding a charge and it was not good.

They gave me a replacement battery with the same specs, but it was not the same size. They said they have used this in other BMW's that are the exact same model.

The new battery I put in, and the car still will not start. It won't turn over at all.

I have received no errors prior to this week. Last week I drove the car several days with no issues.

I did notice the light by the transmission that shows it is in park is still lit up.

What do I check next? I called again to battery outfitters and they said it was the correct battery, but if I want the same sized housing I can go to Autozone which I have seen people post they picked one up there. I am wondering if the battery is fine and I have another issue I can check.

fritolay

When I turn the car on, the electronics and everything turn on fine.

fritolay

I just checked the fuses and unplugged the IBS from the negative on the battery. All electronics still come on, radio, lights, etc.

It will not crank at all. It was cranking this week. Anyone have pics of where the starter is located?

fritolay

I just checked and the lights inside are not on such the "P" for park by my transmission.

Anybody want to chime in on what they think this is?

Only Bimmers

My 550 is rated at 110ah and i put a 66ah in and works fine. I did register the battery. All that does is tell the car that it doesn't need to charge the battery so aggressively since its new.

Disconnect the battery and use a jumper pack that is fully charged to see if it will start. Let it run until it idles at the normal range (warned up). Connect a multimeter and read the voltage. You should be in the mid 13's. If not the alternator is not working correctly.

You could have a problem with your battery cable, or a starter issue. Check the voltage at the jump port in the engine bay and trunk to see if you are getting proper voltages there.

Best of luck and report back.

fritolay

Thanks for the reply. I will check the items you wrote and report back.

brooklynbmw

check your icm in the trunk ...I had the same issue....replaced it and it all works great now.....but you should have purchased a battery with the same size and specs

fritolay

Voltage at jump port - 12.04
Voltage at battery - 12.25

This is on my brand new battery, never used. It is been hooked up to the car for 24 hours. Is this enough voltage for this model car to start or try to turn over? I tried to start it again today it doesn't turn over once.

As far as using a jumper pack that is fully charged to start the car without a battery connected, I have never done this before. I did not know you could disconnect a battery on a car and start it. What type of jumper pack would I need to purchase?

fritolay

I have read about the ICM. Is there a place to purchase this only besides BMW? What is the easieste way to see if the ICM is bad? I will read up more on this now.

Do I need to look at the IBS and disconnect it? Any issues with the key and security? It was showing signs of not starting the day before it just quit turning over, so I would think a key battery and related issue would not cause this.

roboe60

12+ volts with the car OFF is good.