Hey all,

I needed to jumpstart my e60 530d 2006 3 months ago. Since then every few weeks the battery dies. I used a trickle charger to fully charge it and it works fine for a few startups (10 - 15) and then goes dead.

Is this an alternator issue?

My main question is: Is there some way of displaying what charge is currently coming from my battery on the dash or idrive?

I do mostly short trips (6 - 12 miles)

Any advice would be appreciated

 

There is a hidden menu in the OBD. There is a DIY somewhere here on how to get to it. It'll give you a read-out of current voltage.

Here is the DIY:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...5smuoQ&cad=rja

 

Any other faults or errors with the car?

 

Thanks for the diy - it looks a bit complicated though. Has anyone attempted this here?

No, it's running fine.

 

It's way less complicated than it seems. I do it all the time.

 

i would get the alternator checked but its possibly from the short trips. it also just might be that you need a new battery. i would replace the battery since its a 2006 and see what happens.

i read a thread somewhere that short trips are not great for our the batteries that are in our bmws. i had the same problem with my 2007 but i traded it in for my 2008 it wasnt worth my time ...

 

There are two things that I can think of. 1, alternator, 2, old battery. The older a battery gets and the more it discharges, the less its ability to actually deliver the power needed. 4-5 years on a battery for a e60 is really good.

 

Just thought I'd close this thread by saying it was that I required a new battery. I replaced it 5 months ago with a Bosch battery I got in Halfords for ?139, I installed it myself.

BMW were going to charge me ?320. I've read that a new battery needs to be registered, from my experience this statement is complete shite!

BMW were giving me a 2 yr warranty with their battery. Halfords gave me a 5 YEAR warranty for less than half the price.

Here's a handy video for changing the battery guys