battery problems?
#1
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Just purchased an '07 530xi on Saturday. Car was driven for at least 3 hours before being parked for the night. Once parked I decided to play around with the idrive and settings. Without starting the engine (parked in a garage), I had the accessory power, idrive screen, 1 heated seat, and 1 overhead light on for about 1 hour. After that 1 hour, the radio decided to shut itself off. When I tried to restart the accessory mode, the idrive was complaining the clock needed to be reset and then I got a Battery Power Low message on the screen.
Should the battery have gotten that low that quickly? I shut the car down for 15 minutes and then took it out for a drive, and everything seemed to be ok, but I'm a bit worried about the battery now.
Should the battery have gotten that low that quickly? I shut the car down for 15 minutes and then took it out for a drive, and everything seemed to be ok, but I'm a bit worried about the battery now.
#2
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Originally Posted by blipszyc' post='1077008' date='Dec 20 2009, 09:18 AM
Just purchased an '07 530xi on Saturday. Car was driven for at least 3 hours before being parked for the night. Once parked I decided to play around with the idrive and settings. Without starting the engine (parked in a garage), I had the accessory power, idrive screen, 1 heated seat, and 1 overhead light on for about 1 hour. After that 1 hour, the radio decided to shut itself off. When I tried to restart the accessory mode, the idrive was complaining the clock needed to be reset and then I got a Battery Power Low message on the screen.
Should the battery have gotten that low that quickly? I shut the car down for 15 minutes and then took it out for a drive, and everything seemed to be ok, but I'm a bit worried about the battery now.
Should the battery have gotten that low that quickly? I shut the car down for 15 minutes and then took it out for a drive, and everything seemed to be ok, but I'm a bit worried about the battery now.
Until you get it correctly diagnosed I strongly recommend you attach a battery tender [trickle charger] to your battery. You can sort of check the health of the battery [you'll need a flashlight and mirror] - there is a round 'window' on the top of the factory battery. It's a pain to look into it - thus the mirror - to see if the float indicator is the correct color. Your owner's manual has instructions. If you didn't get one, on the information section of this forum you can download a copy.
#3
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My Ride: 2005 Jet Black 545i w/ sport pkg, nav, HUD
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The battery is the weak link in the e60's. The car really needs a 24v system. You can try autozone where they will test your battery for free.
w
w
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My Ride: 545iSMGSilver GrayAuburn Dakota LeatherLogic 7 Premium SoundSports Package
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You had all that running on accessory mode for an hour??? The iDrive alone shouldn't be ran on accessory mode for longer than like 20 mins. It takes waaay more power than the batt can handle. So you're lucky to get an hour out if the battery before it died on you. It sounds like the battery is fine but you drained it. I wouldn't use any accessory for anything longer than 15 mins without it running. That's my own rule.
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Originally Posted by EBMCS03' post='1077087' date='Dec 20 2009, 12:57 PM
You had all that running on accessory mode for an hour??? The iDrive alone shouldn't be ran on accessory mode for longer than like 20 mins. It takes waaay more power than the batt can handle. So you're lucky to get an hour out if the battery before it died on you. It sounds like the battery is fine but you drained it. I wouldn't use any accessory for anything longer than 15 mins without it running. That's my own rule.
Thanks everyone.
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Originally Posted by EBMCS03' post='1077087' date='Dec 20 2009, 05:57 PM
You had all that running on accessory mode for an hour??? The iDrive alone shouldn't be ran on accessory mode for longer than like 20 mins. It takes waaay more power than the batt can handle. So you're lucky to get an hour out if the battery before it died on you. It sounds like the battery is fine but you drained it. I wouldn't use any accessory for anything longer than 15 mins without it running. That's my own rule.
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#8
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My Ride: 2005 545i, Silber-grau/grau. Vanilla flavored except for cold WX pkg.
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Originally Posted by blipszyc' post='1077008' date='Dec 20 2009, 06:18 AM
Just purchased an '07 530xi on Saturday. Car was driven for at least 3 hours before being parked for the night. Once parked I decided to play around with the idrive and settings. Without starting the engine (parked in a garage), I had the accessory power, idrive screen, 1 heated seat, and 1 overhead light on for about 1 hour. After that 1 hour, the radio decided to shut itself off. When I tried to restart the accessory mode, the idrive was complaining the clock needed to be reset and then I got a Battery Power Low message on the screen.
Should the battery have gotten that low that quickly? I shut the car down for 15 minutes and then took it out for a drive, and everything seemed to be ok, but I'm a bit worried about the battery now.
Should the battery have gotten that low that quickly? I shut the car down for 15 minutes and then took it out for a drive, and everything seemed to be ok, but I'm a bit worried about the battery now.
#9
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My Ride: 2006 525XI, Jet black on Dakota beige. Premium and winter packages. I consider myself a purist and intend to keep my car absolutely stock and shiny.
2008 328I Convertible, Sapphire black on beige interior. Premium package, NAV, iPod adapter.
Retired: 2002 325I, Titanium silver on black leather. Premium package. Absolutely stock and proud of it.
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Originally Posted by Curmudgeon' post='1077807' date='Dec 21 2009, 06:33 PM
Good Grief! You had that much running for about an hour? There's nothing wrong with THAT battery! Just drive it.
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