Johntee540

2008 E61 LCI 535xi - When I came home yesterday from an errand I left the running lights on in the car when I got out. They were on for around 2.5hrs before I noticed. I went outside and turned them off and started the car. Car started but I got an error message stating that there was a transmission error and that restarting the car would make it go away. I turned the running car off and when I went to restart the car - Nothing. No power anywhere; No CCC, No Interior lights nothing. Remember that the car had been running 10 seconds prior.

Car is still dead today. Any thoughts or ideas?. Usually I search the Forums before I ask but really don't know how to posit this situation as a question to search on. Any help is appreciated. JT

Boost7

jump start it first

FormerE30Owner

By now you have perhaps realized that you shouldn't have stopped the engine before recharging the battery. Your starting the engine took all the remaining charge out of the battery and now needs to be boosted and the battery charged.

Johntee540

I recharged the battery and it still didn't start the car. The car did start and I ran it around for a hour. When I got it back to the garage I turned it off and the car is dead again. Carly Pro said 13.7v from alternator. I replaced the battery last Nov. Think I am dealing with a bad battery at this point?. JT

FormerE30Owner

I am confused - did the car start after you charged the battery or not? How did you charge the battery? Also, if the battery was completely drained, running for an hour might not be long enough to completely recharge the battery.

Doesn't look like the alternator is putting out enough voltage - when charging the voltage should be over 14,2 v (usually around 14.7+) and normal (on completely charged battery) the voltage should be about 14.2, I would check the alternator,

Johntee540

UPDATE: When I charged the battery in the car using the ports under the hood it showed that the battery was charged on the charger however after trying to start the car it drained the battery completely.

My next step was to charge the battery out of the car bypassing all the BMW systems and electronics. In doing the charge this way I was able to get a good charge on the battery and start the car.

The car is functioning and running, driving normally now. What I discovered when I had the battery out was that the battery in the car is *NOT* the battery I ordered from Autozone. I ordered online and went to my local Autozone to do the pick up. When the clerk got the battery for me he did not bring me the AGM battery. I installed the wrong battery and apparently tried to register it using the wrong info. I feel like this has been the source of all of my electrical gremlin type problems. I have the correct battery now and am about to install it and register it. Stand by. JT

Johntee540

UPDATE: AutoZone gave me a new Battery in exchange for the "Wrong" battery they gave me. New Battery in and registered correctly to the car. It is an AGM 95 Battery. I coded or registered it as a 90AGM Battery using the iCarly Adaptor and software. Every little hinky electronic peccadillo has cleared up as well. I am thinking that I may have resolved all my issues. Thanks so much for all the help here figuring this out. Never would I have guessed that the Battery procedure was so intense compared to my E39. Learned a lot - thanks once again. JT