docsilva

So I was driving, perfect weather, perfect car, just beautiful, so as I parked the car at the grocery store I noticed that when I turned off the car I had the little icon of a car on a lift pop up, (what the hell) right? So I decided to start the car right away did not even bother to go into the store and to my surprise, no start, no crank, freaken nothing. I put the key fob in, hear the little bell go (ding) put my foot on the break and push...NOTHING happens, I get an icon that says BRAKE in orange lettering inside the gauge panel, idrive turns on then turns off and basically just cycles through the same thing, I am able though to go into idrive to check for malfunctions or anything but nothing comes up, what the hell is going on? please help guys please please please.

advancedlogic

What year is the car and how many miles on her? You may have a failed starter. I went through this scenario earlier in the year. Be sure to check the battery volts.Healthy charged should be above 12.3 volts at rest. Of course running voltages should be greater than 13.8 or so. Even with good voltage, amps must also be enough to push the current through. Be sure to check the cable connections. Have you tried a jump start? One other trick is to try 9lightly) tapping the starter to possibly disengage it if it is frozen/stuck. There may be a shield preventing easy access to it. Keep us posted!

docsilva

Thanks for your quick response brother, i havent tried jumping the car, as for voltage ill have to check that tomorrow as well as tapping the starter to see if its locked like you said, my baby has 90k and its an 06

docsilva

Ok, so i took the battery off last night and left it for slow charging over night because i had checked the voltage and it read 11v giving a lower than usual reading, so i plug it back in and voila, beast mode on it comes to life, now, what the hell might've caused this issue then? Is it time for a new battery? Alternator not charging?

pcy

If you drive short distances, alternator doesn't get enough recharge time. Occassionally, connect the charger and let it recharge.

advancedlogic

+1 - KOMBI can actually draw up a fault code that lists an "Unfavorable Driving Profile" fault. See links below for more info and posts regarding BMW denying warranty claims because the car wasn't driven enough. "Unfavorable Driving Profile". Go figure. Now if this isn't the case, invest in a cigarette lighter plug volt (something like this: 12V 24V Digital LED Display Auto Car Vehicle Voltmeter Gauge Voltage Volt Meter | eBay)


https://5series.net/forums/e60-discu...y-drain-76156/

Car under 48mo/50k warranty - battery NOT covered???? - Page 4

BMW X6 Problems | iSeeCars.com

Dead Battery From Too Little Driving? - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

2007 530I battery replacement - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

Dead Battery, No Warranty Coverage

docsilva

I only commute to work which is a 2 mile drive and then back (4 total) also i had the car sitting there for about 2 weeks because i bought another daily driver (jetta) gas saver, however i did turn the car on about twice a week did not drive it though, before that i had never had this problem, you think it might be the short commute, aswell the car being parked and not driven?

advancedlogic

Quite possibly. Be sure to read those threads for similar driving distances and solutions.

BMW 32

Battery drain can also occur if you have your key fab in your pocket and you walk near your car. Even though its locked and you haven't touched the car, evidently the presence of the key fab turns on some electronics in the car.

I've also found that if you wash your car with your key fab on your person, the doors will lock and unlock when you touch the doors with your sponge or washing apparatus , and will lock and unlock when you hit the handles while rinsing with the water stream from the hose., along with drying off the car. That will help kill your battery. Found this out when I went to a self serve car wash, and had to walk home to grab another car to jump my BMW to get it home.

Put it on a charger, and never had a problem after that. Moral here, don't have your fab key on your person when washing your car.

docsilva

Really? I wash my car once a week and I had never had that problem. So guys the car was working fine, like I said I charged the battery overnight and the morning after it turned on just fine. Today I actually took it to work with no problem, during my lunch break I came home and then it was time for me to go back to work the phuker would not start again, HOLY #*(@, luckily I had my other car here which doesnt quit on me, but it gave me the same thing, I put the key fob in, and as I press the brake, that orange lettering BRAKE pops up on the cluster and does nothing as I push the start button. So I got off work about an hour ago, came home and decided to try it out again, VOILA, back to life it turns on with no problem, WTF?? right. I did notice that when I put the key fob in press the brake then press the push button I get a symbol of a car where it reads the temp, its not on a lift or anything just the symbol pops up, I dont know if its always popped up and I hadnt noticed or what does it mean?

O also, we've had like three major thunder storms with crazy rain these past couple of weeks, I checked the battery and the module under the spare tire to check for liquid damage (humidity) but I didnt see any, you think it still affected the car anyways?