Rudy

Well a few days ago, I noticed a post on (ahem) 'another board' detailing the exact same issue that we're talking about here. I just popped back over there to see if there was anything new and the original poster has updated the information and claims that the issue was fixed (so far.)

The dealer ended up replacing the battery. Here's what the dealer said on the invoice:
"Defective battery. Verified customer concern, then interrogated fault memory and found numerous faults in all modules for under and over voltage. Tested vehicle battery via midtronics and battery tested normal, then tested using the snapon AVR and found that battery was failing (at half the CCA, 425, the battery fell to 7.28 volts). Generated PUMA Case #5202790 and was told to replace the battery and monitor the alternator's output. Replaced the battery and monitored the alternators output for 3 days and found no problems after repairs. Road tested the vehicle three times and found no problems after repairs were performed."

The guy is supposed to post more information in about a week or so to see if the problem is really fixed. It should be interesting to see how things play out -- the concept makes some sense so hopefully we'll be able to get things fixed without a bunch of pointless software upgrades and aimless troubleshooting...

EBMCS03

I knew it! Battery related! I said it in post #67...

Rudy

Yup, you said it. There's a guy on the 'other forum' that claims that once the car is running, the battery isn't going to matter but I disagree with that. I think that many cars today, especially the E60, are so reliant on power that the alternator can't always meet the demand so even with the car running, the battery might be used to keep things from dropping under a specific voltage.

There was (is?) talk about bumping electrical systems of cars up from the current 12 volts (which has been around since the 40's?) to something like 42 volts so that we can power all the new gadgets and computer systems...

EBMCS03

Ya I think the battery is needed too. Theres waaaay too many electronics in modern day cars especially the E60 to run on just the alternator... I'm suprised they havent gone higher than 12V... why talk? is it an industry standard? Some regulation preventing them from going higer?

Rudy

I remember reading some stuff years ago that predicted that the 42 volt system would be in place by now but I don't know if it's being delayed by some standards body or something else.

The following article (from 2002) talks about the issue and mentions it was delayed from 2003 to 2005 due to "anticipated development time" so maybe it's just on the horizon now?

http://www.assemblymag.com/CDA/ArticleInfo...0,98697,00.html

Rudy

I just took a look at that "other forum" and the guy who had the battery replaced said that everything is still working fine.

Could be good news for us to get things fixed quickly and painlessly...

EBMCS03

Did he have any of the problems described here? and SMG?

Rudy

Yes, and yes...

drjochen

During my meeting with the factory rep last week, this topic came up and it seems that the battery is at fault for may things. He said that some modules in the car are very sensitive to low voltage, in particular the CCC and the SMG module.
In the end, most problems I have were my fault, since my commute is only 4 miles and I don't drive the car enough...

Rudy

I understand but I wouldn't be happy "taking the blame" just because you only drive the car 4 miles. They really need to move forward with the 42 volt system and get out of the stone age...