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Unexpected battery death?

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Old 03-30-2009, 07:40 AM
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After not driving the car for only a little over 24 hrs went to start the car, 06 530Xi to go to work and had a dead battery. Jumped it and had no power steering, servotronic failure....brought to the dealer and when moving it to the service entrance noticed the power steering was back ..... any thoughts on what would have drained the battery as after 16 minutes the car totally powers down (but apparently still pulls battery power to keep memory according to service).....original battery should have plenty of life left....at a loss, weather was humid/wet in north jersey yesterday...possibly a short from some nasty moisture drained the battery and the resulting tripped the servotronic module up upon jumping the car? (reaching for straws here...) TIA on any thoughts.....
Old 03-30-2009, 07:50 AM
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Sounds like the battery collapsed internally to me.....
Old 03-30-2009, 07:54 AM
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Did you check the flux capacitor?

9 times out of 10, the problem lies
within the flux capacitor.
Old 03-30-2009, 08:02 AM
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Originally Posted by jfk92' post='830564' date='Mar 30 2009, 10:40 AM
After not driving the car for only a little over 24 hrs went to start the car, 06 530Xi to go to work and had a dead battery. Jumped it and had no power steering, servotronic failure....brought to the dealer and when moving it to the service entrance noticed the power steering was back ..... any thoughts on what would have drained the battery as after 16 minutes the car totally powers down (but apparently still pulls battery power to keep memory according to service).....original battery should have plenty of life left....at a loss, weather was humid/wet in north jersey yesterday...possibly a short from some nasty moisture drained the battery and the resulting tripped the servotronic module up upon jumping the car? (reaching for straws here...) TIA on any thoughts.....
These cars are complex man. I had a similar issue with my 330i and it had to get towed out of the garage! You may want to check in your idrive to make sure you don't have that internal air circulator setting (not sure exactly what it is, and too lazy to go and fire it up!) turned on by accident. It warns of draining the battery if I'm not mistaken. Good luck!
Old 03-30-2009, 08:14 AM
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Originally Posted by -Mike-' post='830583' date='Mar 30 2009, 12:02 PM
These cars are complex man. I had a similar issue with my 330i and it had to get towed out of the garage! You may want to check in your idrive to make sure you don't have that internal air circulator setting (not sure exactly what it is, and too lazy to go and fire it up!) turned on by accident. It warns of draining the battery if I'm not mistaken. Good luck!
hmmm, thx. I'll have to look at that as the weather was warm then cold recently I did adjust the heat/cool function within the climate setting of the iDrive...still trying to get used to that contraption so I may have turned something on inadvertantly.....the thought of an electrical gnome in these cars makes me nervous....think I'll leave the cables in the trunk for a while! still no word from the dealer either so I'm sure they are intrigued as well!
Old 03-30-2009, 08:25 AM
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My Ride: 2007 530i. Purchased 6/28/07. Titanium Silver Metallic, Black Dakota Leather, Dark Poplar Trim, Steptronic, Premium Package, Cold Weather Package, Bluetooth, Adaptive Control Xenons. 10/30/07 Added OEM 124s with 245/40/18 & 275/35/18 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires. Installed red Cal Covers� from BavAuto. 11/21/07 Added OEM all-weather floor mats (for winter, carpet in summer) and coat rack. 6/26/08 installed M5-style rear spoiler. 6/30/08 put on red reflectors. 8/22/08 Euro turn signal stickers applied. 3/20/09 Installed Shadowline Trim. 3/27/09 Added Matte Black Kidney Grilles from Trinity. 4/03/09 Installed Bimmian Shadow Matte Black 530i Badges. 4/04/09 Installed LED license plate lights from Trinity. 5/01/09 Installed Brabus Interior LED Kit and White Angel Eyes. 5/02/09 Put in Brabus 6K Fogs. 5/14/09 Removed charcoal filter. 5/15/09 Installed light smoke LED side marker lamps from Trinity. 5/21/09 Sprint Booster. 6/12/09 Painted exhaust tips flat black. 6/13/09 Pulled red Cal Covers and painted calipers low gloss black. 6/27/09 RPI Ram Air Scoop from Trinity. 8/15/09 Installed Brabus's silver invisibulbs front and rear. 9/24/09 Installed R-Dash license plate LEDs from Brabaus (John).
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Most likely a dead cell. Lots of us have had it. Have it replaced under warranty. GL.
Old 03-30-2009, 11:29 AM
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Originally Posted by CWS530' post='830601' date='Mar 30 2009, 12:25 PM
Most likely a dead cell. Lots of us have had it. Have it replaced under warranty. GL.
We have a winner! Great surmation CWS530.....exactly what it was and replaced under warranty...which btw, is a fact that I love. I came from owning an A6, 2000 2.7T.....a money PIT...if this happened w/that car I would have been out $220 for the battery from the dealer PLUS $115/hr in labor with at least 1 hr charged for diagnostics.......I'm out $5 for gas into the loaner I have w/this car...I'm a pretty happy guy at this point...
Old 03-30-2009, 12:41 PM
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My Ride: 2007 530i. Purchased 6/28/07. Titanium Silver Metallic, Black Dakota Leather, Dark Poplar Trim, Steptronic, Premium Package, Cold Weather Package, Bluetooth, Adaptive Control Xenons. 10/30/07 Added OEM 124s with 245/40/18 & 275/35/18 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires. Installed red Cal Covers� from BavAuto. 11/21/07 Added OEM all-weather floor mats (for winter, carpet in summer) and coat rack. 6/26/08 installed M5-style rear spoiler. 6/30/08 put on red reflectors. 8/22/08 Euro turn signal stickers applied. 3/20/09 Installed Shadowline Trim. 3/27/09 Added Matte Black Kidney Grilles from Trinity. 4/03/09 Installed Bimmian Shadow Matte Black 530i Badges. 4/04/09 Installed LED license plate lights from Trinity. 5/01/09 Installed Brabus Interior LED Kit and White Angel Eyes. 5/02/09 Put in Brabus 6K Fogs. 5/14/09 Removed charcoal filter. 5/15/09 Installed light smoke LED side marker lamps from Trinity. 5/21/09 Sprint Booster. 6/12/09 Painted exhaust tips flat black. 6/13/09 Pulled red Cal Covers and painted calipers low gloss black. 6/27/09 RPI Ram Air Scoop from Trinity. 8/15/09 Installed Brabus's silver invisibulbs front and rear. 9/24/09 Installed R-Dash license plate LEDs from Brabaus (John).
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Originally Posted by jfk92' post='830840' date='Mar 30 2009, 02:29 PM
We have a winner! Great surmation CWS530.....exactly what it was and replaced under warranty...which btw, is a fact that I love. I came from owning an A6, 2000 2.7T.....a money PIT...if this happened w/that car I would have been out $220 for the battery from the dealer PLUS $115/hr in labor with at least 1 hr charged for diagnostics.......I'm out $5 for gas into the loaner I have w/this car...I'm a pretty happy guy at this point...
Glad it worked out for you. My advice is to get a trickle (aka smart charger) and hook it up any time you let the car sit for more than five or six days just to be safe. I do ever since my 8 month old battery went kaput. Deltran Battery Tender is a good option. I have the BMW one, but it's made by Deltran, so no diff. Just don't get the kind that plugs into the cig lighter/aux plug--they don't work on e60s. GL. - Calvin
Old 04-01-2009, 02:10 PM
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Yup dead cell, had the exact same thing happen to me...PLUS apparently I don't drive the car enough, 10 miles daily, to keep the system charged so I have to put it on the trickle charger about every 5 - 7 days so I don't kill the battery
Old 04-01-2009, 02:14 PM
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My Ride: 2007 530i. Purchased 6/28/07. Titanium Silver Metallic, Black Dakota Leather, Dark Poplar Trim, Steptronic, Premium Package, Cold Weather Package, Bluetooth, Adaptive Control Xenons. 10/30/07 Added OEM 124s with 245/40/18 & 275/35/18 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires. Installed red Cal Covers� from BavAuto. 11/21/07 Added OEM all-weather floor mats (for winter, carpet in summer) and coat rack. 6/26/08 installed M5-style rear spoiler. 6/30/08 put on red reflectors. 8/22/08 Euro turn signal stickers applied. 3/20/09 Installed Shadowline Trim. 3/27/09 Added Matte Black Kidney Grilles from Trinity. 4/03/09 Installed Bimmian Shadow Matte Black 530i Badges. 4/04/09 Installed LED license plate lights from Trinity. 5/01/09 Installed Brabus Interior LED Kit and White Angel Eyes. 5/02/09 Put in Brabus 6K Fogs. 5/14/09 Removed charcoal filter. 5/15/09 Installed light smoke LED side marker lamps from Trinity. 5/21/09 Sprint Booster. 6/12/09 Painted exhaust tips flat black. 6/13/09 Pulled red Cal Covers and painted calipers low gloss black. 6/27/09 RPI Ram Air Scoop from Trinity. 8/15/09 Installed Brabus's silver invisibulbs front and rear. 9/24/09 Installed R-Dash license plate LEDs from Brabaus (John).
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Originally Posted by 626e60' post='833336' date='Apr 1 2009, 05:10 PM
Yup dead cell, had the exact same thing happen to me...PLUS apparently I don't drive the car enough, 10 miles daily, to keep the system charged so I have to put it on the trickle charger about every 5 - 7 days so I don't kill the battery
Same here. I live close to work. I usually plug it in over the weekend if I'm not out and about too much.
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