beeswax24
05-13-2020, 04:46 PM
Hi all, Mike here from the UK and used to read this forum regularly at one time and hope everyone is keeping safe and wonder if someone can help me out please. I have had BM's for many years and bought my latest one i.e. a F32 4 series in 2014 and its a brilliant car and its a 428i petrol and have only done 9500 miles in that time and so used my car infrequently and only for short trips. I'm 76 years old LOL and just potter about. Anyway I had a warning on my dash a few days ago that my battery was heavily discharged and needed replacing/recharging but it started OK and when I got home put it on charge via the charge point under the bonnet or hood as you call it over the pond. The voltage at that point was 12.2 V car engine off and then charged it overnight with a variable charger that showed 7 Amps and then reduces which it did to about 2 Amps and rechecked the voltage and it was 12.7 and so making progress and with engine on idle it was 14.8 which shows the alternator is working fine but the odd thing is this.
When I checked the battery volts the next day it was back down to 12.2 but car started fine again with no warning message on the dash. I then put it on another trickle charge of 2 amps for 6 hours and the voltage was back up again to 12.8 volts.
Some may say its time to change the battery as its 5 and half years old mainly doing low miles and am prepared to do that but I wonder if something is draining the battery overnight and all I have noticed and why I hope you can help out is that the lighting switch remains illuminated when the car is stationary and engine off and rechecked an hour later its still the same. Is this normal and would such a small light drain a 90A battery so quick? Is this normal? Thanks for any advice.
Its a Banner Battery that is fitted and a great big thing it is too. I did check the voltage on the battery itself and its around the same voltage.
When I checked the battery volts the next day it was back down to 12.2 but car started fine again with no warning message on the dash. I then put it on another trickle charge of 2 amps for 6 hours and the voltage was back up again to 12.8 volts.
Some may say its time to change the battery as its 5 and half years old mainly doing low miles and am prepared to do that but I wonder if something is draining the battery overnight and all I have noticed and why I hope you can help out is that the lighting switch remains illuminated when the car is stationary and engine off and rechecked an hour later its still the same. Is this normal and would such a small light drain a 90A battery so quick? Is this normal? Thanks for any advice.
Its a Banner Battery that is fitted and a great big thing it is too. I did check the voltage on the battery itself and its around the same voltage.