2008 X5 Electronic issues after battery charging

[tkainz]

This is my wife's baby so I need to help get these issues corrected before .. well let's just say the doghouse would be a step up! Unfortunately, the little lady started it all. Yesterday, she inadvertently left her headlights on which drained the battery even more then it usually gets drained every day given that she commutes only about 25 minutes to and from work each day. To whit, when she went to drive home, the car barely turned over enough to get her started and home. When she got home I hooked up the battery charger and after about 5 or 6 hours, the battery was back up to 100%. Shortly thereafter, we had to visit a neighbor about 2 miles away. Upon starting the car, we were met with a warning that the AWD/DSC was malfunctioning, however, after about a 1/2 mile, that warning went away. I assumed that was originally due to her having the battery so low on the way home earlier in the day. Coming home from the neighbors, the car ran beautifully. When she went to work this morning, however, half way to to work (after approx 10 miles of driving, the same ADW/DSC error popped up again. In addition to this, however, the radio started cutting out and when she was on the phone with me, the phone was cutting out and she even said that at one point the brake (parking?) light came on. Is there something I need to reset after recharging the battery that I missed or something else I should have done to top off the battery charge? I used a "standard" battery charger with automatic shutoff, using the terminals in the engine compartment. We bought the car used about 4 to 5 months ago and other than having to replace the headlight bulbs, it's been running flawlessly. Thanks so much in advance for any suggestions and assistance.

[jclausen]

How old is the battery

[328 Power 04]

Sounds like either an old battery or problem with the alternator. Grab your multimeter and find out.


Also keep in mind, if you install another battery in that car, you will have to get the battery change "registered" into the car's ECU. This is very important as it affects the way it charges the new battery. Also, install the same type and size (the mAh size) battery back in.

Battery registration is done with BMW diagnostics equipment.

[bmwdirtracer]

Aw, tell the wife that modern cars are complicated enough to make even the best trained technicians scratch their heads, sometimes. There's absolutely nothing here that's your fault.

Let's start with jclausen's question: age of battery? "The original battery" is the wrong answer. That would make it nine years old....and modern batteries in modern cars do NOT last nine years.

Here's an article, to help you explain why that is, to the wife:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...ns-bmw-n63-v8/

(I don't know what engine you have, it doesn't matter too much, you have to start this expedition with a known-good battery that's been properly registered in the engine computer.)

After the battery is replaced, and registered in the computer, it would be helpful to ask the computers for records of "closed circuit current violations". This is when the car remembers what circuit drained the battery, and how low the voltage went.

The ABS (DSC) HATES low voltages! Maybe the battery can't take a charge; maybe there's a loose wire, at the underhood terminals, or the battery itself. Or maybe there's another issue I haven't thought of yet.....Take the car to a good BMW shop, and have them diagnose the issue, and replace the battery. Your car has dozens and dozens of computers. You can't diagnose the problems in the backyard, no matter how good you are, unless you have the diagnostic computer necessary to talk to your car's computers.

I do this for a living; other than making sure that the battery is new, and all the main power and ground connections are clean and tight, there's little way to diagnose the issue without hooking up BMW's ISTA-D computer, or maybe Autologic. Those computers cost thousands of dollars, by the way.

[tkainz]

How old is the battery

We've owned the car for about 5 months... the battery came with it.

[tkainz]

Thanks for the information 328 Power 04! In the research I've done so far it seems like she's just not driving the car enough to restore the losses due to sitting, starting and, of course, leaving the lights on! With respects to the BMW diagnostics equipment, are there any options available for me to use on a laptop with an appropriate connecting cable? Unfortunately I'm about 4 hours to the closest dealership which makes taking the car there a full day event. But if I must, then so be it.

[tkainz]

Thank you very much for the information bmwdirtracer - it is very helpful. Despite the fact that it's about 4 hours to the nearest dealer, it looks like that's going to be the best move. Besides that, a new battery would remove that currently unknown from the equation. I don't know that there is anything draining the battery abnormally. In what I've researched so far, the battery draining down seems to be a consistent issue when driving the car for only 20 to 25 minutes at a time. I did learn that after recharging the battery, the bells and whistles could be reset by turning the steering wheel to the left and right extremes. In the mean time, until I can get to a dealer, I'll plan on topping off the battery on a weekend night so she can have fewer issues (if any) pop up during the week. Thanks again

[bmwdirtracer]

Your last post gave crucial info: If you're resetting the steering angle sensor, that battery is going dead. And that's bad.

If the battery says BMW on it, there's a date stamped on the terminal of the battery: STAMPED, into the metal of the post. That will be week/ year.

The computers in your car will be registering a "closed circuit current violation", if you have a significant parasitic drain, after shut off. You can find an analysis of this drain, using a good BMW diag computer.

Um, just referring to a 335 of the same year I worked on today, and regularly....you don't have an electronic device plugged in for charging when the car's shut off, do you?

My good friend, 328 Power, can help guide you to hooking up INPA on your laptop, and finding a suitable cable. I might be mistaken but I think you need an older operating program?

If you set up a decent diagnostic computer, we'll be very happy to help you avoid visiting the dealership so very far away from you.