N55 Low battery and Engine malfunction warnings

[imagine02]

2011 X5 35i

While driving, the dash screen displayed "Battery charge level low" and then "Engine malfunction Reduced power". I was still able to drive it home, but with very little power (limp mode). All kinds of electronics went haywire when this happened too. I put my Optima charger on it for a few days and even with the battery fully charged, according to the Optima charger, the vehicle still displays low battery warnings. Most of the electrical gremlins were corrected after the battery was fully charged, except for the sunroof shade, which no longer moves. I hadn't been driving it much before this happened, so I'm assuming the battery started slowly draining a bit. It never got low enough that the engine couldn't start though. I had been driving for over an hour before it went into limp mode too.

After charging the battery and clearing codes, the only two that come back on the scanner are "valvetronic servomotor, position sensors: Supply voltage faulty" and "DME monitoring 5V sensor supply Voltage outside valid range". Most of the codes it was throwing before, were power related too.
The idle stumbles a bit once in a while, especially before the engine is up to temp. Otherwise it free revs just fine and besides it having slow acceleration in limp mode, the engine seems fine while driving. Eventually gets up to 60+ MPH with no grumbles or weird noises.

[imagine02]

Any thoughts or ideas how to fix it?

[jclausen]

So how old is the battery, had the car been sitting for awhile. The battery condition in these cars has to be excellent, if the batt3ry was 3-4 years old it’s probabley done. When trouble shooting the cars at the shop the first thing you do is hook up the correct charger to maintain voltage

[kouks]

I'm having similar issues. Researching the IBS - Intelligent Battery System. Mine works fine, but with even a newer battery and it sitting for a few days, I have starting issues.

[jclausen]

You all need to do some trouble shooting if the battery is done after a few days, find a good independent bmw shop

[300kplus]

So how old is the battery, had the car been sitting for awhile. The battery condition in these cars has to be excellent, if the batt3ry was 3-4 years old it’s probabley done. When trouble shooting the cars at the shop the first thing you do is hook up the correct charger to maintain voltage

You bring up a valid point.
My 1.5 year old battery had a parasitic drain from my passenger side puddle light that would throw a low battery warning every time I started it. It went away and has never come back BUT, if I let my e70 sit too long and put a heavier than normal load on it without the engine running [very rarely]she'll throw that low battery warning...

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[lexkaz]

check your generator.
check also if this supply 15 volt for AGM equipped vechiles and 13,8 v for ordinary lead batteries.
check negative terminal from engine to body. they have to be 2 on each side of engine. they corrode and perform pure. if you can't see just connect any battery charger WIRE to engine block and negative terminal to see if problem resolved.

[ciscorob]

So how old is the battery, had the car been sitting for awhile. The battery condition in these cars has to be excellent, if the batt3ry was 3-4 years old it’s probabley done. When trouble shooting the cars at the shop the first thing you do is hook up the correct charger to maintain voltage

What this guy said. If the battery age is 3+ years (and since you live in an area where your temps swing from the low 90's to the 0(F), I'd say anything from 3 years and on should be considered for replacement, I've noticed the same here in Texas. The cost of a battery isn't too bad if you can program the AH with something like a Carly device (or buy someone some beer/pizza to let you use theirs). Sadly, low batteries lead to strange issues with our machines.

[imagine02]

I now replaced the battery with a NAPA AGM and programed it about a week ago. Have driven it and cleared codes a few times since then, but it's still in limp mode. Those same two codes keep coming back, "Valvetronic servomotor, position sensors: supply voltage faulty" and "DME, monitoring, 5V sensor supply voltage outside valid range".
Grounding the engine didn't seem to change anything.

[300kplus]

So that brings up a question; what is it about "coding" new batteries? What does that mean? And if you don't have a new battery coded will it not work? Or will it not work correctly?
Ever since I had a new battery installed in my 2013 e70 LCI, I’ve had corky things happening. Indie told me he coded it. Puddle light parasitic drain, high drain warning light on and off now and again. I'm not sure the puddle light issue is resolved but it went away by itself but now I'm not sure...
Driving me bonkers! %^&*#!

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[300kplus]

Battery charger hookup...

How did you connect the battery charger? Did you have to take apart the cover in the rear cargo area?
On my 2013 e70 LCI it's located in the rear cargo area underneath a bolted down cover... What a f'd up design if you want to put a charger on OR is there an easier way?

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[Qsilver7]

So that brings up a question; what is it about "coding" new batteries? What does that mean? And if you don't have a new battery coded will it not work? Or will it not work correctly?

Since the debut of the new gen BMWs (e90/e60/e65/e70-up)...BMW uses an IBS (intelligent battery sensor) that communicates with the DME/ECU as to the condition of the battery. There are two terms that needs to be understood in regards to battery replacement not because many owners incorrect interchange the two as if they are the same...they are not.

• Registration: a new battery needs to be registered...which creates a new “baseline” as to the condition of the battery. You don’t want the system to charge a new battery as if it was the old battery.
• Coding: the specs of the battery is “coded” to the system. If the car came with a 85 AH AGM battery and you change it to a 92 AH or 105 AH battery, then these new specs need to be coded.

You can see in the screen shot below from the BimmerLink app...the various battery specs and battery type (regular lead-acid and AGM)...if you change the battery and it is a different type or has different specs you need to CODE the new battery...then once coded you will need to REGISTER the new battery.

Here’s info about the IBS and again the need for registration if the battery is replaced:

How did you connect the battery charger?
Did you have to take apart the cover in the rear cargo area?
On my 2013 e70 LCI it's located in the rear cargo area underneath a bolted down cover... What a f'd up design if you want to put a charger on OR is there an easier way?

To charge or jump the battery....you use the dedicated terminals in the ENGINE BAY (see the owners manual if you don’t know where they are). The IBS needs to be aware of any changes to the battery’s voltage. If you connect directly to the battery bypassing the IBS, the sudden change could be incorrectly interpreted by the IBS and cause warnings from the Check Control System.