Member
2011 328xi sedan, auto 119k on the clock. Only had the car a few months but occasionally it would fail to turn over. I was also having some other indications, faulty door open, trunk open and burnt bulb indicator comes on that the battery may have seen better days. I also have an intermittent CEL, more on than off though. Was thinking a fresh battery would help.
WTF was I thinking. I made sure I bought the one the BMW dealer said was the correct size and amps, I was told 94 and 760cca, there was a 49 in the car but it was 760cca so should have been fine, both are AGM.
So put the new piece in, car fires up, all the lights come on, ASR etc.... I have seen this before, I drive away and they clear, BUT....
Service light stays on. My dash lights dont work, my headlamps dont work (thankfully the drls are working) my turn signals dont work and my windows wont roll down.
I put a new battery in the car and it is no longer able to lawfully operate on a public thoroughfare. I bet if I rebuilt the trans it would spontaneously catch on fire to spite me.
Member
Read the CEL codes.
With a voltmeter check battery voltage with car running. It should be 13+ to 14+. For a sanity check, check voltage on another car.
Regarding battery size, as you live in southern CA, a motorcycle battery would be large enough.
Member
The battery needs to be registered in the car’s computer - any bmw shop can do that. Also, ground cable in the bottom of the engine bay has a tendency to corrode or break causing electrical gremlins - may worth a check. I needed to do both on my 2009 335xi
Jbird
Regarding the tail light faults ect check for faults on the footwell module (frm) module I’ve had frm modules goe out just replacing the battery
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