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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Wheatridge,Co
    Posts
    205
    My Cars
    E30/E34/E36/MK2GLI/E46M3

    E53 X5 3.0i parasitic battery draw

    It's a 2004 model with the 3.0i and I just can not figure out this damn battery drain. I just bought this thing to fix and flip ,but don't want to sell it with ANY issues. The damn battery was the first thing I replaced , and then the alternator ( Valeo ) because the diodes tested bad. I've done the amp test with the car in sleep mode with shows less than 50mA so I should be good, but something must be waking the car up at night at some point. The radio Amp and Bluetooth/Phone modules were corroded when I got it so I replaced the Radio Amp with one from the Junkyard and got the radio working with the exception of the low channel speakers. There must have been a leak in the hatch area where those computers live, but I cleaned the drains (hatch&tailgate)there and haven't noticed any water back there since. There was some aftermarket BS wired into the Center console that I took out ( think it was a phone adapter ) The wiring should all be back to normal now. The car won't even go overnight without killing the battery. I did the whole pulling fuses thing with the meter attached to watch for a change in amp pull , not much was figured out except there is an Aux Heater that was never used pulling power. Now I'm thinking the FSU of the HVAC system, but the fan seems to operate fine on all speeds. This thing is making me so mad I want to push it off a cliff or just set it on fire.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Location
    Nyack
    Posts
    2
    My Cars
    2012 BMW X6 50i

    Check the airbags...

    Strong possibility that you may have leaky airbags, which sets off the automatic inflators - and causing the power drain on the battery. Also if you have comfort access, some users have reported battery issues with the door handle shorting and causing dead batteries when the vehicle is parked overnight...

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    386
    My Cars
    750 F01, 850i, LR3 HSE
    Quote Originally Posted by WERDNA1975 View Post
    It's a 2004 model with the 3.0i and I just can not figure out this damn battery drain. I just bought this thing to fix and flip ,but don't want to sell it with ANY issues. The damn battery was the first thing I replaced , and then the alternator ( Valeo ) because the diodes tested bad. I've done the amp test with the car in sleep mode with shows less than 50mA so I should be good, but something must be waking the car up at night at some point. The radio Amp and Bluetooth/Phone modules were corroded when I got it so I replaced the Radio Amp with one from the Junkyard and got the radio working with the exception of the low channel speakers. There must have been a leak in the hatch area where those computers live, but I cleaned the drains (hatch&tailgate)there and haven't noticed any water back there since. There was some aftermarket BS wired into the Center console that I took out ( think it was a phone adapter ) The wiring should all be back to normal now. The car won't even go overnight without killing the battery. I did the whole pulling fuses thing with the meter attached to watch for a change in amp pull , not much was figured out except there is an Aux Heater that was never used pulling power. Now I'm thinking the FSU of the HVAC system, but the fan seems to operate fine on all speeds. This thing is making me so mad I want to push it off a cliff or just set it on fire.
    Should be less than 30mA.

    Most common on this model is the blower motor resistor (FSU), it will work on all speeds but with the vehicle off it will turn on the fan sporadically.

    Also ensure it does not have low Jack fitted/hidden, when they fail they pull high amps.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Wheatridge,Co
    Posts
    205
    My Cars
    E30/E34/E36/MK2GLI/E46M3
    I'm quite sure it doesn't have any type of tracking system fitted, but I guess I could do the FSU for the HVAC system. I just don't want to throw any parts at this thing unless I know the issue with said part. Thanks

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