Weird Electrical Issue & Car Won't Start

[Nixolas]

Hey guys!

So I had an extremely weird issue after owning my 2009 125i for over 3 years without any issues. I parked my car at my office and left it there for 4 hours before leaving. Here's where the problem started.

I put the key knob thing in and I remember feeing something was wrong (not sure what it was, probably noticed something it did that was unusual) and when I went to press "Start" everything went haywire. The lights started flickering and things started to turn on and off, there was a constant ticking sound coming from what I think is the fuse box, and the car wouldn't start and the key was stuck in the thing. I thought it could be that I drained the battery by leaving something on, so I checked the battery with a volt meter but everything was perfectly fine (plus I recently replaced my battery last year).

I had to hold he start button for 10 seconds or so before it released my key. The car was still ticking and lights strobing even without the key, the doors won't lock and basically nothing works. It's just stuck in this limbo. I disconnected the battery to see if I could reset it. But when I connected it again it went back to its limbo state with the flickering and ticking. I decided to unhook the negative in my battery so that I won't drain it and call the service center today to see if they can help.

What do you guys think happened? This is completely bizarre to me.

[Nixolas]

I've been reading a lot about this online and everyone seems to keep pointing to the battery not holding a charge / volt not high enough. Should I call the battery guys? I have a volt meter, should I test it again? I don't know much about cars so if you guys can tell me what it should read let me know. There is very minimal corrosion on the (-) terminal, is it worth a shot to clean that?

[Nixolas]

FIXED. I called a battery service and they came out right away. Checked the battery and basically it was bad. Alternator works perfectly though so they said I just needed to replace the battery. Did it and it started up perfectly.

The only issue now (besides the reset radios and clock) is my windows won't automatically go down a little when I open and close the door, so I have to do it carefully temporarily. Anyone know a quick fix to reset the windows so that I don't have to bring it in to service for that?

EDIT! Thank you AndyM, found this in another thread: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224511

If you disconnect the battery and lose one touch up/down and or the positive seal function, you need to reset the windows.

This procedure will reset the windows limits so that when you open the door the window will drop the 1/4 inch.

- Sit in the car, and put the key in position 1, so you have power to the windows.

- Push and hold down the window switch, and keep it held down for 5 seconds after the window is all the way down. This re-sets the memory, telling the motor, in effect, “Remember where we are now? ”

- Roll window back up, and release switch.

- Open door. Marvel at the downward motion of the window. Repeat on other side, if needed.

[Dackelone]

Your still gonna need the battery to be coded to your car - in order for it to charge correctly. Otherwise your new battery will not last very long.

[Nixolas]

Aw man, does this mean I need to send it off to a BMW specialist this weekend? I'm guessing 'coding' isn't a DIY kind of thing..

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Nixolas

Aw man, does this mean I need to send it off to a BMW specialist this weekend? I'm guessing 'coding' isn't a DIY kind of thing..

Yes, you will need to visit a dealer or a shop that can "code" it for you.

[Nixolas]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Yes, you will need to visit a dealer or a shop that can "code" it for you.

Thanks man, learned a lot today haha. They don't open until Saturday so I'll try not to use my car too much this weekend, I hope that doesn't do anything bad to my battery by waiting a couple days before I get the car coded.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Nixolas

Thanks man, learned a lot today haha. They don't open until Saturday so I'll try not to use my car too much this weekend, I hope that doesn't do anything bad to my battery by waiting a couple days before I get the car coded.

You can still drive it. By "not last long" I meant in years not days.