Dead battery leads to issues...

[abirmaher]

Hi all,

So I parked my car this morning all good no problems to speak of. Got back to the car tonight and opened the trunk put my bag in unlocked the car got in and it wouldn't start. There was a clicking noise coming from the glove compartment area so I called roadside who sent someone to jump star the car which worked fine.

My first concern is how my battery just died after showing no signs of distress and I'm almost sure nothing was left on as I am a very careful person with things like that.

Second driving the car home now it started giving me a malfunction warning for breaks and something along the lines of stability control which said to be careful and not stop aggressively. That promptly went away.

I think I'm just going to take the car to service but honestly this has me a bit worried I'm just not sure if the dead batter caused the other issue or if it could have something to do with the rain from today. If anyone could shed some light I would really appreciate it.

[shodanusmc]

Dead batters are a terrible thing! Take it to the Dealer.

[vanbmw]

The new generation batteries tend to die a death very suddenly. One day they are fine, then they are dead. In the old days...a battery would show some signs of slow cranking leading up to failure. The good news is the new one last much longer!
My GUESS is the electrical problems resulted due to low battery voltage. If this is true..then maybe your alternator is having issues??? Just a guess. Once your engine is on the alternator should power everything just fine...maybe the combination of trying to charge the battery and running the eletrical was too much. It is a very quick test for the dealer to chake the power the alternator is producing and it is usually a standard test when replacing a dead battery.

[abirmaher]

Ya it feels like alternator to me. I ran it for like an hour and a half and when I got home turned it off and instantly it died again. Lights were flashing all over the place. All in all I'm pretty sure it's an electrical issue.

Also on the drive almost every time I came to a full stop I would get the ABS, traction control off and BRAKE lights on the instrument cluster. And some message on the iDrive about reduced brake and traction control. Either way quite sketchy. I think I'm just going to have it towed into he dealer by roadside.

Luckily I'm still under warranty so hopefully all will be fixed quickly.

[Eins Suchtig]

Abirmaher, got the same problem you described 2 weeks ago with my 2011 128i. Dashboard was posesed, including the speedometer going down from time to time during my trip to the dealer. They replaced the battery under warranty, now everything is perfect.

[abirmaher]

Sounds good. I appreciate the input. Sounds exactly like what I have on mine. Problem is I can't jump it so I think I'm going to get it towed to the dealership.

[ejm3]

I had a car years ago where I got in it in the morning, drove about 2 miles. Went in to get a coffee and the thing wouldn't start. Completely dead. Turns out it teh battery was dead from time or use but developed a short inside itself somehow. Replaced it and all was fine.

I do find it curious that you guys have dead batteries in fairly new cars.

[cpsquare8]

This has happened to a few of my BMW's from time to time. Over the many years I think BMW replaced 3 batteries under warranty, most shocking was on my X5 when it failed in less than one year. The only explanation that ever made sense was that the car was driven for too short a distance, thus the battery could not fully charge. They ran a full diagnostic and had all the trips and time of each. While perhaps a light driver even the tech thought the miles should have been enought to charge it. You may just have a bad battery-BMW will replace it.

[JimD]

I was debating replacing the starter battery on my boat early this year just because it is old - at least 10 years old. Before I spent the money, I bought a load tester from Harbor Freight for about $20. The battery tested fine, a little lower in CCA than new but adequate for a 70hp 2 cycle boat motor. So I kept it for now. I probably won't use this tester more than every year or two but I like having it. It will also tell you if there is a problem with the alternator. You just put the clamps on the battery and push a button (to apply load). I think it's just a voltage meter with a big resistor - it gets hot when you apply load.

Jim

[abirmaher]

It was the battery. Just replace by the dealership.