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      10-09-2020, 09:21 AM   #1
nazali
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Maybe battery issue - thoughts

So still trouble shooting (using INPA)

Car is not being used regularly, but has not had any problems
recently the charge on INPA for last week has been in the 40%-60%

I had battery discharge alert as well, which goes when I drive

I had a alarm which basically translates to;the car is not going into sleep mode or rather keep going awake after sleep mode (forget the code)
so there is a drain.

My comfort access handles have not been working for a while, so I also heard this could be causing a drain , though no alarms for the CA system

Another thing I heard was if the battery is having problems, it switches of things in order to save power, wondering if the CA is shut down fo this reason, first passenger stopped then drivers stopped.

Battery is about 4-5 years old ? It was replaced by dealer when I bought the car, about 4-5 years ago

Thanks

I was thinking of pulling the CA cables to see if that resolves it not sure though, thanks
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      10-09-2020, 11:35 AM   #2
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Most problems like this are battery issues, and/or loose or dirty connections.
Get the car battery on a very good battery charger/maintainer. Most of us like Deltran, CTEK or Schumacher. Depending upon output of charger, leave it charging for even 2-3 days.
Buy a small voltmeter that plugs into your power point [used to be cigarette lighter in my days] and monitor your voltage, especially the 2-3 seconds after starting car. Anything over 11.5 volts (for those 2-3 seconds) and you should be OK. Thereafter voltage should be about 13.5 to 14.4 volts.
My battery is original to my 2008, so 12¼ yrs old. Winter stored 4-5 months and always on my Deltran for the past 10 yrs.
Lots of reports of loose battery ground cables down low on drivers side of engine.
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      10-09-2020, 12:05 PM   #3
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txs, yes I use a Ctek (bmw original) battery connections in boot and charge terms are good, may check the engine earth strap if I can find it

Good tip on the volt meter, I'll see if I have a bust cig lighter adaptor to wire up to it

Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthernDancer View Post
Most problems like this are battery issues, and/or loose or dirty connections.
Get the car battery on a very good battery charger/maintainer. Most of us like Deltran, CTEK or Schumacher. Depending upon output of charger, leave it charging for even 2-3 days.
Buy a small voltmeter that plugs into your power point [used to be cigarette lighter in my days] and monitor your voltage, especially the 2-3 seconds after starting car. Anything over 11.5 volts (for those 2-3 seconds) and you should be OK. Thereafter voltage should be about 13.5 to 14.4 volts.
My battery is original to my 2008, so 12¼ yrs old. Winter stored 4-5 months and always on my Deltran for the past 10 yrs.
Lots of reports of loose battery ground cables down low on drivers side of engine.
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      10-09-2020, 12:09 PM   #4
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wait what !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow

Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthernDancer View Post
My battery is original to my 2008, so 12¼ yrs old. Winter stored 4-5 months and always on my Deltran for the past 10 yrs.
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      10-11-2020, 09:24 AM   #5
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I just also wanted to say I've noted, the battery eye, very rarely if at all shows anything other than black, I think once I saw green, but I always rely on INPA charging
so don't know if the eye is faulty, or can go faulty.

I will try the tests as suggested by northern dancer.

BTW my GPS shows on screen voltage on driving (when I review the tapes) always shows around 14.5 when driving

thanks
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      10-11-2020, 04:50 PM   #6
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2013 BMW 128i  [10.00]
I had issues on my 2013 128i where the comfort-access wouldn't respond to touch but the key buttons still opened the doors. The battery was original, eight-years old. Eventually I would get the battery-voltage warning. I'd charge overnight on a C-Tek charger with a "reconditioning" mode and everything would work fine for about a week.

I replaced the battery maybe a month ago and haven't had any issues with the comfort-access features since.
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      10-11-2020, 05:00 PM   #7
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Yeah, you need to have your Smart Charger hooked up anytime the car is idle. Lack of use and short trips are a battery killer in these cars. They never shut off completely and many of the cars systems are extremely sensitive to a weak battery. I connect my BMW/Deltran anytime the car sits more than a few days and leave it connected all winter in storage. I just changed out my original battery after 9 yrs. and it was still working fine.
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      10-12-2020, 11:48 AM   #8
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Hey so I tried this this morning,

voltage when ignition switched on at cig lighter port was about 12.9,
then when started the voltage crept up around the 13.5 to 14.4 volts.

DVM may be a bit out, it shows a short as 3.3 ohms LOL, could be the leads
but I think those are respectable figures.

Still not happy about the battery eye showing black, I've tried looking at it from all angles, no go, I remember it did show green (on and off) ages ago


Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthernDancer View Post
Buy a small voltmeter that plugs into your power point [used to be cigarette lighter in my days] and monitor your voltage, especially the 2-3 seconds after starting car. Anything over 11.5 volts (for those 2-3 seconds) and you should be OK. Thereafter voltage should be about 13.5 to 14.4 volts.
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      10-18-2020, 07:39 AM   #9
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I replaced the battery, like for like, coded it, I noticed the old battery (through the partially see through white casing was VERY black, the new one you could see the plates and nowhere near as black.

New battery was 9/20 only a date code on the old one was C5 ?

txs
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      10-18-2020, 07:52 AM   #10
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March 2015, 5 year old battery, so hmm sounds about right,
as dealer replaced the battery when I bought it under warranty
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      11-29-2020, 03:37 PM   #11
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There's a diy I saw recently about adding distilled water to the BMW batteries and hooking them up to a reconditioner to extend their life.

I think the batteries in the 1 series are not AGM, they're lead acid batteries.

Under the sticker on the top/front of the battery are like 4 (I think) plastic screws for you to add more water to when they get low.

Alternatively you can just buy the battery acid / fluid and carefully remove the old fluid with a syringe if the battery doesn't respond well enough to just adding water. I think the recondition setting on the battery charger needs to be cycled a few times when you do this though.
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      11-30-2020, 10:33 AM   #12
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I ended up replacing, but in hindsight, I ruined the battery by not topping up with dist water, the green light went off. so essentially there was no acid in the battery LOL

I always assumed maintenance free, dont touch

BULL CRAP ! LOL

wont do that a second time

but I replaced and coded myself
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