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      01-24-2022, 08:11 AM   #1
SKJSS
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Parasitic draw? Battery issue? Other?

Hey all! First post, so be kind (ish???) to the new guy. I've got an '11 128i coupe. I brought the car to the shop last week to have them patch a tire. They didn't do any other work to the car. The car was at the shop overnight and they patched the tire first thing in the morning. When I picked up the car around 5pm, the battery was totally dead. Press the key and nothing at all happened. We jump started it and I drove home. I made sure the car was running for a good 40 minutes or so before shutting it off. Next morning...battery dead again. I pulled it out and took it to Autozone. They tested it and said it was bad. Bought a new battery and put it in. Next morning, brand new battery is dead. Charged it and ran the car for an hour. This time I went back out an hour later to see if it would start. It did, just fine. That was yesterday. This morning...dead again.

New to the BMW world, only had this car a few months, and I love it. In doing some reading, I've read about having to register the battery. Mine has not been registered yet. Could that cause my issue? The battery I put in was the "best" Duralast battery available. When I drive the car and press the button to shut the engine off, the radio and nav screen are still active, even after I get out of the car. I think it's only active for a few minutes, but not 100% sure. It's been like that since I got the car and I never had a battery issue. Thoughts?
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      01-24-2022, 09:31 AM   #2
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Registration affects how the alternator charges the battery, but it wouldn't cause your issues. It might cause premature battery failure, but we're talking about maybe 3-year lifespan vs 6-year. It's not an immediate problem.

From your post it sounds like the battery was charged at one point and died while the car was off. This would rule out the alternator not charging the battery so yes, it sounds like you have a short somewhere. It's time to check for fault codes.
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      01-24-2022, 10:09 AM   #3
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Do you mean fault codes in the OBDII? I've got a code reader.

Only other clue I can think of. When I picked the car up from the shop, the third brake light was broken. It's the little one that runs along the trunk. This is a shop I know and trust, and they say they have no idea what happened to it. It almost looked like a small rock hit hit it or something. Half of it was broken off (the lens). I haven't replaced it yet, I have a part on order. Could it have gotten moisture in it and caused an issue?
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      01-24-2022, 12:46 PM   #4
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Welcome

First of all, join BMWCCA.
This is your local chapter of BMWCCA; if you look at link, they have 3 recommended garages in your area. https://peachtreebmwcca.org/
Buy a Battery Tender, CTEK or Schumacher battery "maintainer" and use it when car not used for over a week. Simply hook it up for over night.
85% of all electrical issues are caused by lose or dirty connections and are often difficult to find. The BMW indy garages know where to look for problems but also people themselves have solved their problem by simply disconnecting all battery connections [in trunk, under hood], cleaning the terminals and reattaching.
My battery in my 128 is still the original one; car is a 2008. I know its weak [car is stored every winter on Deltran] and soon will have to get a new one but I have never had a problem with it.
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      01-24-2022, 02:17 PM   #5
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Thanks! Yeah, I need to join the BMWCCA. I wish those shops they recommend were closer to me. They're all about an hour away or more. There are a few good Euro specialists closer to me. I love my 128i too much to let it sit for over a week, LOL. It's pretty much my daily driver. I work from home most days, but still take the car out to bring the kids somewhere, run errands, etc...

It's just an odd issue. The car was fine, no sign of a weak battery. Then I picked it up from the shop with a broken tail light and a dead battery. Ever since then, I've had issues. The battery just won't stay charged, something is draining it.
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      01-24-2022, 03:29 PM   #6
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One other question related to this. In the past few weeks, I've had a few times where the car says it doesn't recognize the key fob, even though it's in my pocket. I pull the fob out of my pocket and the car starts. Usually this doesn't happen, the car will start with the fob in my pocket, but sometimes not. I assume the battery in the fob is weak. Could this have any impact whatsoever on the issue I'm having? I presume not, but want to confirm.
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      01-25-2022, 02:23 PM   #7
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The new battery has to be registered. Otherwise it will not charge properly and behave as you are describing.
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      01-26-2022, 07:56 AM   #8
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I understand that registering the battery (or not) effects how much charge the battery gets. However there's still some kind of draw on the system. When I charge the battery the car will restart just fine. Three hours later it's very weak. Next morning it's 100% dead.
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      01-27-2022, 10:36 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lester View Post
The new battery has to be registered. Otherwise it will not charge properly and behave as you are describing.
I don't believe this is true. The alternator still thinks it's charging an 8-year-old battery, but this won't cause the battery to die once it's charged. It also wouldn't realistically damage the battery permanently unless you left it unregistered for 6+ months or more.
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      01-27-2022, 10:42 AM   #10
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It's always possible that you got a bad battery. Unlikely, but possible. I had a $300 Odyssey battery fail in another car after 3 months. I assume that you've checked all the obvious draws like lights, stereo, etc. It's a pretty big draw to kill a new battery in 12 hours. You'd better get a battery tender on your battery or disconnect it soon. If you deplete it many more times it will be damaged.
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      01-27-2022, 11:31 AM   #11
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Agreed to all the above. Especially the charger until you figure it out.

Measuring the parasitic draw is straightforward, there are procedures written up and videos about it. Basically need a DMM (digital multimeter) and heed the reminders about keeping doors open (but the pins closed, so you can get into the car, but not pull power to the lights through the DMM and also let the car think you've gone away for a while while you make your measurements. Hook it up in-line and start pulling fuses and watch for a change.
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      01-28-2022, 09:30 AM   #12
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Is it coincidental, that a number of users on this forum are experiencing various electrical problems with their 8-12 year old models? Then when asked, they reveal that they replaced their battery 'recently' and that it was 'registered' by a process that may have been completed properly (or not).

Here is what the experts say:
https://www.bimmer-tech.net/blog/ite...d-registration

Before we dig into the process of battery registration, let’s focus on what BMW battery registration actually is. To put it simply, battery registration is a process of updating your vehicle with information that a brand new battery has been installed in your car. What's important, it should be performed each time you change the battery in your 2002 or newer BMW.

As your battery gets on in years and gradually loses its charging capacity, the vehicle adjusts the amount of energy needed to recharge to operate at optimal levels. The older the battery the more charging it requires. Registering your battery lets your engine control module (known as DME — Digital Motor Electronics) know that a new one is installed and as a result, the vehicle will reset the old battery statistics and won’t try to overcharge the new battery thinking the previous one is still inserted.

Apart from the registration procedure, you also have to code your BMW computer. It’ll be necessary each time you replace your battery, no matter its specifications - whether your battery is similar or extremely different from your old one.

Why is battery registration important on BMW?
The electrical system of BMW models manufactured after 2002 got very sophisticated, as it started to adjust charging to the age as well as the type of the battery. If you’re changing your BMW battery for a new one having different capacity or type, your DME has to be updated with this info. It happens for example when you’re switching between batteries with lower and higher cranking ampere ratings or swapping a Liquid Lead Acid battery for an AGM battery. However, swapping your old battery for an identical one also doesn’t free you from the obligation to go through a BMW battery reset procedure, as your vehicle has to program the battery capacity again.

What happens if you don't register BMW battery?
Registration is required so that your car knows about the changed specifications and can adjust to the new battery settings. Otherwise, if you don’t properly code BMW battery, it could result in many electrical problems; the battery life may decrease, you could overcharge or undercharge your battery, or in the worst case scenario, cause considerable damage to your vehicle’s alternator and electrical system — at this point your battery may fail prematurely.

What are the electrical errors that might occur? Certain modules of your BMW may turn off as a consequence of your car presuming that the battery life is low and wanting to save it. So, at that point your windows and mirrors may not close/open, your radio and interior lights might not work properly, or other modules not needed for starting or driving a car can fail.

Which BMW models require battery registration?
All BMW models manufactured after 2002 require battery registration, as they are significantly more advanced in terms of electrical environment, which aims to improve the gas mileage. Models developed since 2002 are equipped with the system of Intelligent Battery Sensors (IBS) that contains micro processors monitoring and measuring charge, discharge, voltage, current and battery temperature.
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