08 520D Excessive Battery Discharge |
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ThosH
Advanced Newbie Joined: 08-July-2010 Status: Offline Points: 20 |
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Posted: 08-July-2010 at 17:14 |
Hi, Newcomer -- so please excuse if topic has already been addressed -- I have searched past 12 months postings.
I get the "Excessive Battery Discharge" warning when I switch on -- not always, but seems to be mostly after o/night, but sometimes after being parked for a few hours. Seems to be related to daytime lights being used on previous journey, but not always, and I suspect that charging rate is correct. Alternatively, there is some drain on the battery when parked. My car is manual -- I have asked other owners with 08 520D -- they happen to be auto --but they have not seen this. This is my first diesel car -- and second BMW. Previous petrol 00 520 sold with it's original battery. By the looks of things, this one won't last long! No real satisfaction from dealer -- hence this posting, surely somebody else has come across this before. Dealer refers to short trips, when battery has not had a chance to fully recharge. However, I have seen this on the morning after a 130 mile trip, so I suspect that there is some drain. Another dealer asked me if I was listening to CD/radio after a journey ......... Most recent was yesterday after being parked for 7 hrs -- having driven 45 mile on daylights. Please ..... can anybody give something that I can challenge the dealer with? Lovely car apart from that. I'd love to get this sorted out. Thanks ! ThosH |
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ThosH
Advanced Newbie Joined: 08-July-2010 Status: Offline Points: 20 |
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Hi, sorry --- typo in my posting ............. I should have said that I suspect that charging rate is not correct.
Sorry about that ! ThosH |
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Andrew Rolland
Moderator Group Go away rain Joined: 19-August-2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 6579 |
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My first E60 suffered from a battery drain. Turns out it was the ASC/ABS unit, replaced under warranty at a cost of over £1,000 picked up by warranty company. Take it to another BMW dealer, some of them of them out there are indeed chuffin' usless! Where are you in the country? Is it still under warranty from BMW? If so take it back to BMW and just make a fuss. Driving with headlights should not be a cause for excessive battery drain. I drive everywhere all times of the day with my sidelights on. I've got no issues on my E60. Andrew |
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Current '13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto Previous '04 04 E60 545i SE Auto '03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen) '98 S E39 523i SE Auto |
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ThosH
Advanced Newbie Joined: 08-July-2010 Status: Offline Points: 20 |
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Andrew,
Many thanks for response. Car is Dec 08, and is still under warranty. I am living in Ireland and car is a UK import -- purchased from a BMW dealer here. I did wonder if it was a "type" fault, hence my query to the Forum. Thanks again for the prompt response. By the way, is this Forum a joint Ireland/UK venture? I did search Google for an Irish BMW Club, but the site seemed to be out of date and when I clicked on the Forum (of that site) it seemed to transfer to your Club. All the best, ThosH |
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jetsetwilly2000
Really Senior Member II Joined: 10-December-2003 Location: Cambridgeshire Status: Offline Points: 701 |
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we're a global phenomenon! Hi and welcome to the forum, hope you get your problem sorted out
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Dergside
Really Senior Member II Joined: 16-May-2004 Location: Mid West, Ireland Status: Offline Points: 4000 |
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There's a bit of history there. In a previous life this forum was linked to BMW Car Club GB (and the Irish Section - the website you hit). The link with the club broke a few years back and the Irish Section of BMW Car Club GB has largely gone dormant over the past year or two. There are still some GB club members in Ireland but no real activity. A lot of those that were previously active in the Irish Section are either here and/or on www.BMW-Driver.Net. |
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ThosH
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ThosH
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Hi, Many thanks to Andrew & Jedtsetwilly & Dergside for your comments. A Forum such as this really does serve a need -- I wish ye continued success. I'll be contacting the main dealer and specifically asking what facilities they have for monitoring battery leakage. Cars have become so complicated, that they present a real challenge whenever something unusual happens. To me, it sems that either the charging rate is not correct or there is some battery leakage, when the car is supposed to be "sleeping". Problem is, the dealer will not want to acknowledge this & will try to say that the car is only doing short runs ---- not sufficient to keep battery topped up. We'll see what happens & I'll be back to keep you posted. I won't be surprised to find that it may be protracted .......! All the best, ThosH |
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Shamus
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ThosH
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08 520D : Update on "Excessive battery discharge"
Problem solved -- Last posting was early July, and shortly afterwards I spoke with Service Mgr at BMW dealership. To be fair to him, he seemed anxious to be given a chance to sort out the problem. Holidays and waiting on a courtesy 5 series delayed the job, until early Sept. After putting car on battery leakage test, it turned out to be a problem with one of two towbar sockets -- fitted at time of sale. Problem was with the grey 12S caravan socket. The modern equivalent of the old "split-charge" relay was faulty -- it was permanently in cct, wheareas it should only cut in when engine was running. Otherwise caravan battery charging/fridge would flatten car battery. The service message indication was intermittent -- surprising, since the additional load on the battery was constant. They kept car for most of a week, to ensure that nothing else was found. All OK since -- so, it seems when this machine goes to sleep, it doesn't want to be disturbed! Full credit to Morrison BMW for courtesy & professionalism throughout. Credit where credit is due. Since I first posted this issue, I have been receiving regular emails with postings on the various topics -- very informative ........ thanks to all ! ThosH |
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Andrew Rolland
Moderator Group Go away rain Joined: 19-August-2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 6579 |
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Hmm interesting.... I fitted a towbar myself to my E60 and I've got one of those split charge relay things burried away in my boot. Mibbie I'll pull the fuse out of it just to be sure. Was the towbar fitted by BMW? Was it a BMW towbar or an aftermarket one fitted by someone else? |
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Be exclusive and drive a Petrol 5 Series!
Current '13 62 F10 535i MSport Auto Previous '04 04 E60 545i SE Auto '03 53 E60 545i SE Auto (Stolen) '98 S E39 523i SE Auto |
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ThosH
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ThosH
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Andrew,
Witter Towbar was fitted by agent of BMW dealer, who fits towbars to their sales vehilcles -- included in sale prices. Relay was found to be faulty. I'd say your's is OK, if it has not caused problems. As you know, modern cars are extremely sensitive vis a vis electrics -- a certain level of battery load is expected in "sleep" mode. Anything outside of that is flagged as a service message. ThosH |
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