E60 strange fault!
Printed From: Bavarian-Board.co.uk - BMW Owners Discussion Forum
Category: Technical & Model Specific Forums
Forum Name: BMW 5 Series
Forum Discription: This forum will deal with any issues on the BMW 5 Series (E12, E28, E34, E39, E60 & E61)
URL: http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=50298
Printed Date: 29-April-2024 at 01:23
Topic: E60 strange fault!
Posted By: Martin Jennings
Subject: E60 strange fault!
Date Posted: 12-August-2014 at 12:34
Morning all, My boy has a 53 plate E60 530d SE and it is behaving very strangely from time to time. All is normal then the i drive goes bat sh*t and tells him every fault known to man and more and ends up with a red warning of transmission failure and goes into limp mode. Turn the car off, walk away swearing for 10 mins, re-start the car and all normal again!!! No faults stored and drives perfectly for a couple of weeks and does it again! Hope someone can help with this as it is ruining a lovely car!  ------------- Currently in a Merc but wanting an E46 Alpina badly!very badly! |
Replies:
Posted By: Andrew Rolland
Date Posted: 13-August-2014 at 08:32
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You need a new battery.
When my first E60 had a fault that caused a battery drain, the first I knew about it was when it wouldn't start the next morning.
On jump starting it it fired off all sorts of warnings in the iDrive, including all red and transmission warnings. The BMW tech that came out to help me said these warnings were due to low battery power. An car such as the E60 is very electrical power hungry. The autobox alone uses a lot of electrical power. Not enough electrical power and the car isn't happy and fires off all the warnings.
Suggestion is that you get your battery changed for a new one. Make sure it is of the same size amp hour as the original one.
If you go by some sources a new battery needs to be programmed into the car. As these cars have more electronics than is helpful sometimes, the car learns the charge state of the battery an adjusts the rate of charge given to the battery. This is done via the IBS (inteligent battery sensor). A new battery has a different rate of charge to the one that is currently in your car, which is why in theory a new battery needs to be programmed into the cars ECU.
Have a read of http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=47425&title=e60-battery-replacement-query" rel="nofollow - this post
Although I know of folk on here who have changed over their E60 batteries and they have had no issues.
My battery is over 10 years old and touch wood is still o.k. ------------- 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 |
Posted By: Martin Jennings
Date Posted: 15-August-2014 at 11:06
Thanks Andrew, He has put a new battery on but it spins over but will not fire so it is being recovered and taken in to have diagnostics and battery programmed to the ECU. Hopefully all will be fine.  ------------- Currently in a Merc but wanting an E46 Alpina badly!very badly! |
Posted By: Andrew Rolland
Date Posted: 15-August-2014 at 11:34
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I'm trying to think how not firing is linked to a new battery. Could be just coincidence though.... Keep us posted. ------------- 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 |
Posted By: Martin Jennings
Date Posted: 20-August-2014 at 09:40
Update on this one, it gets weirder by the day. Car now running, New battery was required, all old faults and stored codes wiped off and fuel sender produced an active fault. Apparently when the fuel level reaches below a quarter the sender is telling the car it's out of fuel and shutting it down so need new sender unit apparently, anyone else come across this one? Also the service light is now on but did not know if this was because the car is detecting an active fault with the sender unit, service not due for 10K+. Any thoughts welcolme.  ------------- Currently in a Merc but wanting an E46 Alpina badly!very badly! |
Posted By: Andrew Rolland
Date Posted: 21-August-2014 at 09:51
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What service light is on? The need for a service will be based on the CBS continious monitoring, so it shouldn't be related to the battery fault, what service icon is displayed?
Was the battery programmed into the car? Wondering if it wasn't and the 'change' in the available electrical power has upset something?
You get weird electrical faults when your battery starts to fail and I'm wondering if the reverse is now happening with a new one if it wasn't programmed into the cars ECU properly ------------- 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 |
Posted By: UweM3
Date Posted: 21-August-2014 at 12:06
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Is there something flooded? On my E60 the drain plug was clogged up and the compartments under the pollen filters where FULL water. ------------- E61 520d, slow and buzzy but my wallet likes the mpg..... |
Posted By: Martin Jennings
Date Posted: 09-September-2014 at 12:59
Update time! It transpires that the new battery was only giving 68% efficiency! Another new battery aquired and fitted by a specialist who knew what he was doing thankfully, with a full electrical check, and all seems well! Thanks for all the help, it was the battery as originally suggested, so the power of the forum is proven!  ------------- Currently in a Merc but wanting an E46 Alpina badly!very badly! |
Posted By: thepits
Date Posted: 09-September-2014 at 16:03
 ------------- Cats know your every thought. But don't care. |
Martin Jennings wrote:Posted By: Andrew Rolland
Date Posted: 11-September-2014 at 15:00
Good stuff, it is rare that we get a good techie problem on here now to solve. ------------- 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 |
Posted By: Martin Jennings
Date Posted: 17-September-2014 at 18:02
Well!!!  Same fault has reappeared! on returning the car to the garage that fitted the battery 2nd time they delved deeper into the car and it promptly went into fault mode while plugged in which was handy! It transpires that this car has a smart start alternator, i.e. when the battery is fully charged it turns off the feed apparently and sends full power to vehicle systems, when it detects a voltage drop in the battery it diverts charge until full again. Alternator coming from Germany at £450+vat and 3hrs to fit. Will take 7 days to get it but hopefully will finally put this to bed.------------- Currently in a Merc but wanting an E46 Alpina badly!very badly! |
Posted By: thepits
Date Posted: 17-September-2014 at 19:31
Don't you just love these "clever" cars  Keep us posted please. ------------- Cats know your every thought. But don't care. |