Quote:
Originally Posted by turquise1
This has been going on for a couple of years now. Everything is ok during summer when the weather is hot (in Chicago) but when weather gets colder, the battery is drained and dead in a couple of days or so. I killed 2 batteries so far and I am not sure Interstate will honour another warranty claim.
I already did the drain test and could not find the source. I have been reading about the GM3 not working properly because of its old capacitors especially when it is cold but replacing them did not seem to help either.
Right now, my X5 seems to go to sleep around 32 mins as shift light and IHKA fan turning off but the battery is almost dead again the next day as the car hardly starts.
Obviously, the alternator is checked and working fine.
I will do more drain testing but meanwhile I would appreciate any advise I can get..
Thanks for your help in advance..
Ozzie..
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Draining in the winter but not the summer is kind of normal. Cold lowers a batteries ability to function. A car battery looses about 1/2 its amp hours of storage at 40 degrees and lower. So basically any drain on the battery has twice the effect at those temperatures as it does when warmer. So a small drain might not be noticed in the summer but is deadly to the battery in the winter.
A solar panel can offset that like mentioned but solar puts out less in the winter too so a small solar panel might not be enough to solve your problem.