BATTERY DRAIN!!!!

[lwodt860]

For the last three days I have had to jumpstart my X5 after work. First thing I did was check the battery. I have an OEM BMW battery currently installed, it has an indicator on that shows a color of its current state (yellow = replace, black = insufficient charge, green = fully charged. My battery is showing black/green. With the help of a volt meter I found it reads well over 10 volts when the car is off and close to 14 volts when the car is running. I am under the impression this battery is ok and that my Transmission position switch might be faulty. When I purchased this car over a year ago, the owner told me that when he bought it, the car did not start. He cleaned the position switch with contact spray and cleaned the corrosion off the plate it grounds to. After that was done the car ran ever since ( a year and seven months ). I noticed that sometimes the light on the auto shifter never goes off. Would replacing this switch fix my battery drain? Through little research I found multiple threads on a ac blower resister? And suggestions will be appreciated!

[puddinboo]

what exactly is the volt meter reading? if its around 10v could be a bad battery or its not getting charged properly.

[lwodt860]

I'm pretty sure it read 10.48 after sitting for 4 hours. The gear position light was on next to the shifter for those four hours as well. I then started the car and the voltage jumped to 13.89 volts when in idle.

[lwodt860]

By the way if it helps I have a 2001 4.4

[StephenVA]

The first step in testing starting charging systems is to understand the ACTUAL state of the battery. With that in mind I have attached a few easy steps to see what is going on.

Batteries have not changed that much over the years as far as the test procedures. They stay the same.
Visual Inspection
State of Charge
Open Circuit Voltage
Load Test

Equipment Required: A KNOWN GOOD Digital Volt Meter. (Cheap is OK)
Step one: Test battery at the top posts (yes, I know it is in the trunk under God knows what. That is life. See engineering/design for details. It beats the back seat).

Car off after 30 mins: What is the reading? 12.5V or higher? Under 12.0 volts?

For the next steps read the attached docs. It will make the guessing game go away.....

[StephenVA]

In the next Shop Class 101 we will test the charging system....

[puddinboo]

seems like your charging system is working. 10.48 v is low.

[upallnight]

Battery is not holding a charge, OEM battery on a 2001, is it the original battery or has it been replaced? Do you know how old the battery is? If it is more than 5 years old, you need a new battery.

[lwodt860]

Thanks for the help everyone! I went and had the battery tested. According to a Napa battery,The battery seems to have a bad cell and won't hold more than a 50% charge. I am considering an interstate battery. Any recommendations? Thanks again for the help!

[lwodt860]

Napa battery tester*