Parasitic Battery Drain e53

[Bmwe5320023.0]

11mA that's great! Hopefully this is going to be your draw when you fixed the other issues.

EWS delete is way less than $500.
I can do it for you or I can't send you a dme with deleted ews. Can also update dme to latest firmware at the same time. I've build myself a bench set up for that.
I see your car is 3.0, which is m54 engine.
But first I'd test everything else properly.

If you wiggle the shifter and the light comes on, I'd remove the shifter boot in the center console and see if you can find any loose wires.

Then you can also remove the steering wheel plastic cover, above and below the steering wheel, and disconnect the BC switch connector. Then measure amp draw.
If you're saying your BC switch doesn't work, could very well be a shot in it. You can replace it at the same time.

Try disconnecting the seat harness under the seat and test for draw. It's easy to access.

The hatch button assembly is notorious for causing problems and water seeping in.

It's literally 4 torx bolts. Remove them, disconnect the switch and see if amp draw drops.

Hopefully you get this fixed soon. Keep us updated

[Jps1995m3]

Maybe this could help some people.


https://youtu.be/r9J0-C8ZgiI

[X5chemist]

Jps1995me,
Thanks for posting the video. I've seen it searching for amp draws. The first thing for an owner is to determine whether the draw is from non sleep mode or a circuit/component draw. Once a draw determination is made, each one has a different way to troubleshoot it. A scanner/software comes in handy. Doing a fuse voltage drop test is eliminates good non draw circuits.

[Shane2jz]

I have had a few similar problems to others in this thread and have today stumbled across something that may be worth checking.

So mine is a M57D Manual 6sp 2004. Increasingly it has been randomly draining the battery, and draining it to the degree that even the central locking wont work. I was pretty sure it was a leaky airspring on the back as I had heard the compressor working a few times when I had parked up (on a slope) and just presumed the pressure was dropping through the night and the compressor was running. I needed an early start today and didnt want to have to piss around first thing with a possible dead battery so pulled fuse 80 to the air suspension.

Went out this morning...dead battery again. Got it started and set off and discovered my indicators (turn signals) didnt appear to be doing anything, well not inside the car anyhow, later we checked and externally they were. Occasionlly the green arrows on the cluster would randomly start to fash but then I would turn and the indicator would continue to flash despite the stalk returning to centre. as the journey went on the turn signals seemed to develop a mind oftheir own. Hazzards behaved in the same way. I headed to the LCM and discovered the carpet in that area was soaking as was the cover of the LCM.

The usual thing of the drain pipe coming detached behind the airbag cover hadn't happened and was still in place. But it's cold and raining here in the UK today and couldnt stand it anymore. But..I am sort of thinking now that this is also the problem with the dead battery too. Will pull it to bits tomorrow and report back.

Edited to update: LCM dripping with rainwater and on examination had a few dry joints on the connector pins. Dried it out and re soldered the dry joints and everything worked fine and no more flat battery. used an airline to clear the drain by applying it at the metal pipe where the rubber pipe meets it. Staying dry at the moment...Will keep an eye on it.

[petebert]

How do you test for sleep mode without waking the car up? So if it goes to sleep, and I open the door or trunk, does it "wake up"?

[Bmwe5320023.0]

It does. Small orange light on the shifter is a good indication. Light will go out in 16 minutes after you don't touch the car. Then you know it's in sleep mode.

[petebert]

Right, so how do I test without waking it up? Isn't part of the test to check the draw in sleep mode? Or are you just watching the shifter for sleep mode off/on and then after that testing each fuse?

[X5chemist]

A FoxWell does the work for me. The shifter light is right on. The Foxwell can command the X5 to sleep. The doors can be open but the latches must be locked. Same goes for hatch or tailgate. I guess you can sit in the rear for 16 minutes if you like. Using a scanner is much easier. Since power is going through F60 on mine, it won't go to sleep. If I pull it, amp draw is 11 mA. A cousin that works for a BMW dealership has offered to help me out. He'll code a new GENIII module. I just need to buy one. Plus, I'll pay him for an alignment. I would trust him over a general alignment shop. One promising note. My cousin says in all the years he's worked for BMW, he's only touched 3 M54 engines! He agrees it's the best engine BMW ever made.

[Bmwe5320023.0]

You test it by connecting the multimeter in series between the negative battery terminal and negative cable. Open the read door and wait until the car goes to sleep. It will go to sleep even with an open door.
Then you come back and look at thr multimeter readings and you'll see the draw in sleep mode.

[StephenVA]

BMW Vehicle Parasitic Draw Testing
When your car battery goes dead overnight, usually either the battery is at the end of its life span, or you left something on, such as a light. Occasionally something is drawing power that's not of your doing. This is a parasitic draw, and it can cause the same result as leaving the headlights on: a dead battery in the morning.

1. Remove the negative side battery cable from the negative battery terminal.
2. Connect the black wire to the com input on the multimeter and the red wire to the 10A or 20A input on the multimeter. The meter needs to be able to read at least a 2 or 3 amps for this test to work. Connecting the red wire to the mA input on the multimeter won't work and could damage the meter.
3. Attach a multimeter (set the dial on the multimeter to measure Amps as per multimeter’s instructions) between the negative cable and the negative battery post. Wait a few seconds to several minutes for the car to go into sleep mode - i.e. when you make the contact with the ammeter, the cars computer systems "wake up". After a bit of time they will go back to "sleep".
4. If the ammeter is reading over 25-50 milliamps, something is using too much battery power.
5. Go to the fuse panel(s) and remove fuses, one at a time. Pull the main fuses (higher amp ratings) last. Perform the same steps for relays found in the fuse panel. Sometimes relay contacts can fail to release causing a drain. Be sure to observe the ammeter after pulling each fuse or relay.
6. Watch for the ammeter to drop to acceptable drain. The fuse that reduces the drain is the draw. Consult the owners' manual or service manual to find what circuits are on that fuse.
7. Check each device (circuit) on that fuse. Stop each lamp, heater, etc. to find the drain.
8. Repeat steps 1 & 2 to test your repair. The ammeter will tell you the exact numbers.
BMW Battery Draw Testing
If your Shifter light is on, the car is definitely staying awake.
Your Battery will go down within days. If the light is not on you can have a parasitic draw, while the car is in sleep mode. The only difference, is the second draw is from a module which can’t wake the system (not mission critical), and it will take a lot longer to discharge the battery.
Shifter light NOT on: (battery fully charged)
Find the ground cable on the battery, but do not disconnect. (the cable end connected to the body not the battery, is easier to handle.)
Connect the Positive lead from the “Fluke” to the body of the car (good ground)
Connect the Negative lead to the (brown) ground cable (you can puncture it)
Make sure it’s easy to disconnect the (brown) cable from the body, but don’t take it off yet.
Open the glove box and remove and disable the switch so the light will not turn on, locate the fuse box.
Start the car and run at idle, turn EVERYTHING on, and activate all the components (sunroof, windows, a/c, lights …..) run 5 min.
turn the car off and remove the key. Open all doors and trunk, and with a screw driver,
close the door locks so the system thinks all doors and the trunk is closed.
Now lock the vehicle with the remote.
The “Fluke” must be set up to “A” not “mA” otherwise you will blow the
fuse in the meter. Remove the nut from the ground cable and remove the cable from the stud. You meter will indicate around (300mA).
Let the car go to sleep. (16 min) minimum, if this is not happening start over.
After the sleep mode is on the draw should not be more then 50mA, if it’s more go to the glove box and start pulling fuses one by one and check the draw after each one, but do NOT re-install the fuse. Pull the fuse and leave it out
There are some fuses under the right cover in the trunk. If you pull a fuse and car wakes up start over (next time ignore this fuse). If you pull a fuse and the draw drops to around 50mA, read the label on the fuse, you will know which circuit is faulty.
Relay locked on - test
Take out your infrared temp gun and measure each relay. The one that is hotter is "on". Simple!