Warning Light - Stopped Vehicle, will not restart

[Salty_Dog]

Current Draw Test's

When doors are first closed

Reading: 3.65 Amps

5-10 minutes after closing doors


Reading: 0.86 Amps


When in Sleep Mode
Park LED has gone OFF


Reading: 0.14 Amps

That reading is a mile away from 40-50mA !!!!

[Salty_Dog]

Well, after 2 hours on the cheapest old 4Amp iron core charger

I reconnected the Battery just to move the car
Vehicle started, all faults gone from the instrument cluster apart from the yellow DSC.
A quick left to right on the steering wheel and that cleared.

After stopping the vehicle, the battery was up to 12.4v

So it would seem, all of this is due to a discharged/underchagred battery


Next move is find out why??

Alternator?
Parasitic Drain?

Another question, is there any difference in leaving your key in the ignition, doors unlocked.
Or removing the key and locking the vehicle in relation to power drain for over night storage?

[blakamin]

Parasitic drain from the CD changer is quite possible. Had that in my E38 a month ago. I pulled the cd changer out and no issues now.

Use the cluster and go for a drive, like wpoll said, with lights and things on, and watch the voltage in the cluster. Switch things on and off and see what happens.

I've left my e53 and e38 unlocked on many occasions, but not with the key in them. It has never caused a starting issue, but the key in the ignition might stop the system going fully to sleep after 16 minutes..

[Salty_Dog]

Originally Posted by blakamin

I've left my e53 and e38 unlocked on many occasions, but not with the key in them. It has never caused a starting issue, but the key in the ignition might stop the system going fully to sleep after 16 minutes..

Ahhhhh very good point
My partner has a bad habit of doing this every night and only drives the vehicle 2k's to work and back!

[Salty_Dog]

Ok, after the Battery sat on the charger all night (out of vehicle)
I have an AGM Battery sitting at 12.8v (the correct voltage)

Start vehicle
4x4 (DSC) yellow light is on. Turn wheel left to right, it goes out.

Reverse vehicle out of garage
Attempt to get into dash cluster menu to watch voltage as i drive (its Locked)

Turn vehicle off to get out of Service Menu

Restart vehicle, DSC, ABS and Warning light back on and will not go off

Turn vehicle back off

Try to restart it, all it does is crank over with no starting

Back to square one

Tested Alternator output: 14.4v at engine bay terminals while engine is running

[Salty_Dog]

Further Update......

After letting the vehicle sit for 30minutes, it would restart
But again, with the DSC, ABS and Warning Light on in Red

I unlocked the Cluster Menu, checked voltage, was 12v
I then went to Menu position 21 and Reset the OBC (not sure why i did this)

All the warnings lights remained on (DSC, ABS and Warning)
Drove the vehicle around the block and parked back in driveway

Turn vehicle off
Removed key, waited 20seconds
Inserted key, turned to position 2, No lights on dash (at this point, i knew vehicle would not start)
Turned the key to start, nothing, no cranking, nothing, total lock out.

Repeated this process 2 more times
Same outcome, now cluster lights, no cranking.

Yet i know, if i let the vehicle sit for 30minutes it will start again


Im lost with this one, time for the 200 Series Landcruiser

Next i will go and get my Laptop with PA Soft OBD2 software and a new Battery i have in workshop
All i can think of right now.

In relation to the vehicle not starting or displaying the warning lights on dash prior to starting
I have been reading about the IVM module
https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...o-start-2.html

Not sure if this related to our Diesel version or not?

Just retested my Battery voltage, 12.14v
It shouldn't be that low in my books..... It was on a charger all night, it was 12.8v only 1 hour ago.

I think wpoll is right, this Battery has gone defective after only 18 months!

What is strange, is we have had flat or low batteries many time in the passed, it has NEVER shown up the DSC, ABS or Warning lights
It just displays slow cranking and noticeably slower central locking operation.
This Battery, even with it low voltage, still cranks fine and central looking works fast and snappy

Update....

Went down after letting the vehicle sit
Turned key, all dash light lit up, crack and started perfecting (albeit with the DSC, ABS and Warning still on)
Drove vehicle in garage at home,
Turned off and disconnected the battery

Battery Voltage once removed from vehicle was 12.56v (was i'd say was normal)
But obviously it drops the 12.14v when connected to vehicle because the electric load.

[Salty_Dog]

Battery removed from vehicle
Taken to "Battery World"

Load tested and voltage tested
Slightly down on voltage but would still delivery 500CCA for 10seconds

Sitting it on a CTEK charger now
Will give this one more try.

Only thing now is swap Battery over which i have a spare.

[oldskewel]

Originally Posted by Salty_Dog

Current Draw Test's

...When in Sleep Mode
...Reading: 0.14 Amps
That reading is a mile away from 40-50mA !!!!

Not that bad. 100 mA too high = about one Watt. I doubt this is the cause of your problems, but if you want to look into it, one place to start is by just pulling fuses in the fuse box right there to the right. You can pull a fuse see if the amps change, and move on to the next one. For my x5, about half of the fuses in there did nothing at all - they supplied power to an optional component I did not even have (heated seats, etc.). So I've pulled those.

And actually, since your x5 seems possessed (based on the latest reports), you might try pulling fuses of all non-essential items (GPS, etc.) just in case the demons are hiding in those components. Simplifies the problem you're trying to solve.

And I'd never park with the key in the car - not for theft reasons, but because of sleep mode concerns.

[wpoll]

Salty, the 3.0d has no IVM - later version petrol cards only (4.8is only?).

No need to turn the car off to get out of the service menu on the cluster - just hold the right button down for a few seconds. Done.

Seems like you do have some sort of power issue, and maybe the battery is a victim in all this, in that something has killed it.

I'm kinda suspicious about the state of the ignition switch still. A faulty ignition switch can cause all manner of carnage and could even be part of your high(ish) current drain. Not easy to diagnose as such but it's not hugely expensive and pretty simple to replace.

I guess you could unplug the loom connector from the switch to check if it removes any low-level drain but you aren't going to be able to confirm correct operation that way.

Part looks like this: -



Part number: 61326901961

[Salty_Dog]

Thank you guys, really appreciating the support here.

CTEK MXS 5.0 Charger is almost finished its cycle
(bought another CTEK new from shop this morning as mine is 2 hours away)

I will reinstall the battery and see if the vehicle is happy and all faults have gone away.
At this point, i have lost all confidence with the vehicle
(the fact that the DSC, ABS and Warning light came on whilst driving the vehicle, and i guess charging voltage being applied to the battery is a concern)
As you say wpoll, it still maybe a fault with the Battery, it is my last hope.

I shall report back when battery has been refitted.