Getting to bottom of Battery drain...

[jst2878]

The new part costs 110.00. In one hour you can replace it yourself. Look on the diy page for replacement procedure. It's a little to the left of the passengers left foot, right behind the console

[mrloren]

I had to replace my FSR 3 times already.

1st time the X5 was two years old and I had to fight with the dealer to change it.
2nd time about 4 years later I paid $120 for a OE part from BMW.
3rd time two weeks ago I went and got "Replacement" brand from autopartswarehouse for $36 and free shipping.

I can now replace that thing in about 30 min

[ewswartz]

mrloren, 2003 x5 3.0, same issues and that is precisely the inspiration for the new membership here, as I have spent nearly $650 on diagnostics and repairs at 2 bmw dealers here in Ohio with no success. I can now replace the fsr with eyes closed but am not convinced this should be part of the scheduled maintenance at 6 month intervals. I will keep exploring the sleep mode, or lack of.

[FITZUNI]

FSU is dead again it lasted 2 months ...

[w3it]

I replaced my FSR 2 years ago and now have an electrical drain problem and wonder if it gone again. It was an ebay cheapy and Im seriously not convinced about ebay parts. I've had no luck with them! To help others out, give an indication by listing what drain current you read, mine was 0.2. Not sure yet if it is actually the FSR but will come back with further details.

Also, if you are at your wits end and no one can help, this interesting FSR tutorial might interest you if you fancy being an ultimate electrical problem solver.

[loul]

Originally Posted by Dygital

Fellow XOutposters, I have an 05 X5, and have had the same problem of intermittent battery drain, and have taken it to an indy shop. Guy at the shop tells me it's my LCD screen. I can agree that that's the culprit since my LCD screen has gone visibly faded for a few weeks about a month ago, then went back to normal. Come to think of it, that's when parasitic drains began. I will order a replacement screen from Eurotech in China and hope that this will resolve it - will report back.

By the way, can someone point me to a write up on how to replace the LCD screen?

HI,

I have the same problem, it looks like my screen is creating a parasitic drain. Can you post the link of where you found the new screen and did you solve your pb by replacing screen ?

thanks a lot

[jspd234]

hi all, i have a 2001 x5 3.0. a week ago my wife had a dead battery. i thought she left a light on inside or something. i jump started it and she went about her day. next day same thing. dead battery. BTW battery is 9 months old. i charged the battery up with a 10amp charger for a few hours. started up fine. checked voltage not running. it was 12.2 volts. running it was 13.9 volts. also noticed park indicator light was on when car was off, locked up. noticed light doesnt go off ever. i changed out the FSR hoping that would cure it no such luck. also a few weeks ago my wife said the speakers started making crackling and hissing static noises. then no sound came out of them. she swaers she smelled electrical burning smell. then a week ago speakers starting working but sounding weird. then they stopped working again. then they started working normally again. i decided to have a new aftermarket stereo installed(she had been bugging me to upgade it for a couple years) sooooo.....my question is....can the stock oem amplifier keep the x5 from going into sleep mode? is that draining my battery? anyone have experience with this? thanks for your help!!!!

[jfoj]

12.2 Volts is not a charged battery, fully charged battery should have a terminal Voltage of 12.6 Volts, but this does not guarantee the battery is good. Even a fairly new battery can have problems, best to have it checked at the parts store.

As far as the vehicle sleeping, I do not know the specific Amp you have, but keep in mind the Amp may not be shutting down and draining the battery. Usually pulling the radio fuses for test purposes can help isolate the problem.

[jspd234]

my update: took it in to my indy bmw shop. using a dvom they checked all kinds of modules for draw. found the stereo amplifier had a 800 mA+ draw. he then unplugged the amp and immediately the dvom went down to 20-30 mA draw. he guaranteed me that was the issue. soooo.............how can I do a replacement/upgrade without spending $1200 list price for a stock oem amp?

[jfoj]

I am surprised there are not shops that know exactly what the problem is and offer a reasonable repair price. VW and other manufacturers have very similar problems.

My suggestion is if you do not want to repair/replace the amp, is to just get a relay and see if you can find power to another module. Put the relay inline to the power feed.

The ONLY thing about the cheaper relays is you NEED to put a clamping diode on the coil so you do not Zap what you are tied into to control the relay.

I do not know if there are any "Bosch" style relays that have integrated clamping diodes.