How long will my battery last with radio on and engine shut off?

[Tymatk]

Hi

How long will my battery last with the radio on while the engine is not running? My car has DSP if that matter. (my batt is fairly new)

Im thinking of going to see a Drive In movie! Also how to turn my lights on the tailgate (bit that lift up) off? On a warm day, we'd rather sit in the trunk, munching junk food and have the upper tail gate lift up!

Thanks

[Cole]

Battery should last days with just the radio on. The current draw is minimal compared to the size of the battery, so son't panic about it lasting thru a Drive in... Not sure about the tailgate light without going out to check, but you can turn off the interior lights by holding on the light switch on the overhead console until the interior lights turn off.

[Tymatk]

Originally Posted by Cole

Battery should last days with just the radio on. The current draw is minimal compared to the size of the battery, so son't panic about it lasting thru a Drive in... Not sure about the tailgate light without going out to check, but you can turn off the interior lights by holding on the light switch on the overhead console until the interior lights turn off.

Awesome, thank you!

Yes i can turn the interior light off but im not sure how to turn the trunk light off!

[Cole]

Originally Posted by Tymatk

Awesome, thank you!

Yes i can turn the interior light off but im not sure how to turn the trunk light off!

You can fool the tailgate into thinking its closed by triggering the latch mechanism with a screwdriver (don't use your finger it bites!). The light then turns off, but you have to remember to re-open the mechanism by pressing the tailgate open button, on your key fob or on the tailgate itself, before closing the tailgate.

[X5Boise]

I was tuning my new amp for about 3 hours one evening, and the next morning, I couldn't start my car due to the drain. I had a 300W amp powering an add-on subwoofer to the factory stereo, so it has a higher power drain than normal, so my case is a little different than yours (assuming you have the factory stereo).

Nonetheless, at the drive-in intermission (if they still do that), just to be safe, I would highly recommend that you start the car to get it recharging the battery again.

[Tymatk]

Originally Posted by X5Boise

I was tuning my new amp for about 3 hours one evening, and the next morning, I couldn't start my car due to the drain. I had a 300W amp powering an add-on subwoofer to the factory stereo, so it has a higher power drain than normal, so my case is a little different than yours (assuming you have the factory stereo).

Nonetheless, at the drive-in intermission (if they still do that), just to be safe, I would highly recommend that you start the car to get it recharging the battery again.

Thanks,

How did you manage to add Sub&Amp? I could not find the DIY. I have factory stereo with DSP.

[X5Boise]

I have a non-DSP, 10 speaker system so my install is a bit different than yours (especially on what wires after the amplifier to tap into), but for the easiest way to wire up an aftermarket amp, go to Bavarian Sound Werks website for the install (click on the "Install Info" tab, and it will guide you on what wires to tap):

X5 Subwoofer / Sub System for BMW X5 | BSW (link for both DSP and non-DSP installation)

Or just click on the PDF for the DSP stereo (which if my links work right, it should work):

http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/pr...System_DSP.pdf

They seem to have a great OEM fit subwoofer to take place of your DSP setup's subwoofer location and will guide you on how wire up your DSP-equipped stock stereo. You don't need to buy a subwoofer/amp from them, but their instructions are very clear on what you need to do.

A few things to take note of: for your line output converter, you MUST tap the wires going from the factory amp to the speakers (high-level inputs) as BMW uses a wierd crossover system. You should NOT tap the wires coming from the radio to the amp (low-level) to your line output converter as you will lose the fading, volume, balance, and DSP functions--based on what I've read here on Xoutpost.

[X5Boise]

For a review of what I did to wire an aftermarket amp and a custom subwoofer (again, I have a non-DSP factory system, so wiring is a little different), click here (my posts begin on page 14--but the credit goes to the other original posters who did all of the leading groundwork):

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...talled-14.html

[Dark5yde]

Just installed a amp and sub box to a non-dsp hifi setup over the weekend. Followed the How-To right here on this site. http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/...ctory-amp.html

Worked out perfect.

[Tymatk]

Thanks guys.