2001 X5 Won't start off own Battery - Help!!! - Page 2

TerminatorX5 · #11 03-28-2013, 02:55 PM

alarm has its own backup battery but it will NOT last more than a few moments... once the battery disconnected, manually or via the battery disconnect device, there will be no electrical functions in the car, no alarm, nothing...

I do electronics for living and one of the troubleshotting processes is to start from the very basic begining and move on to the next complex point without skipping a step...

disconnecting a (-) battery terminal overnight will cost you one day's worth of time, and if the battery is good, as they suggested, all you lost, is a night...

if the battery is not good (a bad batch from the manufacturer), and you have gone through all the tests, and eventually came back to the battery, that would be very upsetting...

as far as fuses - you need to write down on a piece of a paper which fuses you are going to take out, and which ones you are putting back in - documenting this process will save you alot of headaches in the future... alarm is the item that stays on even after the car is gone to sleep... you will want to have alarm turned off at some step during testing... if you have access to the WDS diagram, look at the supply fuses to various modules, and have them removed... cross reference each fuse that you are pulling to make sure you are not disabling something without your explicit knowledge...

chasing this kind of a gremlin is no fun...

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wwpxd16 · #12 03-28-2013, 03:07 PM

So if I disconnect the battery overnight will the alarm go off ? I'm not worried about the security side I just don't want it waking up the neighbours at 3am

That's a good test to start with myself I guess. If it starts when I reconnect then its the car, correct ? If it doesn't its the battery ?

TerminatorX5 · #13 03-28-2013, 05:37 PM

the alarm will blast for a few moments after you disconnect the battery, at the most... once the battery is disconnected, alarm will not be operational.

if the car starts when you reconnect the battery, chances are - it is the car that has parasitic draw

if the battery is still dead - well... you know... lol..

also, keep in mind, that even a sleeping car is seeping juice from a battery and it is considered normal and the battery is not supposed to die overnight from that minimal draw - some folks have reported that they had their cars parked at airport for a week or so with no problems...

wwpxd16 · #14 03-29-2013, 01:57 PM

Ok I've parked up the car today with the battery disconnected, to ensure its ok in the morning I've refitted a spare battery, fully charged. So if that dies and the unconnected one is fine we know its not the battery

I also checked each battery when starting, I got 12 volts then down to around 9.5 volts on starting, moving back up to 13/14 volts when running. This is the same on each battery so whilst the starter may be drawing a little more than expected its not causing the fault

I plan checking the batteries throughout the evening/night and will note the stats on them to post back. I'm pretty sure its not a battery fault but as advised its only a night lost so worth checking

bastereo · #15 03-29-2013, 02:18 PM

Does the blower (for the heater/AC) act funny? Kinda gusty or changing speeds on its own?
My guess is the final stage unit is failing and causing an intermittent draw over night.
Or someone is leaving the key in the car when parked.

wwpxd16 · #16 03-29-2013, 02:33 PM

It does as it happens, I've had a few issues with it in the past where it stops working then works again, although the power dial shows it as moving up/down nothing comes out. When its on it does kind of blow funny rather than contestant, and I've often turned it off thinking its made the car idle I little off. Just put it down to maybe a gas issue though

How would I disable it to see if its that causing the draw ? What fuse do I pull... Or even better what repairs it (or how much)

TerminatorX5 · #17 03-29-2013, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wwpxd16

It does as it happens, I've had a few issues with it in the past where it stops working then works again, although the power dial shows it as moving up/down nothing comes out. When its on it does kind of blow funny rather than contestant, and I've often turned it off thinking its made the car idle I little off. Just put it down to maybe a gas issue though

How would I disable it to see if its that causing the draw ? What fuse do I pull... Or even better what repairs it (or how much)

Ahh... FSR... that thingie (FSR) could be your gremllin... do a search for final stage resistor, you should be able to find part numbers and DIY...

lets wait "overnight" first, but keep the FR in mind...

wwpxd16 · #18 03-29-2013, 03:32 PM

I hope it is! Ive already googled it and found others reporting its killed their battery overnight with similar reports, plus videos on how to DIY replacement of it. I've got the eBay part sorted too if need be, £34 (around $66?), I'm sticking with the checks tonight then will de-fuse it tomorrow if the battery passes.

I've just put the meter back on it and its still reading 12v, with the ignition on and the fan on full its drawing down to around 11.6v so its drawing enough to kill the battery overnight.

Getting closer

wwpxd16 · #19 03-30-2013, 06:04 AM

UPDATE

The battery is not faulty. I checked throughout the night and here's my results

The new disconnected battery remained at 12v all night.

The connected battery (which was fully charged before fitting) was flat this morning and wouldn't start the car.

At 7pm when parked up both were reading 12v
At midnight no change
At 4:30am the connected battery was at 11.8v
At 9:00am it was reading 9.8v - trying to start the car kicked it down to 8.5v

I swapped batteries to the un-connected one it started quickly, reading 12v then 10v cranking, going back to 14v running

Things I noticed throughout the night -at 4am the Sat Nav in the boot had its power light flashing and was clicking/loading disks when I was testing the battery, as did the CD Changer have power (car was unlocked but no keys in ignition). I'm not sure if this is normal upon unlocking the car or not ?). When I returned at 9am the lights were off until I unlocked the car, then it did the same. It did the same when i changed battery and started t off the charged one.

No heat was clear from the air con units, so not sure if it had come on or not as per the FSU unit

My initial thoughts are sat nav, despite knowing ive had issues with the FSU, Next step now is to disable the fuses to the Sat Nav and try to start it overnight. Does anybody know if they share fuses with anything else that I would need to remove ? Or what fuses/where they are ?

Bargain Bucket · #20 03-30-2013, 03:32 PM

As soon as you awaken the car, all the systems e.g. nav etc will power up from standby mode. So it's no surprise that you saw activity whilst you were checking the battery. You can tell when it's "awake" - the orange LED by the auto gearbox shifter will be illuminated. It goes out again when the car goes back to sleep (standby mode) which should approx 15 minutes of inactivity (ignition off, no doors being opened or closed, etc).

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