Something is draining / discharging my battery

[anthonytexas]

2005 3.0I, 132,000 miles.

My OEM BMW battery finally gave out after 5 years. Kids leaving the interior lights on might have pushed it over the edge (although I thought my X5 usually shut everything off after a few minutes). Anyways, got the Advance Autopart Autocraft Platinum H7-AGM, 800 CCA with 36 months warranty. Two months later on July 1st, it was stone-cold dead! Couldn't even jump it. Took it back, the clerk verified it was dead, scratched his head, and got me a free replacement. Today, two WEEKS after the replacement, it was dead again! WTF? Took it back again and got another free replacement after some more strange looks from the clerk. What I've noticed:

1. I hardly use the X5 anymore for daily commute. My wife probably put 5-10 miles on it a day. Sometimes we don't even drive it for several days.

2. On both occasions, I noticed the high beam light on the driver side flickering. The passenger high beam was off, as with all the other lights. Why would that light be flickering? Was it activated a point overnight and we weren't aware? Is there a short circuited somewhere that could cause this?

3. I also noticed that the GPS DVD drive in the trunk constantly humming when I opened the trunk. Could the GPS driving be spinning and draining the battery? I removed the disc before, but I think the drive still runs at times. Tempted just to pull the power from the drive.

4. Sometimes (not all the time) the AUX fan continues to runs a good 3-4 minutes after the car is park and the keys are removed. This could be part of my AC issue, but could be a culprit?

Don't these BMWs shut all the power off after periods of inactivity? Not sure what other electrical components to look out for. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Harry.s.truman]

Same situation im in....

My phone (if you have one in arm rest) is also drawing amps...

If you disconnect the nav/dvd player, the radio/nav up front will go blank..



Ive read about the fan staying on or coming on sporadically be traced back to a bad module or blower resistor, cant remember because that usually doesn't happen with me...

Someone here probably knows which threads to point you to...



Also lets you appreciate how good those Oem bmw battery's are, mine lasted a long time with this draw...

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by anthonytexas

2005 3.0I, 132,000 miles.

...................Don't these BMWs shut all the power off after periods of inactivity? Not sure what other electrical components to look out for. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

A light left on, or a DVD player running is not considered a period of inactivity, so the truck never goes to sleep mode.

[anthonytexas]

'DVD player' is actually the GPS Navigation system drive. I only noticed it spinning once I lift up the tailgate. Maybe it's part of the lighting system that illuminates the car and turns on the navigation once you opened the doors, eventhough you are not planning on starting the engine. Just makes me wonder if it turns off along with the interior lights.

[anthonytexas]

Saw this article about BMW AG admitting that there are high draining modules that don't go 'to sleep' even after the engine is off:

ATTENTION: E70 X5 owners, High Battery Drain.

[tmv]

This procedure might help you pin point which component is draining the battery.
Got Battery Drain Problems? Check Here - BMW M5 Forum and M6 Forums
Good Luck.

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by anthonytexas

'DVD player' is actually the GPS Navigation system drive. I only noticed it spinning once I lift up the tailgate. Maybe it's part of the lighting system that illuminates the car and turns on the navigation once you opened the doors, eventhough you are not planning on starting the engine. Just makes me wonder if it turns off along with the interior lights.

When you lift up the tailgate, if the truck was in sleep mode, it will be woken up since just the light from the tailgate is enough to wake up the truck. The DVD could have been inactive, but when the truck is woken up from sleep mode, the GPS DVD start to spin so that the GPS info is available immediately.

[anthonytexas]

Thanks, all. In my digging around the internet, I noticed that the driver side highbeam light flickering as a common sign of a battery drain issue. Just wondering if the highbeam possibly turning on automatically some point during the night (in my garage) might have contributed to the drain. Obviously I wouldn't know accept for the fact that it's flickering in the morning when I got to the garage.

[bcredliner]

Is the engine running when the drivers side headlight flickers?

Not clear about the replacement batteries. When you took the battery back did they test it and replace it because it was defective?

[cn90]

It may be the FSR...