Increased Battery Discharge 08 X5

[euge]

Looks like i've finally joined the club, 08 4.8 with 122k. I am using a 1 month old duralast H8-DLG battery and it all happened after realigning my ews and cas. The car will ONLY start with a charger attached to it, and when it does the engine cranking noises are very faint but it starts. Alternator puts out a consistent 14.8v. Any ideas? I am having a new problem with this car every month.. it sounds like its time to let go of her.

[Tomaz]

It appears you have a drain on the electrical system. You can probably find the problem by pulling fuses to isolate the shorted system. Or, you may have a bad new battery. I had one and it drove me crazy for a week until I figured it out. Good luck.

[pshovest]

How long did you have the ignition on while realigning the CAS/EWS? Were the DRL's on also? Did you have it on a charger during the realignment?

[euge]

I had it on a charger, was on for a while like 10 minutes, drls ac radio lights all off. I think its because my car uses AGM and not lead acid batteries and probably why its eating thru them

[pshovest]

Battery type is not the cause.
You've got 1) a bad battery, 2) an unexpected electrical load while off, 3) an intermittent charging system, or 4) too many short trips.
If you unlock the OBC and go to test 9, you can monitor system voltage while driving and look for low readings to rule out 3).
I got 6 yrs 9 months out of my AGM battery and it never failed to start the X5. I did however get tired of resetting the clock/date after starting.

[euge]

It was the battery folks. I figured it was something else since the battery wasnt even a momth old.