Battery
 

Good morning. Ok guys this 2001 X5 BMW is about to retire in the nearest junk yard before Ill go crazy.

I am having numerous problems such as a/c not blowing cold air, a/c max button not working, consol lock/ unlock button not working, passenger and rear doors do not lock/unlock however I can hear the actuators clicking, inside lights remain on upon locking the car unless I unlock it then lock it again, fob went dead meaning it won't lock/unlock door/ trunk, front seat warmers not coming on, and probably a few other random issues like:
1) hazard flasher light come on
2) no message/chime when opening the door and leaving keys in the ignition 3) and probably more weird crap that I can't think of now

Last night I made sure everything was off when I locked the car, this morning I cranked the car and she cranked. Turn Ed her off, tried cranking her again five minutes later and guess what! She didn't crank, battery drained. What could be randomly causing the battery to drain within five minutes?

1) All fuses check good in both compartments.
2) Replaced the aux fan and still won't come on
3) I just tried bypassing the low pressure switch and nothing happened
4) I tried re programming the FOB but it didn't work
5) I tried a hard reset by removing both battery cables which the key in position 2/3 but nothing changed

Battery tests ok but it is over 5 years old but keep in mind it doesn't always get drained this quickly.

Other issues that may or may not be related:
1) self level susp message is on although the car is leveled in the back

Any help/suggestion would be greatly appreciated because I

Let me know which junk yard the X will be in so that I can pick through it carcass.

^lol.

Anyway OP, start with checking your alternator.

Low voltage causes a lot of problems with these trucks.

You will get the self level error if one the sensors or something else is not working. If your air bags are not leaking the level will not change. It's just that if you do load up the back or do get a leak the system will not compensate and you will be un-level.

Alternator/voltage regulator failures seem to cause all kinds of electrical gremlins, and of course won't charge the battery. I just went through this, as have several others here, so that's where I would start.

I checked alt. witht the car running it stays around 14 volts so it should be ok. No?

Try this. Check the voltage with engine running and turn on all accessories heater, wipers, headlights, ect. and put her in drive and hold the brake. Have someone check the voltage again. If you are on your own just apply the parking brake and check the voltage yourself. That's how I was able to figure out that my alt was bad. I would get a normal reading when in park but when in drive with accessories on the voltage would dip drastically.

Hope this helps.

Bmwx5chi, I checked here are the results

Car on and in drive with high beam. Rear seat warmers, defrost, high fan and the reading is 12.30-12.58 volts. What should the reading have been?

That seems real low. If you have 3L, you can take the alternator in to many parts shops for testing. If you are doing that, I'd probably take the battery too and have them test both.

+1, usually a bad sign if you see voltages under 13.0...

+2, the battery is the storage container for the "electricity", the alternator charges / fills the container. even with the draw on it, you should be seeing above 12 volts! (14.4v is a healthy alternator voltage.) i'd get both tested out. when they go, its ugly, and can set off alot of gremlins! youll think you blew multiple fuses, your tranny lights come on, the DSC lights, and a host of others. failing the alternator/ battery check, look for rodent damage in the fuse box areas. (rear compartment by tail lights, and above the glove box) then look at your comprehensive insurance and see if your covered!
my money is on an alternator on its last legs, and then possibly a battery.

How would you suggest checking the battery? Load test by an auto electrician?

Yep, any auto parts store or mechanic friend can check it for you with a load test...

Have the alternator checked. Might be the alt. I thought my X wasn't going into sleep mode and that was draining the battery. I was wrong. Alt was reading fine while idling. Performed that little test with accessories on and car and drive and turned out to be the alt. in my case. Good luck.

Update. Got a new battery yesterday.

Today I drove the car around and finally on my way back from work the a/c and seat warmers started working. Also, the self level warning went away. However, I stopped at the store and when I started driving again, all above didn't work.

I hooked up a meter and with the car on and loaded, it dropped to 12.2-12.4 volts. is it safe to assume it's the voltage regulator?

I'd say it's alternator time!

Get a new alt. and save yourself the headache!

Number 3 voting for alternator.

Thank you guys.
Just had the alt. checked by autozone, they said it checked good.
Is their equip. Able to check it properly?

Some of you have stated to replace the alt. I guess my question would be why not the voltage regulator?

Disconnect the battery.

Check and clean the ground wire and positive lead to the alternator.

Check voltages again. If still <13v, then for sure it's your alternator. I'm 99.9% sure it's your alternator, but doing the above won't hurt anything...

Replace the alt. On your first post you said that you cracked her and she started, then you waited 5 min and tried again but the battery drained correct ? Battery drained because the alt is not charging the battery. When you started her the first time it took the remaining juice that the battery had and keep draining it since it is not being properly charged when the engine is running.

Get A New Alternator!

Did you get the battery tested also? Or did you do that previously?

He just got a new battery.

Thank you guys. I purchased a new battery and since i haven't had a "no start" issue so that's a plus.
I ordered a new 150 amp bosh voltage regulator and will be installing it Friday. I had the alternator checked at an alternator "rebuild shop" and the guy said it was good. I also had it checked at autozone and the results were good too. is there a different test for the voltage regulator?

Also, as stated earlier, yesterday on my way home from the office (10 miles) going 45 mph suddenly the ac kicked in and cold air blew, seat warmers started working and the self leveling warning message cleared for a short period. I'm thinking the regulator had a burst of energy which in return gave enough juice to power everything. am I crazy to think it?

this morning, all the same symptoms occurred. this afternoon on my way home, all started working as normal. this appears to be an intermittent A/C, seat warmers and the self leveling warning issue. at this point, it could be a short somewhere at the compressor but if so what's the collation between the other symptoms (seat warmer & selflevel inact) occurring at the same time?

at any rate, I will replace the regulator anyway as I prefer greasy hands over a multi meter!

We shall see how it goes.... I will post results meanwhile, I look forward to your thoughts if any