Starter Motor Pulling Down Battery?
 

Hey Lads,

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this?

My X53 was running great with no issues. The other day my wife said the truck started but was very lethargic on the starter. Seemed fine to me and then it happened to her again. So it seemed to pogo.

This morning she came in and said the truck wouldn't start at all and when I went out a little while later, it did start but my ABS, Brake and warning light were on. I assumed the battery had been flattened to the point of nothingness. However, I turned the car and a couple of slow revolutions and the truck started.

So I put my charger on the truck which has a battery level display and after a few minutes, it showed the battery as being 85% charged which should be more than enough to spin the starter.

So my question is:
Has anyone either in the X5 or other, had a starter that was going bad and would intermittently drag the battery down?

Going to do a little research on the topic but was wondering if this is a common issue on the X5

Thanks for this.

The battery is a couple of years old so it very well may be getting low.

To be more clear, the battery wasn't dead ever. I think its possible that the starter dragged the battery down to the point where it could not start the vehicle but of course, release the key and the battery recovers. This is why my charger is showing 85% charge.

+1 on the battery as the fault instead of the starter.

The starter is, by design, a heavy load on the system. If the battery is weak, the starter will be the first to show it. Slow cranking, that sort of thing. Eventually, the starter can give a click and then nothing, or several clicks but no start. When the battery weakens, it's ability to deliver current is diminished. If the starter demands 50 amps, whatever, but only 40 can be delivered, the starter will click (starter relay, really) and the demand will cause the voltage to fall so the relay turns off and the voltage rises again so the click happens again. This repeats until you let go of the key.

Thanks lads,

The battery is off getting tested right now.
I put a spare battery that I had into the truck and it seems to start fine so hopefully it is a battery issue after all.

Bernie

My kid had to buy a battery just yesterday. Her car would not start so I went to her house with my jumper cables and got it going. She came to my house and I put the charger on it for 3 or 4 hours. The next day, the car would not start again. I took her car to the battery shop and got a 75-month battery for $98, installed with sales tax.

The battery that came out was rated for 36 months, she bought it while pregnant with the grandbaby that will be 3 in January.

I like American Battery. The top of the line battery is called Blue Max.

Well,

They replaced the battery under warranty so I guess that is a good thing! Will have to see if the issue is resolved over the next couple of days

Thanks for the input fellas.

:thumbup:

The lesson here is that you gave a perfect description of a dead battery.