Battery/Alternator weird issues?
 

Hey guys me again! I swear every other month I got a weird issue with this car or something going bad on it...

Anyway so recently (past month or so) I was having massive battery drain issues from a faulty upper trunk hatch latch. Since then I have fixed it by just straight up unplugging it since at the moment I couldn't swing the $300+ dollars for the repair and it's not totally essential the car drives with with no trunk access.

Oddly enough once that got fixed I still was having weird battery issues. Car showing low battery or completely not starting at times, once I even had the car just completely die on me while driving. So I assumed it was the alternator right? Well I turn the car on and test that with a voltage meter and it's showing 14v output. So then I was like alright maybe it's the battery doing weird things, test the battery it shows 12v with the car off and took it to get tested and it showed it as all good.

So now I'm stumped and it's getting weirder and weirder. I haven't had my car die on me completely or anything but if it sits for over a die without starting the car battery is completely drained or dead won't start. Even if I do drive it every day, I ALWAYS get the red battery light on the dash which sometimes eventually goes away and other times my car completely goes into limp mode, 4x4 warning flashes on and off and on and off break warning on and off until it weirdly stabilizes and I get wherever I need in transmission failsafe mode.

Sooo yeah I have no idea what to do besides just buy a new alternator and test it? Any other ideas guys? Also per usual sorry for crap formatting if it is typing on my phone.

Check the IVM.

Thanks for the reply, any idea where the IVM is on a 2006 X5 4.8is? And or how to check it?

You can buy one at Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/BMW-Integrate.../dp/B00AG39RRS

Bentley Manual show the location. I'm not aware of what test you can perform other than voltage and ohm.

Okay cool thank you! This has been sucha headache in just not knowing what the hell was going on haha. I guess from now of when in doubt if a weird issue is going on see if there's a module that controls it went bad. 🙄😂

I'll probably just bite the bullet and buy the module as it really has to be since the alternator checks out and so does the battery. I'll buy it either today or tomorrow and report back!

Found a video on replacing the IVM, it's for a 6 series BMW, but since you have a later 4.8is it should be the same. Most likely it is in the electrical box on the passenger side of the car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8akXREk80w

Sorry for the late reply had to work last night just got up to check the thread this morning. Thank you so much for the video and your help! I'll call around and see who has it in stock near me, if I have to get it directly from BMW there is a dealer not far from me hopefully they have it. When I get it I'll install it and be sure to let you know how it all works out. Thanks again I was completely stumped lol before this thread haha!

You are welcome.

Coming back later to post the results will help other owners in the future with the same problem.

IVM Replacement / Troubleshooting - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

I just did this repair to my 2006 4.8is . easy repair and it really got my engine running tight, As far as Your battery after You replace the IVM or ISM , it should be no less then 12.7v[to run excellent] cold. the alternator sounds good, mine runs at 14.3 ............I found out that You really have to drive the car on a regular bases to keep the battery charged , or buy a battery charger and keep it charged , these cars are very electrically sensitive .The ISM[BMW calls it ] or IVM is not bad $145 out the door and as You can see on this link that it controls a lot of the engine ,fuel system.
Good luck , I think You will be happy with the results.:thumbup:

Welp I couldnt find anyone who had them in stock for pickup so I placed a order for one on ECSTuning should be here Wednesday or Thursday and will install it then.

Just another note for the story if it helps others. Yesterday I drove the car all day fine no issues not even a battery symbol on the dash besides one or two times. Go to start the car this morning? Deader than a door nail, it barely started and eventually stalled out and wouldn't start again. I guess until I get that part I will have to just keep my X5 on a charger.

@electricalserv x5: I do drive my X5 daily. Only times I don't is once and a while when I have off school and work on the same day I usually relax and get stuff done at home so it sits undriven for a day. But yeah even though my battery "Checked" out fine according to Sams Club, where I bought it, they also showed that it only had 730 out of the 900 cold cranking amps it should have and when I tested the battery myself it kinda fluctuated between 11.3V and 12.3V so after I replace this I will definitely go back and try and have them give me a new battery before winter. After that its time to finish changing suspension on the drivers side, already finished the passengers, and replace the break pads before winter and she "SHOULD" be all good to go hopefully!

I know the feeling, I have the same exact x5 , I have 107k miles and I repaired a ton of the major oil leaks, But this ISM is the brains to the electrical of the fuel,engine .Lets Us know as most post I seen there is never a resolution to the problems.

If the battery is fully charged the cold cranking amps should be near/at spec. If battery is OK, when fully charged it should be 12.5-6 volts. I would disconnect the battery, fully charge it and check it the next morning to see if it had lost voltage. It could be also be a bad ground or fluctuating alternator voltage. If an X5 has a good battery and no parasitic drains it can set for several weeks and still start fine.

Okay soo got the new IVM plugged it in and turned the car over, no errors so far besides low battery... great so I go and put on a battery charger and it shows it actually being almost dead. So I have her on charge right now so hopefully in a few hours I will take it on a drive and see if I still get the weird electronic issues. Hoping this fixes it!

Hopefully the IVM fixes it. If not, your symptoms certainly fit a failing voltage regulator on the alternator. Sometimes it will put out 14+v and other times it will drop down. I had your symptoms and a new alternator was the resolution. Fortunately an alternator on the N62 isn't too bad of a job.

Sooo so far it doesnt look like it has fixed the problem at all. still having the exact same issues it seems. Welp crap this isnt good...

EDIT: Just checked the alternator its now showing only 10v~ what the heck is going on the other day it was just showing 14v... So I guess next step is replace the alternator?

Could have been 14V the other day. Sometimes they jump up and down when they begin to fail. You can monitor the alternator by unlocking the cluster. There are Youtube videos if that is not how you tested it. 14.3-4V is about normal for the alternator.

I would take the battery to somewhere else and have it tested. A good battery should be closer to 12.6 volt if it is fully charged and good, the fact that it only tested 12v leads me to think that you have a dead cell in the battery. How old is the battery? The fact that Sam club tested the battery to only have 730 CCA which mean it is down 18.8% leads me to think that you battery is going bad.

Well that will be the next thing I test when I have the time, unfortunately it wont be till maybe Saturday night maybe Sunday.

The battery is maybe a year old if that. I will take it somewhere else to get it tested possibly autozone tomorrow if I have the time. Thats what I was thinking too honestly I dont see how it could show only 730CCA out of 900 and they say its good. Especially when they tested it it was 60*F outside I could understand if it was like 20*F but not 60.

Also I guess another thing to add, I did end up buying that new upper trunk latch and the car still doesn't think the trunk is closed when I go to lock it. Plugged it in the and the first few times it locked the car fine but now its back to its old self where the trunk lights constantly stay on and the hatch never thinks its shut even though it physically is and the mechanism works. I seriously dont get this car at all.

Get the battery checked because it's free... but I'm still leaning towards voltage regulator on the alternator.

As for your trunk latch. Have you tried manually pushing the trunk lid down a little to see if the light goes off? The bump stops for the lid might need adjusting if it is pushing the trunk lid out a little bit so the truck things the hatch is open. Seen that happen before on these.

I haven't tried it that I know of but I've opened and shut it plenty of times and it always closes itself shut and I THINK I've pressed down on the hatch and nothing happens with the lights still think its on.

On the battery I've had it checked by the place I bought it from twice now and both times they said the battery charged fine and checked out fine. So I will go to another place now and get a second opinion in the morning.

It needs to be load tested. If they just put a volt meter on the battery that mean nothing. If you ever had a "Stress" test to determine the condition of your heart you know that they just don't take your blood pressure and call it a day. They get your heart rate up so they can see what the heart is doing under stress.

Are you taking the battery out of the back trunk when you go to get it tested or do they just hook up their tester to the battery while it is still in the trunk?

Or worse, are they using the terminals under the hood?

They did load test it. Well at least they said they did. The first time they hooked it up to the machine while it was still in the trunk. The second time I took the battery completely out of the car and took it to them separately. Both times they load tested it and the second time they also tested it to hold a charge. So unless they lied twice or their equipment is bad or wrong it's gotta be the alternator?

Battery testing 101
instructions attached in PDF form and a quickie chart to leverage a volt meter. Without a carbon pile load tester (see image below) everything else is a SWAG. The cheapie hand held devices can not load a battery to the correct levels, they just load something (What it is the operator can not tell you).

Wet cell auto batteries are load tested at 50% of their cold cranking AMPS ratings. If the voltage fall below 9.6 volts the battery is bad or undercharged. Recharge at 30 amps for 15 minutes and retest. Period end of story, and has not changed in 30 years. Trust me on this one as I sold the damn things for years to Sears, Good Year, Penske, Firestone, BMW, Mercedes, GM, FORD, you name it. If they build or worked on cars this is what they use.

Batteries when they croak, tend to hold only a surface charge (Hint: read 12V or less) but drop off to below 9.6V as soon as they are load test regardless of charging frequencies or charging amp draw. If you ever take one apart (NOTE: FULL OF ACID, DO NOT OPEN IN or ON ANYTHING YOU WANT TO KEEP AFTERWARDS), you will find the cell walls are touching hence only a few cells develop voltage. You see it as the car cranks slowly but fires up. If you turn on the headlamps FIRST then crank it will just click.

Alternators: Test and replace as the brushes in the regulator wear out after 100K or faster depending on the load. Load testing an alternator is done at the battery with the same meter shown below. Bring the engine to 1500-2000 RPM and load the system until you see 12 volts, note the alternator AMP output. It either provides steady output or not. Read diodes- Pass/fail. That is it. You can then do bench repairs as a DIY but at a shop it is a remove and replace task. No one bench tests anymore. Cheapie rebuilts have their own sad story that has been posted before.
Note: LOTS of energy usage equals faster wear. Drive at night? Drive with all the accessories on? High demand = short life. Our high end heavy demand X5s EAT batteries and have a high demand on the alternators. Fact of life.

These vehicles are energy hogs. Run great and drive like the wind though:D

Sorry to get so long winded on this topic.....

When your car battery goes dead overnight
 

Finding the hidden draw on BMWs... Not mine but a great approach and well thought out.

When your car battery goes dead overnight, usually either the battery is at the end of its life span, or you left something on, such as a light. Occasionally something is drawing power that's not of your doing. This is a parasitic draw, and it can cause the same result as leaving the headlights on: a dead battery in the morning.

1. Remove the negative side battery cable from the negative battery terminal.
2. Connect the black wire to the com input on the multimeter and the red wire to the 10A or 20A input on the multimeter. The meter needs to be able to read at least a 2 or 3 amps for this test to work. Connecting the red wire to the mA input on the multimeter won't work and could damage the meter.
3. Attach a multimeter (set the dial on the multimeter to measure Amps as per multimeter instructions) between the negative cable and the negative battery post. Wait a few seconds to several minutes for the car to go into sleep mode - i.e. when you make the contact with the ammeter, the cars computer systems "wake up". After a bit of time they will go back to "sleep".
4. If the ammeter is reading over 25-50 milliamps, something is using too much battery power.
5. Go to the fuse panel(s) and remove fuses, one at a time. Pull the main fuses (higher amp ratings) last. Perform the same steps for relays found in the fuse panel. Sometimes relay contacts can fail to release causing a drain. Be sure to observe the ammeter after pulling each fuse or relay.
6. Watch for the ammeter to drop to acceptable drain. The fuse that reduces the drain is the draw. Consult the owners' manual or service manual to find what circuits are on that fuse.
7. Check each device (circuit) on that fuse. Stop each lamp, heater, etc. to find the drain.
8. Repeat steps 1 & 2 to test your repair. The ammeter will tell you the exact numbers.

Thank you for the very detailed posts @StephenVA! I will probably go get it tested between work and School today, the battery that is. Which will be within the next hour or so. And we shall see where that takes us.

On finding a parasitic drain, really thank you on that as well because I had absolutely no idea where to begin. I had an idea of how to do it but yours is so much easier!

I recently installed the 3rd battery in 14 years, average 7 years each. Never done any alternator work in that 116,000 miles. Air conditioning is on about 98% of the time, seldom has the radio been silent, have an aftermarket amp, meth pump is running much of the time, replaced the clutch fan with electric fan, list goes on. Fully loaded X5 and same electronics as other E53s. I got the only one that doesn't eat batteries and alternators?

Nope...U B "special".
The brushes are wearing away on that alternator as you drive....:bustingup.

I personally have driven a lightly loaded alternator 250K in 15 years. Just replaced bearings at 100K. Washed under the hood too often I guess. :dunno:

Some go fast some slow. Who knows?

Too much info Update: Voltage reads hi and low at different RPMs.

If the shaft of the rebuilt alternator has not been cleaned of carbon and ground (i.e. machined) smooth, the brushes will at the least prematurely wear or create a hi charge/ no charge state (on a voltmeter you will see 12.xx volts then a jump to 14.xx as there is a clean connection. REAL BAD for both the alternator and the regulator as it can not handle fluctuation for long. Usually this flux will take out the alternator/regulator quickly.

The same issue with cheapie regulators in an otherwise good alternator.

+1 on this.

Given you can verify and solve any parasitic drain issues, and are confident the battery is good, if you unlock the cluster and access the battery voltage menu (#9 on the updated clusters), watch for fluctuations while the car is running.

If the voltage dips and jumps around, away from the ~14.0-14.3V the alternator "should be" constantly putting out, you may suspect the issue is alternator related.

I had similar symptoms with an irrational battery, and solved all with a new voltage regulator.

Alrighty so sorry for the delayed reply. FINALLY had the chance to put the new alternator in. Everything seems to be fixed thankfully! No more red battery light for sure. Tonight/Tomorrow I will see if the battery is still draining. Fingers crossed!

All the best let Us know

:beerchug::beerchug:

Thanks for the update.

WINTER IS COMING TO THE USA (surprise right?)

Now is a GREAT time to test your starting systems rather than wait until 0 dark thirty and sub freezing weather to experience that dreaded "click" and no start scenario. Get out your voltmeters and check. Takes 30 seconds at most. Beats frozen fingers later......

Okay another quick update! Car worked beautifully for a day and a half no problems whatsoever but now... Halfway into the second day on the way home from work the 4x4, ABS, and Break lights all came on. Battery light was not on though which is kind of a good sign I guess? Car didn't act any differently. Made it home fine no hiccups. Get up the next morning turn the car on and the lights stayed off so I thought it was just some error or something no biggy. Later that day they came back on and now they stay on every time I start the car. Any ideas? I don't know if this is a related issue or a complete new one. I "tested" the ABS on the back roads by my house by slamming on the breaks and I'm almost damn sure they came on and worked so I have no idea whats up with the light, same with my normal breaks they obviously work. Also doesn't SEEM like the battery is draining so I don't think its that.

Did they install a remanufactured alternator or a new one? If reman'd... the voltage regulator in it is bad. Had that happen to me. Took 2 alternators and I finally returned it and bought a brand new one.

I bought it brand new it was from Autozone. They did not say it was a refurbished or anything because I paid new price so it better not of been a remanufactured or refurbished one... Guess I will have to get out the multi-meter and test it again...

If it was less than $200... it was probably remanufactured. Check with them though. You should do the unlocked cluster test while driving to monitor voltage. The problem with these is that they will be at normal voltage sometimes, but others they will spike up, or drop down and trigger all kinds of weird behavior from the electrical systems.

Definitely was not under $200 haha. So the random 4x4, ABS, and Brake, light can come on and mean the alternator is acting funky even if the battery light does not come on? It was weird everything was working fine no stutters or anything like I had the steering wheel heater on, driver side seat heater on, radio/sirius on, headlights on like everything and it didnt flicker or anything. That just makes me feel like its not the alternator now ya know?

Yeah, an alternator can cause funny things to happen. If the alternator was producing over voltage, the battery light would likely not illuminate. Try to buy a brand new valeo unit if you can. Strangely I found a brand new unit on ebay for about 300 if memory serves. That finally fixed all charging system woes.

Ill definitely have to have to check and or talk to autozone. Worse comes to worse I get a refund and I just go buy a Valeo unit from ecstuning or fcpeuro.

Sorry for the double post but I was able to check the voltage. I'm getting 12v almost exactly when the car isn't on from the battery and it's not moving at all soo that seems like it's good. While on the alternator fluctuates from 14v to 14.5v max so it's not over or undercharging anything or the voltage isn't off. Soooo I have no idea on why all these lights are on the alternator seems to be working just fine. Anyone have any ideas now?

Did you have those lights on when the system was reading 14-14.5? You need to know the voltage the second those lights turn on. That's why it's best to drive with the cluster unlocked on the voltage test to see the current voltage at the time of issue.

Yes the lights were on when I was taking that reading. They are constantly on now from startup till I shut the car off.

Time to get it scan and find out what is tripping the lights on.

Even with the check engine light not on I can get it scanned? Didnt know that. (I figured check engine light had to be on for like codes to be read I dunno why) Alright guess thats my only next step! Thanks guys here hoping this isnt a can of worms...

Yep, not a cheap OBD2 reader though. UAN is referring to an actual code reading. Something that will pull the BMW specific codes.

Would be a crazy coincidence to have a something like the transfer case actuator gear or a wheel speed sensor go out 1 day after replacing a failed alternator. But it could happen.