Someone called and woke me up so I checked in :)

The newer battery chargers are annoying because they show a battery bad when it isn't most of the time. You need a "dumb" charger to charge it back when it gets low. Most modern "digital" chargers wont charge a fully dead battery.

The battery problem isn't "bad" but each time you drain one down that far you lower the max amount it will charge back up again. So its weaker now than it was one way or the other.

But you probably can get it back going if you can get a "dumb" battery charger. Look for one with the old needle type gauge on it and avoid the fancy expensive ones for what your dealing with right now.

Well back to snoozing :)

:iagree:

On the hundreds of reviews for this charger on HF it seems to have done well for others to bring back totally dead batts. I am pretty good about checking out purchases before grabbing from the shelf and running.

I may run up to HF to see if they have a dumb charger in a bit and try to give this a slow charge for an hour and see if it makes a dent.

Thing is, after uncovering the battery it is an Interstate with a 6 year warranty. Looks like a decent battery but I have no idea if it's 2 years old or 10 years old as whomever installed it did not mark it in any way :-(. I am always good about writing that with a sharpie. So it "could" be time for a new one.

Disconnected all battery cables from the battery and for about 40 mins it appears to be accepting a charge now on the 15amp charge setting. It would not accept a charge with the charger hooked up under the hood. Perhaps something (alarm?) was trying to discharge. Will let this run a bit and see...

Resolution...
 

Fixed. I think I have figured out my self inflicted wounds with the help of those replying here :-).

The person installing the JVC radio for the previous owner put a Canbus adapter in the trunk. I didn't see/realize this and I think having the new radio hooked up with it's own Canbus (@ the dash cavity) probably freaked out the system and I didn't realize it immediately and that caused the alarm to freak out and finish draining an already low battery.

My fault - I should have more carefully dug around in the trunk to size everything up. I removed the JVC's Canbus from the trunk and I now have audio @ the Xtrons!

Second, the alarm was still confused and I think draining the battery as the charger was trying to charge. Charging the battery directly from the posts with it disconnected from the vehicle brought it up to 100% charge in about 3-4 hours (15amp setting).

Thanks to the hatchetman who installed the aftermarket radio I have some other minor audio issues I will take over to the Seicam thread.

Another issue - my primary FOB has a dead battery from this event. I am getting in and out from my backup FOB. So I will chase that down to find the battery procedure. It also appears the driver's lock is disconnected (mechanically) inside the door and I had a major panic for a moment there. I will have to chase that down soon so I don't get locked out like I almost did.

Thanks all for the advice :-)! -T

I bought this to charge my gear s3 frontier watch. It turns out it is a kick butt bmw keyfob charger. I have charged up several peoples key fobs with it. Takes about 30 minutes for a full charge it seems. Its $10.

https://amzn.to/2G1lyds

Battery charges when in the ignition. You can have the car on a charger I don't remember if the car has to be in on position.

Double locked door should resolve with a couple lock/unlock cycles from outside with the key. If not use the emergency exit method: lock with the (working) fob when inside the car, press twice to disable the motion alarm then hold the central lock button down and pull the door handle to disable the double lock. You should feel resistance. You can pull a second time to release the door.

(just be aware the alarm will sound and get ready to put the key in to disable)

Here is the charger I was talking about. I borrowed the wifes key to demonstrate :)

Alarm issue? Dead X5 - help
 

It's great community service. Not all wireless chargers will work. Some cordless tooth brushes and razors will work but no guessing this is great


Too bad I didn't see this a year ago could have saved me $200: I used my spare key on a long trip as my primary key to charge it and managed to leave my primary key behind somewhere. Aaaarrrghh

Slick charger. I drove around with the "bad" FOB in there for ~15 mins and it's not charging up. Dead or need more time? Should I spring for the charger and try to bring it back to life that way?