Battery Drain?
 

Hey all,

I bought my X5 about from sound ford to test drive it they had to to jump start the vehicle . I thought nothing of it and did not worry about it. After I test drove it and went in and purchased my baby we started the car up just fine and went home. The next morning when I went to start my car I get flashing lights and a clicking noise. THe battery is dead. I got my multimeter out and check the voltage on the battery and it read ~10 volts so I new the battery was not holding a charge or something. I jump started the vehicle ( I hope I did not cause any more problems by doing so with my boost pack) and check the voltage again and it read around ~14v so I think the altenator is good.

So I call the dealership and talked to my sales guy and he told me let's take it to there service department. (Mind it the car runs fine after it runs for a little while and is not left for a long period of time). I get over there and the service guy is trying to see on the dash if there is anything saying it's a bad or low battery. He did not find anything so he looked at the key and said this is the valet key. if you use this key to lock it up, it will not fully turn everything off so you will have a battery drain with out the Master key .. ( i think it is a bunch of BS but, what do I know it's my first BMW)

So my question is with the key in this picture I am including ( valet key) will it not fully turn off everything in the car and cause a battery drain?

Will I need the master key ( which is on order) to disengauge evrything and not cause a battery drain.

Also is there a proper way to jump start my X5 with out damaging anything?

So if you guys tell it is a bunch of BS about the battery I will go buy one and install it myself. If any one has any tips on what I need to do to change the battery please let me know.

I know this is a long post but I appreciate any help or advice.. Thanks. Almost satisfied BMW X5 owner.

What year x5 is it. It is definetly not a valet key which would be made of plastic. I am not sure of the older models.

it is an 01 X5

That's the non-plastic key, but it's not
the full tilt boogie "real pair" of keys that one
gets with a new car or, a used car properly
done.

I see you are still fighting the FoMoCo Stlr...

My '01 Batt still works fine, but I know the
sumbitch is on borrowed time. I would
suspect a new batt would cure that ailment.
Search Battery on this site for many readlily
available batt replacement options.

No Xpert, but I think off is off and that
non-access hard key should turn the car
Off...thus, I suspect batt. as opposed to
a live drain.

Also, see '01 Manual, on front page of this
site, for jump/charge location under hood:
I could describe it, but it's easier to "see it",
in the pdf file the site has.

GL on your new X...I hope that your buying
it from a freakin FoMoCo Stlr is not a jinx.
BR,mD

Thanks again for the reply.. I have been jumping it there but I wanted to make sure.. I just got back from sears and installing a new battery. getting tired of waiting..
This is the battery I got..

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=02833349000

If you just bought the car the dealer should have changed the battery and you should not have had to buy a new one. Like MD said off is off. I have been using my spare key (like yours) many times and never had any problem with battery drainage. The dealer is BSting you. What Ford dealer and where is that?

This is Sound Ford in Seattle washington.. You are right The dealear should have replaced it but I was getting tired of messing with them.

I think when the car was sold to me the sales manager could care less, it was sold and the salesman I think was going to pay for the battery himself. do F-it I will do it myself.

I enjoyed my first project with the X5. It is helping me to become closer with her :).

I took pictures of the install I will try to write something up on my install.

thanks everyone for the comments

I am having the same problems with my newly purchased 01 X5 - I just installed a new battery on December 27th. Drove the car from Tallahasse, FL to Atlanta GA. Been driving the car around town for the last 4 days - no problems. Today Jan 1st, I go out to crank -everything is dead. This is getting mighty frustrating. Any ideas?

Same exact problem here (2001 X5) and I'm using the master key. It's been happening on and off for the past 6 months. I've already replaced the battery and it didn't help a bit.

I'm taking it to a dealership near me on Monday, Jan 8. They're going to hook it up to a meter for a couple days to see where the battery drain is coming from. I'll give you an update once they tell me what the problem is.

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...ght=ground+lug

Pic of the ground lug.