Getting to bottom of Battery drain...
 

MY beloved X5 has been a real pain in the behind since i bought it 6 months ago. FYI, It's an 2002 4.4 X5.

SO far we've replaced a faulty FSU and a faulty radio u nit which was causing a current draw. The problem is I'm still having dead battery issues even with these parts replaced.

What makes this even more difficult is that every time I take the car to my auto electrician there is no abnormal current draw on the battery..... never.

So my problem is intermittent and can happen over a period of 8 hours (while I am at work).

Two thoughts... Sat Nav / TV? Or keyless entry? Those were the 2 things I used last night before it died again (for the 10th time). Also battery is supposed to be ok as is the alternator. My auto elec has been over it with a fine tooth comb.

And yes it does go into sleep mode, but maybe not all the time?

Any thoughts would be really helpful.

Thanks,

L.

I'd suggest taking her to the dealer or someone with GT1 to check the error codes

I'm having the same problem.
Replaced the battery and alternator. Dead batt next day. recharge, next day dead again.
Took it to OReileys and had both tested found no problems. Disconnected the battery for a few mins and then re-attached it and the car drove all week no more problems. Today the wife calls car is dead at work. after sitting only 4 hours. Any clue what to look for?

A possible solution to BMW x5 drain issue
 

ok, i know what a pain in the ass this can be as i recently had the same issue.

First thing. Recharge the battery and re connect it. What you will need to do is see if the car is switching into sleep mode.

How you do this is by checking the little light on the gear shifter, it should turn off after 15 mins. What you'll find is it will PROBABLY turn off, but then randomly switch on after a couple of hours. You'll need to just keep walking back to the car and checking through the window, but DO NOT touch the handle or open the locks etc.

Now if it is doing this, my solution was really fucking simple... well it was after I spent a fortune on trying to find a solution. Turned out, that not even BMW knew what it was. Sad but true.

What I did was remove the fuses 1 by 1, until the car stopped jumping out of 'sleep mode'. Luckily it only too 2 fuses....... it was #73 which was causing the problem.

So i removed it, and everything was still working perfectly.... so i never bothered replacing it or going back to BMW. Sounds strange, but it's true.

I suggest you try that.

Cheers,

Luc

p.s. The other thing which is may be is the internal fan which sometimes is faulty and doesnt switch off. But im sure they've check it as its a common issue.

I've recharged the battery, and removed fuse #73. Now we will just have to wait and see if it is now resolved. Fingers crossed.

Fuse #73 also covers the Stereo and Nav system. Wife was not happy. Maybe 73 on your car is different. #74 is labeled phone and nothing else on the chart. So I've reinstalled 73 and removed 74.

our car is 2002 4.4i X5
BTW does anyone have a better chart of fuse functions than the rather poor label on the door. Nothing in the owners manual that I've found.

I pulled #73 on my 2005 because of the faulty TCU. My key to knowing something was wrong was that the red light for the phone stayed on all the time after a battery drain and reset.

Thank the forums for giving me the answer after a week of struggles and trickle charges.

Reckless, does 73 take out the stereo on your X5? It does on mine, but 74 seems to only take out the phone which we do not have anyway. I have not done any draw test yet. My son has a multi meter that I will need to borrow. Waiting on warmer weather also.

nope, I think it's isolated to the bluetooth (tcu) module....but now you're making me want to check if it's actually 73 or 74.

Point being...no TCU, no battery drain.

If it's the TCU, some people have gotten a free replacement since it would interfere with BMW assist. I haven't taken mine in to see what they will say yet. If they won't exchange it, i'll eventually do it myself.

After a week no problems with fuse 74 removed, the wife called Friday and the car was dead at work again. It was parked for only 4 hours before going dead. She said that when she turned off everything she was still hearing a fan sound. Not sure where it was coming from. I've read about FSR on several threads. Would the Final Stage Resistor AKA, Blower Motor Resistor, AKA Hedgehog, cause the fan to continue running and thus drain the battery. I've not noticed any other issues with the climate control other than the temp seems to make little difference in comfort. But that is I think a different issue. Anyone know of how I might test the FSR?

It appears to be an intermittent problem so it's going to be hard to pin point.

As I've been told....there is a normal buzzing behind the dash...but I think you you're year would be prone to an FSR issue. It's a cheap fix to test....and about an hour job.
I actually have an extra FSR as mine was already the newer version....but I wouldn't want to sell you a used one. I got it on ebay for around $50

My vehicle is doing the same thing, dead battery. FSR is definitely bad. The damn blower is running none stop, even with the key out. Once the FSR is replaced, I'm sure that the issue will be fixed.

Fellow XOutposters, I have an 05 X5, and have had the same problem of intermittent battery drain, and have taken it to an indy shop. Guy at the shop tells me it's my LCD screen. I can agree that that's the culprit since my LCD screen has gone visibly faded for a few weeks about a month ago, then went back to normal. Come to think of it, that's when parasitic drains began. I will order a replacement screen from Eurotech in China and hope that this will resolve it - will report back.

By the way, can someone point me to a write up on how to replace the LCD screen?

Do you have any led bulbs on the x? Those will draw

I"m having the same problem...

LED angel eye bulbs shouldnt effect this.. as that they are only on when my car is on..


I'm going to go check if sleep mode is working. otherwise i'm stumped!

Any real solutions here? i dont want to start pulling fuses

Nazario, I really didn't know where to look, and to invest in replacing Final Stage Resistor ($100+) when otherwise I don't have any symptoms that are associated with a bad FSR was not a sound option for me. So really, I am afraid, the only viable option is hooking it up to a computer which check for source of drain - local BMW dealership quoted $120, or pulling fuses. Also, you've got PM.

I'm on the same boat as you guys. My X5 wouldn't crank one day, so I bought a new battery and everything went well. A few days later, it wouldn't crank again (jump started it, she fired up). All the lights, radio nav was still working fine. Brought it to my indy shop, they couldn't find anything and all they did was just tighten up the battery terminals. For 1 week everything went fine. Then all of a sudden on my driveway, x5 wouldn't crank (even when trying to jump it). This time I had the x5 towed to my indy shop still not being able to crank. I mentioned the fsr, navigation, integrated power supply module, everything that I can think of that will drain the battery. He spent a whole day diagnosing it going through every module and hooked it up to a gt1 and they said there was a problem with my generator communicator (alternator). I had an alternator fail before and all my electronics would go haywire. This time though, my x5 showed no symptoms other than not cranking up. At times the Alternator would communicate and at times it wouldn't. The voltage on the x5 would fluctuate up and down.

So he showed me the alternator that was previously on the x5 and it was $hit. No serial numbers and you couldn't even tell how many amps cause it was "blacked" out. :cool: So he got a brand new Valeo alternator (showed me box, serial numbers... etc) from bmw. Also he got me a new battery from bmw (he only believes in oem) because my pep boys one got messed up from the wear and tear of the bad alternator. I will though have to register both the alternator and battery for I guess warranty concerns. I will get my x5 back monday.

Guys,If I don't open my moonroof for a substantial amount of time my battery get's weaker and weaker over 2 weeks of short distance drives,BUT as soon as I start using the roof,either way open,or full or just a back part lifted for ventilation,my battery gets an amazingly fast and strong charge.It's been like that for over 2 years now.
I have some rattles from the dome light area and planning to have a look at the inside as soon as weather permits to do so.We are still getting some snow storms here in Maritimes in Canada.
That is my experience,and I was trying to isolate it for a while.
I've done few draw tests and had good margins results,but the slow draw was always there and more since I drive short distances.
I pulled telephone module fuse off..no difference.
I am gonna try to remove the moon roof fuse today,I was thinking to do it for a while.but never got a will to check out which fuse it was :)

Thank heavens for this forum and this post.
My old battery drained and I replaced it and it too drained. I noticed the blower running softly when I took out the key. Went back 20 minutes later, the car was asleep but the fan was still running. I took out the fan fuse (#60) and of course it stopped.
So is this the FSR or is there further diagnostic work to be done. My X5 is a 2000 and this battery problem has been driving me nuts. Is the FSR something I can replace myself or should I mortgage the house and take it to a dealer, maybe an independent?

Thanks for any help.

Change it yourself,but buy a good replacement part,eBay is flooded with $40 bucks replacements,I've got one of those and it's not holding the steady speed :( up down up down...pretty annoying I should say.
DIY is available here or online ,search for it,also the FRS is located on the passenger side under the heater core covered by the plastic strip ,if it's the Left hand drive model.
Good luck

The new part costs 110.00. In one hour you can replace it yourself. Look on the diy page for replacement procedure. It's a little to the left of the passengers left foot, right behind the console

I had to replace my FSR 3 times already.

1st time the X5 was two years old and I had to fight with the dealer to change it.
2nd time about 4 years later I paid $120 for a OE part from BMW.
3rd time two weeks ago I went and got "Replacement" brand from autopartswarehouse for $36 and free shipping.

I can now replace that thing in about 30 min

mrloren, 2003 x5 3.0, same issues and that is precisely the inspiration for the new membership here, as I have spent nearly $650 on diagnostics and repairs at 2 bmw dealers here in Ohio with no success. I can now replace the fsr with eyes closed but am not convinced this should be part of the scheduled maintenance at 6 month intervals. I will keep exploring the sleep mode, or lack of.

FSU is dead again it lasted 2 months ...

I replaced my FSR 2 years ago and now have an electrical drain problem and wonder if it gone again. It was an ebay cheapy and Im seriously not convinced about ebay parts. I've had no luck with them! To help others out, give an indication by listing what drain current you read, mine was 0.2. Not sure yet if it is actually the FSR but will come back with further details.

Also, if you are at your wits end and no one can help, this interesting FSR tutorial might interest you if you fancy being an ultimate electrical problem solver.

HI,

I have the same problem, it looks like my screen is creating a parasitic drain. Can you post the link of where you found the new screen and did you solve your pb by replacing screen ?

thanks a lot

same prob
 

hi all, i have a 2001 x5 3.0. a week ago my wife had a dead battery. i thought she left a light on inside or something. i jump started it and she went about her day. next day same thing. dead battery. BTW battery is 9 months old. i charged the battery up with a 10amp charger for a few hours. started up fine. checked voltage not running. it was 12.2 volts. running it was 13.9 volts. also noticed park indicator light was on when car was off, locked up. noticed light doesnt go off ever. i changed out the FSR hoping that would cure it no such luck. also a few weeks ago my wife said the speakers started making crackling and hissing static noises. then no sound came out of them. she swaers she smelled electrical burning smell. then a week ago speakers starting working but sounding weird. then they stopped working again. then they started working normally again. i decided to have a new aftermarket stereo installed(she had been bugging me to upgade it for a couple years) sooooo.....my question is....can the stock oem amplifier keep the x5 from going into sleep mode? is that draining my battery? anyone have experience with this? thanks for your help!!!!

12.2 Volts is not a charged battery, fully charged battery should have a terminal Voltage of 12.6 Volts, but this does not guarantee the battery is good. Even a fairly new battery can have problems, best to have it checked at the parts store.

As far as the vehicle sleeping, I do not know the specific Amp you have, but keep in mind the Amp may not be shutting down and draining the battery. Usually pulling the radio fuses for test purposes can help isolate the problem.

my update: took it in to my indy bmw shop. using a dvom they checked all kinds of modules for draw. found the stereo amplifier had a 800 mA+ draw. he then unplugged the amp and immediately the dvom went down to 20-30 mA draw. he guaranteed me that was the issue. soooo.............how can I do a replacement/upgrade without spending $1200 list price for a stock oem amp?

I am surprised there are not shops that know exactly what the problem is and offer a reasonable repair price. VW and other manufacturers have very similar problems.

My suggestion is if you do not want to repair/replace the amp, is to just get a relay and see if you can find power to another module. Put the relay inline to the power feed.

The ONLY thing about the cheaper relays is you NEED to put a clamping diode on the coil so you do not Zap what you are tied into to control the relay.

I do not know if there are any "Bosch" style relays that have integrated clamping diodes.

Re: testing for current drain, sure one can attach the ammeter in series with the appropriate fuse (one probe at each end of the connector in fuse box, with the actual fuse removed), but most ammeters stop at 10A or so.

A friend told me about this tool that I have not tried. Basically very simple, but you have to buy the tool that fits the fuse slot ("normal" European or mini fuse type):
- Remove the fuse and place it in the slot in the device.
- Insert the tool into the now empty slot in the fuse box.
- This creates an ammeter connected in series with the circuit.

Read the current draw and compare against published values.

This seems to be a good tool to diagnose current draw.



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Temp was below freezing, parked the car outside Friday night. Monday afternoon, battery was dead (new Bosch AGM battery) ... is this parasitic drain, or about normal for 20F (-6C) temp for 3 days? Date/clock stopped the night before at 11pm.

Update: got my x5 back from Indy shop. No more battery drain but now airbag light is on solid. Took it back to shop and they say cant reset it because of a code for internal fault in airbag module....ugh....I tried using a snap on scanner with the same results. So I guess I need a new srs module???

i've been chasing a drain for a few months. Fuse 75 (audio/satnav), has a constant draw of nearly .5 amps when car is in sleep mode. Anyway, i tried disconnecting the satnav but that didnt solve it so i changed the head unit - still no joy.

today i have removed the satnav with the replacement head unit connected - now i get zero amps on fuse 75 - result, i hope!

it appears to be a combination of the head unit and satnav unit. i will leave the satnav disconnected and replace the whole lot with a pioneer apple carplay satnav unit.

No start after replacing battery
 

Hello everyone. I am a new owner to a 2003 BMW X5. I got it home And the following day got into the car to go to church And it wouldn't start. So I went and bought a battery So I went and bought a battery And now nothing happens. Radio comes on, All the Instrument panel information comes on, But it won't turn over. I've never owned A BMW I just need someAdvice from this group. Thank you in advance

See multiple posts on resetting your computer as the car is in disabled mode. You will need a BMW specific tester or one of the BMW cracker softwares to "unlock" the security setting. When cars with lots of electronics see 9.6V or less they tend to go home to momma, which in this case is factory set up mode.

Reset key memories: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...71#post8097371

See EWS postings, if my memory is correct. As it sounds like an ews / dme sync that is lost. Happens way too often when battery is changed. You need to resync the modules and you will need a computer and a cable to connect and the RIGHT program to talk to the modules to do this. research INPA and how to communicate with the modules / computers in your car.
Try this website. They are more active in BMW software.

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/f...ostic-Software