02 X5 3.0 weird problem after starting
 

Sometimes when I get in and start the flashers will be on along with the dome light and the central locking system won't work.

I can turn the flashers off but the dome light will stay on until and the locks won't work until i turn off the car open the door lock and unlock the car again.

Anyone have any suggestions on what might be happening and where I can start to look to fix the issue.

Thanks,

how old is your battery? was there a cold spell in your area recently?

Typical philadelphia winter, maybe teens a couple of weeks ago? I don't know about the age of the battery.

lol... dabeast is in Montana, or so it seems... i would think that the winters there are much colder than in Phily... but even in Phily, a cold winter can kill a battery...

switch
 

Are there any other strange things going on ? if its not the battery or alternator check the ingnition switch wiggle it around ,it connects to the end of the key switch take the colum apart the contacts wear out and stange things happen .

Yes it does seem to only happen when it is really cold out.

I was told the battery was only a year old when I bought it but I will test it with a meter.

One other thing that is happening that may or may not be related is if I let it warm up in the mornings and back out of the driveway when I shift from reverse to drive the car dies sometimes. Only seems to happen when I let it warm up (get in and go never dies).

Thanks

do a search on the forum about the battery andf alternator testing - the car has a built-in voltmeter that needs to be unlocked to see thee voltage.

engine dying? hmmm... i had similar issue on 528, (similar engine), it was ICV, Idle Control Valve...

lets see about voltage first - do you know how to unlock OBC?

That I do not know how to do. If you have a guide to follow I am very good at following directions.

I can do most of the work myself my biggest trouble is where to start the troubleshooting. (Give me source code and i'll find your problem though :) )

I'll also look into the idle control valve for the other issue thanks for that.

some links don't work... going offf memory...

on your cluster you two push knobs/buttons, one to read messages, the other one to reset tripometer.

you press and hold right one until the word test appears. release the knob. start pressing it until you get test 19. release it. it will start alternating, lock on/lock off... tske your VIN LV12345, add the numbers, 1+2+3+4+5=15. using left knob, start pressing, until you see lock 15, press right knob. display should revert to test 1. press right knob until you get to test 9. press left knob. this should be voltage test...

let us know if managed to get ther...

folks, if i missed a step, please chime in!!!

Thanks for that I'll try it when I get home tonight. Lets hope that this issue is just battery related. I should probably just get a new battery anyways so I know how old it is instead of going by what previous owner told me.