Verizon is CDMA and BMW uses GSM in the X5...

Craig

To get back OT, I completely agree. this is the very first vehicle I have ever had with no battery indicator. :yikes: But, as with all these little shortcomings, enthusiasts (can anyone say Penguin?) find creative solutions!!!:rofl:

Let's move any further BMW Assist GSM vs CDMA discussion to a thread dedicated to that topic.

Funf Dreisig

No temp gauge either. My first car to not have one, but I bet it has an idiot light somewhere...

Craig

You were so lucky waiting for parts. The engineers in NJ and the dealer have no idea what the "parasitic draw" is caused by. Lots of tests. Each takes about a day.

I do wish there was a temp gauge and voltmeter also. You are to trust the sophisticated computers but from my experience they have not told them anything yet and could even be the problem.

I had an air conditioner glitch that took two years to fix as for the first year they said it was operator error. Unless it is in your little FOB it never happened and you are not educated in the vehicles operation. I ended up telling my SA how some of the controls worked as I had read so much about them. That also was a NJ and the factory joint venture to fix.

Monday is 30 days in the shop less 3 days I had it before it was going belly up again on the battery. I would think those who have not has the Battery drain when parked control message may be safe but even mine has had periods it seemed OK but if anything it seems to be getting worse now.

If you want something unobtrusive, I have the signal dynamics single LED voltage warning installed on one of my motorcycles. With just a single LED to mount/locate, it should not be too hard to wire to a switched power lead and get a rough idea of how the battery/charging system is doing.

Motorcycle Battery Gauges & Chargers

Turn Signal Module

Honestly I'm surprised that there is no way to access such information from the cars own diagnostics.

Thanks P, was more just complimenting you for so many thoughtful and well researched forum contributions. You have a patient, helpful and contributory attitude and I found an opportunity to say so. I am not really worried about my battery. I really enjoy driving my X5 (so much more than the G, which was fun but horribly uncomfortable after more than 30 minutes). Finding an excuse to drive 20 or 30 miles every 2 weeks (as SA recommended) should be no problem even tho I have zero commute. And, I am about to order the ES5000 Booster Pack you recommended so I should be in good shape. Thanks again! BTW, you may recall, mine is leased so I am super hesitant to add anything electronic and risk dealer claiming "driver error". The sales experience was trying (to say the least) but I am hoping for a positive relationship with the service department (starting with following their recommendations - which, so far, has been easy).

As previously stated, I just continue to be surprised by the long (and growing) list of little issues that require extra attention {not to swing back off topic but I DID program Assist into my VZW CDMA phone :bustingup )

Purely a BMW decision to not make this available. The OBD-II buss has voltage information on it and could easily be displayed if BMW choose to.

But I'll tell you why they probably do not with a little story.

Many years ago I was a product planner for a couple of years at a tractor manufacturer. Now, tractors have something called a Power Takeoff (PTO) which runs at a nominal speed of either 540 RPM or 1,000 RPM. One of our competitors decided to go electronic and, while they were at it, put an electronic digital PTO speed measurement in the instrument panel. Well, all of a sudden the dealers were getting complaints that their "540" PTO was running at 537, 546, 533, etc. Well, of course they always were only approximately 540, and it didn't affect performance at all if it was off a bit, but now that they had the precise data, some owners were complaining and hassling the dealer with an unreasonable expectation -- "It's a 540 PTO and it damn well should run at 540!" They soon removed the digital PTO speed measurement from the instrument panel.

Now, I have monitored the voltage on my X5 during the first 6,000 miles and have noticed that the voltage varies from about a maximum of 14.8 volts, to a minimum of 13.8 volts, while running. It seems to have to do with the state of battery charge and temperature, with cold temperatures providing higher voltage, and the lower voltages showing-up after a couple of hours or cruising at interstate speed. I am not 100% sure about the temperature dependency; however, I have seen a rough correlation and such behavior would make sense. I expect that this is normal operation and that the lower voltage happens when the system senses the battery is completely charged "to the top."

But... I also expect that a few non-technical people who owned a BMW would be badgering the dealer if they saw the voltage going from 13.9 to 14.8 without obvious rhyme or reason (to them).

So I suspect the product planners, or their equivalents, at BMW decided to avoid the problem by simply hiding the voltage data, and only having the vehicle inform you if it sees a problem.

Well, at least that's my guess.

Great thread and info posts! As someone with the electrical/electronic "knowledge" of only being able to change out/charge a battery and plug in a cord,
I am reading closely, but it is a struggle.

Penquin's post above on monitoring voltage is apt: my Vette has a "volt gauge" dial and I can also put up the numerical readout in its very complete digital
readout section of the dashboard; my "volts" read as low as 12.9 to 14.8 ish, depending on start up, cruise, did I have the Tender on it, etc. I view it occasionally,
scrolling through all the "readouts" the Vette dash provides, but I don't give it much thought and it is not really a concern to my mind.

So, I agree on what a gauge or readout would really "offer" for the electrical non-intelligentsia, of which I am a member.
Great Thread!
BR, mD