Parasitic battery drain - F30?
Discussion
I should have expected this one, but after a few warnings of "increased battery drain" or whatever the message says, I got back to my car at midnight in the long stay of Stanstead airport to find the vehicle completely dead. Luckily there was just enough charge to unlock the boot and extract my jump leads and many thanks to the couple who's trip home I delayed while I borrowed some of their electricity.
Clearly something is draining the battery, not hugely quickly, but enough that over 5 or 6 days it's dying to the point of barely working the alarm and central locking. This sounds much like finding a needle in a haystack, with over 100 fuses to check. Are there any common culprits to look at first? The issue has only happened over the last 2 or 3 months, nothing has changed on the car in that time. The battery is less than 2 years old, and the battery is charging well when the vehicle is running, so I don't think it is the alternator.
The other alternative, which is very appealing, is to simply buy a £100 lithium battery starter and put that in the glove box. £100 doesn't go very far at a garage chasing electrical shadows, and for the few times a year it is needed this could be the most cost effective option.
Clearly something is draining the battery, not hugely quickly, but enough that over 5 or 6 days it's dying to the point of barely working the alarm and central locking. This sounds much like finding a needle in a haystack, with over 100 fuses to check. Are there any common culprits to look at first? The issue has only happened over the last 2 or 3 months, nothing has changed on the car in that time. The battery is less than 2 years old, and the battery is charging well when the vehicle is running, so I don't think it is the alternator.
The other alternative, which is very appealing, is to simply buy a £100 lithium battery starter and put that in the glove box. £100 doesn't go very far at a garage chasing electrical shadows, and for the few times a year it is needed this could be the most cost effective option.
What Bigdom has just said. My Abarth 595C was OK if driven either every day or every other day. Leave it a week and no chance, but would go straight off my LiIon jump pack. Not helped by having a CAN Phantom on it which takes time to un-immobilise.
New battery was £68 and its been fine since.
Your car has much bigger drains than the Abarth so time for a new battery.
New battery was £68 and its been fine since.
Your car has much bigger drains than the Abarth so time for a new battery.
Condi said:
I should have expected this one, but after a few warnings of "increased battery drain" or whatever the message says, I got back to my car at midnight in the long stay of Stanstead airport to find the vehicle completely dead. Luckily there was just enough charge to unlock the boot and extract my jump leads and many thanks to the couple who's trip home I delayed while I borrowed some of their electricity.
Clearly something is draining the battery, not hugely quickly, but enough that over 5 or 6 days it's dying to the point of barely working the alarm and central locking. This sounds much like finding a needle in a haystack, with over 100 fuses to check. Are there any common culprits to look at first? The issue has only happened over the last 2 or 3 months, nothing has changed on the car in that time. The battery is less than 2 years old, and the battery is charging well when the vehicle is running, so I don't think it is the alternator.
The other alternative, which is very appealing, is to simply buy a £100 lithium battery starter and put that in the glove box. £100 doesn't go very far at a garage chasing electrical shadows, and for the few times a year it is needed this could be the most cost effective option.
As others have said; I'd be changing the battery first - exactly what I did with our F31 when we first got it in early 2023. Battery was only 3 years old (gen BMW (Varta I think) and every so often the battery draining warning would pop upClearly something is draining the battery, not hugely quickly, but enough that over 5 or 6 days it's dying to the point of barely working the alarm and central locking. This sounds much like finding a needle in a haystack, with over 100 fuses to check. Are there any common culprits to look at first? The issue has only happened over the last 2 or 3 months, nothing has changed on the car in that time. The battery is less than 2 years old, and the battery is charging well when the vehicle is running, so I don't think it is the alternator.
The other alternative, which is very appealing, is to simply buy a £100 lithium battery starter and put that in the glove box. £100 doesn't go very far at a garage chasing electrical shadows, and for the few times a year it is needed this could be the most cost effective option.
Kept it on trickle for a few weeks; still the same. Popped a new Exide AGM battery in via Tayna Batteries around March/April 2023, registered it to the car (like for like replacement) and it's been faultless since
This is about the equivalent from Tayna: https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/bosch/s5a13/
I struggle to believe it's a battery problem, the battery is a YUSA Silver model with 5 year warranty and is less than 2 years old. While it was never coded to the car when it was fitted that shouldn't make a difference, especially not in less than 2 years. Stop/start is disabled on the car and so it's not being abused in traffic, and it's used most days for long enough to keep it fully charged.
It may be the battery, but I just find that hard to believe in 20 years of being around vehicles having never seen that behaviour before.
It may be the battery, but I just find that hard to believe in 20 years of being around vehicles having never seen that behaviour before.
Condi said:
I struggle to believe it's a battery problem, the battery is a YUSA Silver model with 5 year warranty and is less than 2 years old. While it was never coded to the car when it was fitted that shouldn't make a difference, especially not in less than 2 years. Stop/start is disabled on the car and so it's not being abused in traffic, and it's used most days for long enough to keep it fully charged.
It may be the battery, but I just find that hard to believe in 20 years of being around vehicles having never seen that behaviour before.
Yes it does make a difference if it's not registered to the carIt may be the battery, but I just find that hard to believe in 20 years of being around vehicles having never seen that behaviour before.
A new AGM battery needs to be coded to the car if it's of a different spec; it then needs to be registered as well.
A new like for like replacement needs to be registered to the car only
This way the intelligent charging knows the state of the battery and how to charge it / to what capacity etc (IIRC)
This is where the issue could lie. I'd plug it into trickle for 24-48 hours if you can and then register the battery to the car - Bimmercode will do this if you have that; if not something like the Creator C410 code reader for c£60 on Amazon will do it for you too (only register, not code) - its a small tool and worth having in your arsenal IMO
Condi said:
I struggle to believe it's a battery problem, the battery is a YUSA Silver model with 5 year warranty and is less than 2 years old. While it was never coded to the car when it was fitted that shouldn't make a difference, especially not in less than 2 years. Stop/start is disabled on the car and so it's not being abused in traffic, and it's used most days for long enough to keep it fully charged.
It may be the battery, but I just find that hard to believe in 20 years of being around vehicles having never seen that behaviour before.
There's your issue, if the battery you have is a Yuasa, then the 'Silver' models are not AGM battreries just normal Lead acid.It may be the battery, but I just find that hard to believe in 20 years of being around vehicles having never seen that behaviour before.
Your battery part number should be YBX90xx.
E30M3SE said:
There's your issue, if the battery you have is a Yuasa, then the 'Silver' models are not AGM battreries just normal Lead acid.
Your battery part number should be YBX90xx.
My understanding was the car can be coded with either AGM and lead acid, and that AGM was mainly useful for start/stop applications, which is disabled on the car? Once the battery is correctly coded in then it should be fine, no? Your battery part number should be YBX90xx.
Condi said:
E30M3SE said:
There's your issue, if the battery you have is a Yuasa, then the 'Silver' models are not AGM battreries just normal Lead acid.
Your battery part number should be YBX90xx.
My understanding was the car can be coded with either AGM and lead acid, and that AGM was mainly useful for start/stop applications, which is disabled on the car? Once the battery is correctly coded in then it should be fine, no? Your battery part number should be YBX90xx.
A like for like simply needs to be registered
So the new battery, either AGM or standard; needs to be coded to the car (unless its a like for like AGM (90Ah and 95Ah are treated as the same FYI) - in which it just needs to be registered
I see, well it's booked in to get coded, and then hopefully will sort itself out. If not then I can replace it again and get it registered from the start, but let's start with the cheapest option first.
Sure there must be some benefits to the battery management system, but it does seem a faff.
Sure there must be some benefits to the battery management system, but it does seem a faff.
The reason for registering is for the IBS (bmw intelligent battery sensor). This prolongs the life of the battery, it adapts the charge as the battery ages. The issue you have is that it will treating the replacement battery it in the same manner as the failed unit.
I still have an older BMW in the household cars, a 2008 model, it's only on it's 2nd battery, it works pretty well.
I still have an older BMW in the household cars, a 2008 model, it's only on it's 2nd battery, it works pretty well.
Assuming the battery situation doesn't sort - check the car is actually shutting down properly.
I had an issue with the Comfort Access of my E91 that meant the car wasn't actually 'shutting down' properly. This caused a parasitic drain and battery issues. I noticed it at night when the stop/start button continued to be illuminated hours after I'd parked up and locked the car.
I took the lazy route and just removed the fuse for the Comfort Access which solved the problem.
I had an issue with the Comfort Access of my E91 that meant the car wasn't actually 'shutting down' properly. This caused a parasitic drain and battery issues. I noticed it at night when the stop/start button continued to be illuminated hours after I'd parked up and locked the car.
I took the lazy route and just removed the fuse for the Comfort Access which solved the problem.
Edited by g3org3y on Friday 26th September 06:21
Condi said:
I struggle to believe it's a battery problem, the battery is a YUSA Silver model with 5 year warranty and is less than 2 years old. While it was never coded to the car when it was fitted that shouldn't make a difference, especially not in less than 2 years. Stop/start is disabled on the car and so it's not being abused in traffic, and it's used most days for long enough to keep it fully charged.
It may be the battery, but I just find that hard to believe in 20 years of being around vehicles having never seen that behaviour before.
That doesn't mean anything. Ever heard of bad batches and or production issues that don't spotted during QA? Coding does make a difference!! Why do you think BMW have their technicians do it when batteries are replaced??!It may be the battery, but I just find that hard to believe in 20 years of being around vehicles having never seen that behaviour before.
I had exactly that same battery, and guess what, after 2 years, it was 30% dead. I switched it for the Varta Dan mentioned and everything electrical was immediately more responsive/brighter. I can leave my F30 for 2 weeks and it'll start fine.
As has been said, before condemning the battery, do some basic checks. Get a wifi/bluetooth transmitter Amp meter and see what current the car is pulling when it's asleep. If it's less than 500ma (which it should be), then the car isn't at fault.
bigdom said:
The reason for registering is for the IBS (bmw intelligent battery sensor). This prolongs the life of the battery, it adapts the charge as the battery ages. The issue you have is that it will treating the replacement battery it in the same manner as the failed unit.
I still have an older BMW in the household cars, a 2008 model, it's only on it's 2nd battery, it works pretty well.
My F30 335d is nearly 9 years old, and on its original battery. I do nothing special and it may stand for days to weeks.I still have an older BMW in the household cars, a 2008 model, it's only on it's 2nd battery, it works pretty well.
The reason for coding the battery is to regulate alternator load, which affects emissions and charging.
If you put a new battery in and don't code it, the IBS will think you still have the old battery and will be driving the alternator harder needlessly, which is a parasitic load on the engine.
If you put a new battery in and don't code it, the IBS will think you still have the old battery and will be driving the alternator harder needlessly, which is a parasitic load on the engine.
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