by "55Buick, Oversteer Scientist" (55Buick)
Published 01/02/2017 at 10:27
by "55Buick, Oversteer Scientist" (55Buick)
Published 01/02/2017 at 10:27
Tags: BMW
STARS: 1
My dad put a brand new battery in his 2003 BMW 540i about a week ago. We left for a trip, came back, and now the battery is totally dead. What could this be? If the battery wasn’t new, I could see that being an issue but we literally put it in a week ago. Any ideas about why this could be? I don’t think he left any light on either...
"crowmolly" (crowmolly)
01/02/2017 at 10:29, STARS: 8
Looks like something is draining power. Time to break out the voltmeter.
"Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif" (lumpy44)
01/02/2017 at 10:30, STARS: 1
Check your alternator. Eric the Car Guy on youtube has a bunch of good videos on it.
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
01/02/2017 at 10:32, STARS: 5
If the car was just sitting then something is draining the power. If the car was being driven then your alternator is probably kaput.
"Echo51" (echo2047)
01/02/2017 at 10:35, STARS: 1
Could also be a bad battery, my dad bought one that collapsed a month later and went dead.
"CalzoneGolem" (calzonegolem)
01/02/2017 at 10:36, STARS: 1
Could be a dead battery but it is probably you alternator or some other electric drain.
"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
01/02/2017 at 11:01, STARS: 1
Parasitic drain. I remember talking to old school mechanics about wacky “unsolvable” problems they encountered. One was like this - turned out to be a trunk light that stayed lit when the deck lid was closed. (Hey, maybe the refrigerator light never goes off either!)
With a modern car it could be something even weirder and harder to find. What would be most telling is to see if it happens when the car is driven on a regular basis or if it only happens when parked for extended periods of time.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
01/02/2017 at 11:11, STARS: 2
That reminds me of a story. My dad is a contractor, but he spent the bulk of the 70's as a mechanic. Supposedly he was the local quadrajet carberator tuning ace, and given my dad’s ability to drill down on the most inane details, it sounds like the kind of thing he’d be good at.
In the mid-90's, when I was in middle school, his work truck developed a parasitic draw that nobody could find. Fed up with it all, he spent three days in the driveway in the dead of winter chasing down shorts with a multimeter. Proud of himself for having conquered the electrical gremlins, he immediately traded in the truck for a new one, because he decided the money saved wasn’t worth all the lost pay. You know how it goes being self-employed, not working equals no money.
"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
01/02/2017 at 11:23, STARS: 1
I’m guessing a short somewhere perhaps - so parasitic drain. My old Subaru Impreza wagon had a short from a poorly installed aftermarket alarm that I never used that meant the car constantly thought the trunk was open - the interior dome light stayed on all the time as a result (as did the trunk ajar light on the dash), so I had to leave the dome light off all the time and manually turn it on when I needed it. The ‘trunk ajar’ light on the dash never used enough juice over time to worry about needing to disable it from power drain.
"Hadfun Gotold" (hadfungotold)
01/02/2017 at 11:24, STARS: 1
This may or may not help but I owned a 2003 540 6spd and had a problem of dead batteries. The blower motor resistor which seems to a be common problem was killing my battery. By chance I faintly heared my blower motor running when I was up at 1am one night.
I never suffered from dead batteries after that but your dad’s problem could be something else.
"55Buick, Oversteer Scientist" (55Buick)
01/02/2017 at 12:58, STARS: 0
It could be that. I looked it up online and it looks like that particular resistor is prone to failure. Also sounds like a cheap and easy fix, so I’ll replace it and see if it works! Thanks for the advice!
"55Buick, Oversteer Scientist" (55Buick)
01/02/2017 at 13:00, STARS: 1
Yes, a parasitic drain could do it. Not sure where the drain would come from, but it looks like it’s time to find out...
It has only happened this one time, after we left it sitting for 6 days. Once I find a problem and fix it, we’ll see if it keeps occurring with constant use. Thanks!
"Hadfun Gotold" (hadfungotold)
01/02/2017 at 13:19, STARS: 1
It is a fairly easy fix. The pic of your dad’s makes me miss mine.
Good luck.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
08/10/2017 at 22:55, STARS: 0
Didn’t see that coming.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
08/10/2017 at 22:57, STARS: 0
The battery would go dead in my ‘89 Camry and it turned out to be the light in the vanity mirror on the passenger side visor was staying on. Remove bulb.
You can always just unhook the negative terminal of the battery when you park the car...
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
08/10/2017 at 23:30, STARS: 0
Being self-employed is a whole different way of life than the one we lead. Everything depends on your immediate production. You don’t go to work, you don’t get paid. It doesn’t matter if your truck doesn’t start, you’re sick as a dog, you go on vacation, or it just rains. No work, no paycheck.
That’s the way I grew up, and it was a big factor in choosing teaching over the construction industry. I remember the first time I took a sick day. It felt like a magic trick. I actually called my mom and told her, “You’re not going to believe this. I’m not going to work today, but they’re still going to pay me!”
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
08/10/2017 at 23:46, STARS: 0
That happened to me once when I had an eye problem. I couldn’t see myself going to work.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
08/11/2017 at 07:07, STARS: 0
*rimshot*
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
08/11/2017 at 09:44, STARS: 0
Ew.