Newbie: Battery problem

[Intravenous de milo]

I've just bought an LPG 4.4 2001 X5 and so far it's sat on my drive as I've yet to sell our old car (Nissan Cube).

I was searching around the back to work out how to get rid of the DSP and stereo bits in order to install a standard stereo and left the boot open enough for the light to be on. I noticed, locked the boot up.

A few days later the battery has drained and couldn't open the boot. I went to put a charger on the battery and noticed the batter was missing from under the bonnet. A little investigation showed me that someone had put the battery in the boot (which I couldn't get to because the boot was locked) and there were a couple of charging points under the bonnet - sorted?

Well, 2 hours of charging and still not a flicker of life in the battery, even when hooked up to the charger, the central locking etc will not work. Do I just need to leave it a bit longer or is there something obvious I am missing?

[Mikee]

There is a release catch for the boot. It's a little tab that you have to pull. If your inside the car looking out the back window its on the left hand side of the lower folding section.

All x5 batteries are in the boot AFAIK under the spare wheel. I've had 2, 4.6 and a 4.8 and both were there.

The points under the bonnet again afaik are for jump starting only. Not for Charging. You'll need to remove the battery to charge it.

Welcome to x5 ownership! Draining batteries are a common occurrence!

[X5Sport]

[quote="Mikee"]
The points under the bonnet again afaik are for jump starting only. Not for Charging. You'll need to remove the battery to charge it.
[/quote]

Wrong.  As stated in the Owners Manual, you should charge from under the bonnet only.

OP:  if the battery is very dead then it may be beyond recovery.  You also need to have the right charger 'type'.  These batteries are no longer 'flooded' wet batteries but use a paste or gel.  If the battery is marked Calcium or AGM then you need an AGM compatible charger - different charging cycle.  AGM/Gel batteries are very intolerant if going flat, and have a typical lifespan of 5-6 years.

Many users in here have replaced dead ones with Bosch Silver S4/5/6 series.

[Intravenous de milo]

[quote="X5Sport"]
[quote="Mikee"]
The points under the bonnet again afaik are for jump starting only. Not for Charging. You'll need to remove the battery to charge it.
[/quote]

Wrong.  As stated in the Owners Manual, you should charge from under the bonnet only.

OP:  if the battery is very dead then it may be beyond recovery.  You also need to have the right charger 'type'.  These batteries are no longer 'flooded' wet batteries but use a paste or gel.  If the battery is marked Calcium or AGM then you need an AGM compatible charger - different charging cycle.  AGM/Gel batteries are very intolerant if going flat, and have a typical lifespan of 5-6 years.

Many users in here have replaced dead ones with Bosch Silver S4/5/6 series.
[/quote]

I'm prepared to buy another battery but the thing I don't get is that I'm charging the battery through the engine bay terminals but even with that (albeit low current) 12v running, nothing works, not even the interior lights or enough juice to open the central locking.

[X5Sport]

You will need in excess of 10A current so if your charger is below that then it will take a while.  These cars need a lot of current just doing nothing.  My X6 draws 60A!  If your battery has an internal short then the charger will be doing nothing.  I use a MXS10 from CTEK which has a 10A 'power' mode which supplies 10A continuously.  My old CTEK MX3800 wasn't man enough for the E53 and took more than 24hours to charge the battery from flat.

You can open the car with the key - drivers door only.  The alarm may go off......though with a dead battery, it may not.  I also thought - though it's a long time ago now - that the key could open the tailgate?

[Intravenous de milo]

[quote="X5Sport"]
You will need in excess of 10A current so if your charger is below that then it will take a while.  These cars need a lot of current just doing nothing.  My X6 draws 60A!  If your battery has an internal short then the charger will be doing nothing.  I use a MXS10 from CTEK which has a 10A 'power' mode which supplies 10A continuously.  My old CTEK MX3800 wasn't man enough for the E53 and took more than 24hours to charge the battery from flat.

You can open the car with the key - drivers door only.  The alarm may go off......though with a dead battery, it may not.  I also thought - though it's a long time ago now - that the key could open the tailgate?
[/quote]


good point, as I say the outgoing car is a Nissan Cube and you could jump the ca with a calculator battery.

My best bet is to take the battery out and charge it + see what happens.

[Steamyrotter]

Sorry Richard There is no key actuated lock on the boot..

You can get in the drivers door by "overturning" the key in the unlock direction.

then depending if the car is deadlocked or not, you may be able to get in the back door.
Then you will need to get in the boot.
There is a tab in the lower cover of the upper tail gate that will release the top part.
I am not sure if you can release the lower one though as never tried..

With the top open you can then get the boot floor out, the spare wheel and then lift off the compressor.

Then the battery can come out..

It is then easier to put it back as you will no doubt have a better battery and then everything will unlock and open.

Seems strange that the charger on the under bonnet points is not allowing you to unlock the car though..
If there is 12v there then something should work.
Are you sure the battery is not dragging the supply down ?  Have you checked the voltage whilst charging?

As above you will need a hefty charge current to kick it back into life initially..

[Intravenous de milo]

[quote="Steamyrotter"]
Sorry Richard There is no key actuated lock on the boot..

You can get in the drivers door by "overturning" the key in the unlock direction.

then depending if the car is deadlocked or not, you may be able to get in the back door.
Then you will need to get in the boot.
There is a tab in the lower cover of the upper tail gate that will release the top part.
I am not sure if you can release the lower one though as never tried..

With the top open you can then get the boot floor out, the spare wheel and then lift off the compressor.

Then the battery can come out..

It is then easier to put it back as you will no doubt have a better battery and then everything will unlock and open.

Seems strange that the charger on the under bonnet points is not allowing you to unlock the car though..
If there is 12v there then something should work.
Are you sure the battery is not dragging the supply down ?  Have you checked the voltage whilst charging?

As above you will need a hefty charge current to kick it back into like initially..
[/quote]

That's the bit that worries me, 12v should be able to operate doors etc.

I can get in the passenger side and the rear so opening the boot as you direct should be easy. Then I get the battery out and see it I can get some juice into it.

[X5Sport]

If you have access to another battery and a set of jump leads then you could get power on that way?

[mr angry]

Test the voltage under the bonnet to ascertain the charge condition of the battery.

[Intravenous de milo]

I have an lpg tank, is the battery under that?

[Steamyrotter]

Unfortunately most probably!!

[Intravenous de milo]

[quote="Steamyrotter"]
Unfortunately most probably!!
[/quote]

Rats do-dars!! what a place to put a fuel tank!! what a lace to put a battery.

I'm still worried as to why nowt work when it's on charge.

[X5Sport]

[quote="mr angry"]
Test the voltage under the bonnet to ascertain the charge condition of the battery.
[/quote]

You need to do this.  You may have a battery with a failed cell which could be open circuit so won't allow a charge, or short circuit meaning the charger voltage is being 'pulled' down.

What is the current rating of the charger?  Is it actually charging - as in is there 12V coming out of it?

[Intravenous de milo]

[quote="X5Sport"]
[quote="mr angry"]
Test the voltage under the bonnet to ascertain the charge condition of the battery.
[/quote]

You need to do this.  You may have a battery with a failed cell which could be open circuit so won't allow a charge, or short circuit meaning the charger voltage is being 'pulled' down.

What is the current rating of the charger?  Is it actually charging - as in is there 12V coming out of it?
[/quote]

Yep, I've just charged up a spare battery with the charger but it's not charging the battery in the car. I'm going to jump from this spare in the morning to see if that works. Then, hopefully, charge the main battery by charging the spare through the charging / jumping point. Then, test the battery for damage and if need be get a new battery, pay Halfords the premium for fitting it and watch the Halfords lad's face as he realises he's got to negotiate the LPG tank!

Oh, my charger is just 2a, that may be a problem.