HELP!

[John]

guys,

just driving home and noticed my indicators had stopped working, they light up but dont flash - no problem i thought it'll be the flasher unit.

So i gets home, turns off ignition but the radio stays on, the brake lights have stayed on and theres nothing when i go to start her up, the key just turns as normal but the engine dosnt crank over,

the central locking dosnt work either, altho the boot release on the key fob works????

This has all just happened in the space of 20 mins, was on my way back from Bristol airport after working abroad, thank god it didnt happen there!

any ideas? or at least wheres the battery so i can disconnect it til tomorrow and get it towed to the nearest Beemer dealer

[graemeX5]

Hi I'm not sure but if the engine doesn't turn over it could be the battery. a quick test would be if you put headlights on full do they dim after a minute or so then the battery is low on power.

It may be worth charging it overnight unless you have a battery tester to hand to check it which most garages will have and they can confirm the condition of the battery.

Hope that helps

[X5Sport]

Battery is in the boot under the spare wheel!! It's almost at the back of the car in a plastic bucket. BMW put it there as part of their plan to have a 50:50 weight split front to rear.

You'll need to remove the wheel and then release the bolts and nuts holding the support frame for the air pump (in the domed device) so you can lift it forwards. Battery terminals can then be got at.

No idea what might have gone haywire though. Sometimes disconnecting the battery for an hour will reset everything. A bad/dying battery can cause all kinds of fun with these vehicles. If you've left the car for any length of time I would defo suspect the battery and/or alternator - but battery first. As suggested above, give it a charge and see what happens. It the battery is more than about 5 years old then probably approaching end of life.

[John]

thanks for the replies lads, the car was only sitting since last thursday, so not long, everything electrical was working fine and strong before this, i think the batterys is around 2 years old, ive disconnected it for now, the boot is now locked and i cant get it open, its been a very long day(started out in casablanca 13 hrs ago!) so im leaving til the morning before i start messing about trying to open the boot, thanks again for now guys

[pvr]

Just don't drive like they do in Casablanca ...

[John]

you aint joking there pvr

[pvr]

I know .... never been in a taxi there without having some sort of accident. Hyatt nice though

[John]

again, your not joking, spent the last 4 nights in the hyatt, very nice indeed!!

[John]

quick update lads,

i reconnected the battery this morning, everything is ok and working again,

so i took it to the nearest indy dealer in swansea, who said somehow it had last a signal but disconnecting/reconnecting the battery would have fixed it

so reasonably happy, but now gonna carry tools required to disconnect battery in the boot

[pvr]

Good result.

What battery do you have in the car by the way?

[John]

its a bosch battery

[X5Sport]

These cars are known for throwing all sorts of erroneous and confusing messages and actions if the battery goes bad. At two years old yours should be OK. And as you have found, disconnecting it for 30mins to an hour or so will reset things. It sounds like you need to charge it from under the bonnet (jumper points) and then see what voltages it shows 4 hours after charging (approx 12.6) as well as what the voltage is with a charged battery and the engine running. The latter should be 14.4 to 14.6V.