X5 battery drain

[x5inwales]

My xe53's battery drain has been ongoing for a quite a while. I have it tested at a specialist in Barry, South Wales. They said it was caused by Video and Radio control modules, and both modules need to be replaced (around £2000). Obviously, I asked to disconnect them. But, it hasn't cured the batter drain.

Anybody can share some similar stories?

[X5Sport]

Welcome to the Forum.

You need to tell us a bit about the car - year, variant, options etc.

There are a number of people on here who have had similar issues and there are any number of causes.  Search will help you find them.  Look for things like the FSR (Final Stage Resistor) or Hedgehog.  It could be locks failing to engage properly, or the car not going into 'sleep' mode (the Orange LED next to 'P' goes out after 16 mins).

How long does it take to go flat?  Anything like fans running after switch off?  Any modifications?

Richard

[james8whippy]

Hi and Welcome aboard.

I've had battery draining issues recently myself.

Please see my post here http://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/https://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=62848#p62848

Good Luck!

[x5inwales]

[quote="X5Sport"]
Welcome to the Forum.

You need to tell us a bit about the car - year, variant, options etc.

There are a number of people on here who have had similar issues and there are any number of causes.  Search will help you find them.  Look for things like the FSR (Final Stage Resistor) or Hedgehog.  It could be locks failing to engage properly, or the car not going into 'sleep' mode (the Orange LED next to 'P' goes out after 16 mins).

How long does it take to go flat?  Anything like fans running after switch off?  Any modifications?

Richard
[/quote]

Thanks Richard!
it is 05 x5 3.0 D sport. The 1st specialist thought it was the sat nav and radio modules caused the drain, but even though both modules were disconnected, the batter drain is still not stopped. If not having driven for two days, it won't start. Previously, the worst situation was in 6 hours roughly the battery got flat before I took to the 1st specialist to check. the 2nd specialist said it is the heating sensor, Hedgehog, i suppose. They will re-check it in a week once I can leave the car to them.

I was trying to sit in the car, haven't noticed fan running at all. As for modifications, it has a headlight upgrade, which hasn't been any problem for the last two years.

Neo

[X5Sport]

The FSR is certainly known to kill the battery fairly quickly and one symptom may be the internal a/c fans running on after switch off  - but not in every case.  It is a DIY (albeit fiddly) job, and more trixxy if like me you have large hands.. >:(

Richard

[x5inwales]

[quote="X5Sport"]
The FSR is certainly known to kill the battery fairly quickly and one symptom may be the internal a/c fans running on after switch off  - but not in every case.  It is a DIY (albeit fiddly) job, and more trixxy if like me you have large hands.. >:(

Richard
[/quote]

Thanks again Richard! I am a good DIYer, , so I will leave it to the specialist again. Moreover, in the latest service, the specialist said 5 or 6 glow plugs have fault. May have them changed at the same time, as the car gives a quite smoke when starts in cold weather. it is too smoky for the neighbors to bear :-[

[The foolish fellow]

I replaced thehedgehog but it didn't cure it. Ended uo wiring the sat Nav unit through a relay and switched it direct from the ignition.

[x5inwales]

[quote="The foolish fellow"]
I replaced thehedgehog but it didn't cure it. Ended uo wiring the sat Nav unit through a relay and switched it direct from the ignition.
[/quote]

I read somewhere online, if your sat nav doesn't shut it down itself after turning off engine, it is likely draining battery, but in my case, I don't think the sat nav is the cause, though some specialist said it is, now after having disconnected both video (sat nav) and radio control units in the boots, the battery drain is still there, I called the specialist to re-connect the modules, they just forgot me, or ignore me maybe.

[jaynana]

there's a how to in here somewhere on how to identify the root cause. although its not the easiest if you're so great at diy  plus i've not done this myself although it has to work.

in simple terms, connect an ammeter serially onto the battery, let the car go to sleep, check the amperage on the meter. if all things are good it should be about 50mah i think (haven't done or tested this personally so not sure).

keep pulling one fuse at a time to figure out at which point the amperage drops - that will isolate  where the drain is.

[x5inwales]

Update:

the latest diagnosis result came out this morning. the second BMW specialist told me it is the starter motor (£311 parts and labour). I hope it will cure the drain this time.

[Imy]

Dude, is your "BMW Specialist" mechanic having you on? £360 for bushes on top of £311 for starter motor (which should take no longer than 1hour labour) seems a bit excessive to me.

Edit: Checking the prices on starter motors, Bosch is £240 upwards? Denso £200 upwards? unbranded eBay £65?

[x5inwales]

Hi Imy, the starter motor is £199.95 plus VAT, in total £239.94. On top of that, they charged one hour labour, which is 60 quid.

I suppose they treat the bushes changing as a separate job.

[Gaff]

Hi All, a bit late for this one it seems, but the I had the same issue, battery drain. Left for two weeks down. Jump started her and drove for some time, then left for 2 days, but started, and then 1 week and started. I am hoping I am lucky and the issue has sorted itself... fingers and toes crossed!

[x5inwales]

[quote="Gaff"]
Hi All, a bit late for this one it seems, but the I had the same issue, battery drain. Left for two weeks down. Jump started her and drove for some time, then left for 2 days, but started, and then 1 week and started. I am hoping I am lucky and the issue has sorted itself... fingers and toes crossed!
[/quote]

in my experience, it gets worse. i am hoping this starter motor change could solve the problem.

i would suggest to find a few trustworthy garage first, so when it gets worse, you could ring them and let a honest technician to test it.

[ChrisLux]

I had this problem 2 years ago . It's apparently a well documented problem , but I didn't mention it
as I thought you'd solved it sry .

Factory starter motors are Magnetti Marelli and they're cr*p . They did a drop test on mine whilst
starting and the meter went off the scale !!

It cost me around £250 to get it changed for a Bosch , and I've not had any problem since .