X3 - Battery Drain

Hi - I'm the owner of an '06 X3 (bought new in '06). I've been suffering from battery drain for over a year now, if the car isn't run almost daily the battery will die (The battery has been replaced 2x). My father bought some device to check all drain on the various entitied and has been able to pinpoint that the sunroof mechanism was draining a lot of the power.

We seem to think that the overall onboard computer may not be shutting down when the car is off and that is draining the power. (This thought is triggered by the fact that the car sat overnight after being driven a couple hours the day before and was dead in the next morning).

The next step is taking it to the dealer and letting them figure it out. Does anyone have any thoughts on this (before I'm robbed blind at the dealer.)?

Originally Posted by Christie517

.... been able to pinpoint that the sunroof mechanism was draining a lot of the power.

We seem to think that the overall onboard computer may not be shutting down when the car is off and that is draining the power.

Opening and closing the heavy panorama roof may require a large current, but I really doubt that is the problem.

BMW Assist and Bluetooth modules are frequently found to be culprits - not going into sleep mode.
Best to try disconnecting those first before spending money at the dealer.

If it only started suddenly just over a year ago, I'd check for a slipping serpentine/alternator belt.
(A leaking power steering pump has been known to drip oil on the alternator and cause problems.)

If it's something else, any good auto-electric shop might be as good as the dealer in tracking it down.
They might even do a charging system test for free or a nominal amount, and then try to sell you a new alternator along with another new battery.

Some forum members have done monitoring to see what things draw significant power on a continual or periodic basis while parked overnight.
Not easy to track down, but that's what you might have to do.
As usual, unplug or isolate only one thing at a time in order to clearly identify the culprit.

If you said it, I missed it: is this the original battery? A car battery has a finite lifespan, and from what I've been able to glean from the forum, 4-5 years is about right for an OEM BMW battery. Once a battery is on it's last legs, it may seem fine while the car is running (or soon thereafter), but will not hold a charge for very long...

So yours just may be ready for that great junk heap in the sky...?

Originally Posted by timfitz63

If you said it, I missed it: is this the original battery? A car battery has a finite lifespan, and from what I've been able to glean from the forum, 4-5 years is about right for an OEM BMW battery. Once a battery is on it's last legs, it may seem fine while the car is running (or soon thereafter), but will not hold a charge for very long...

So yours just may be ready for that great junk heap in the sky...?

if it is original, i agree its new battery time. my father had a battery drain on his 530xi and bmw couldnt figure out the issue(not Pace BMW, haha) for a while, each time returning it saying it was better. After a few trips they decided it was the negative battery terminal. Seemed to fix the issue.

The original post says that the battery was changed twice.

Originally Posted by kenza

The original post says that the battery was changed twice.

So it does... Must learn to read more thoroughly...

Originally Posted by Christie517

Hi - I'm the owner of an '06 X3 (bought new in '06). I've been suffering from battery drain for over a year now, if the car isn't run almost daily the battery will die (The battery has been replaced 2x). My father bought some device to check all drain on the various entitied and has been able to pinpoint that the sunroof mechanism was draining a lot of the power.

We seem to think that the overall onboard computer may not be shutting down when the car is off and that is draining the power. (This thought is triggered by the fact that the car sat overnight after being driven a couple hours the day before and was dead in the next morning).

The next step is taking it to the dealer and letting them figure it out. Does anyone have any thoughts on this (before I'm robbed blind at the dealer.)?

What did your father use?

I have had episodes of the battery gong flat over night - new battery made no difference - battery was "in the green" after parking for the night (ie fully charged) - but this has stopped now so something was not shutting down when it should. I do not have the factory bluetooth installed btw. I made sure my keys were not kept "near" the car. I suspect multiple lock and unlock sequences after parking the car might have something to do with it and I am trying to avoid this for a control period of time.

Originally Posted by Christie517

Hi - I'm the owner of an '06 X3 (bought new in '06). I've been suffering from battery drain for over a year now, if the car isn't run almost daily the battery will die (The battery has been replaced 2x). My father bought some device to check all drain on the various entitied and has been able to pinpoint that the sunroof mechanism was draining a lot of the power.

We seem to think that the overall onboard computer may not be shutting down when the car is off and that is draining the power. (This thought is triggered by the fact that the car sat overnight after being driven a couple hours the day before and was dead in the next morning).

The next step is taking it to the dealer and letting them figure it out. Does anyone have any thoughts on this (before I'm robbed blind at the dealer.)?

Do you have any after market electronics installed? If so and they are not compatible to BMW your car won't go into the sleep mode, causing battery drain. Check if your going into the sleep mode by making sure the led goes out on the drivers side window control panel. It should go out in about 15 minutes after you lock the car with the remote. Check all battery connections make sure they are not corroded and tight.Hope this helps. Good luck
cheers
vern

This same problem happened to me, it was faulty navigation computer not going to @@#$% sleep!!!

My battery started dying almost 2 years ago. Finally the original had to be replaced. I was thinking I left something on. After the car went out of warranty, I took it in. $700 to replace the Bluetooth!!! I could have had it disabled for $300 but then no Bluetooth. Hell, I don't use it anyway.

IT STARTED DYING AGAIN!!!! Battery is only 3 months old. I took it in to BMW and they can't find the problem. For now, I have a portable jump starter in the back. Look on Ebay and get a strong one!!!

I know I will get flamed, but do you know if the person who installed the battery did the battery reset procedure with the gt1 scanner?

Most BMW's produced after 2002 require this with the exception of the e46 which our car is based on. This wear down sure sounds like the car isn't using the right charging parameters for the new battery...I just am not 100% sure if the e83 x3 chasis requires it.

Originally Posted by x3brian

...I just am not 100% sure if the e83 x3 chasis requires it.

Definitely no reset of the charging parameters required for the E83.

Sounds to me that DMOZZ's dealer misdiagnosed the Bluetooth module as the problem.
And disabling it as a test or permanent solution should not be a $300 estimate AFAIK.

There must be something causing a persistent drain on the new battery.
Process of elimination?

As a first day new member to this board, all I can say is WOW and thanks!

I would never "flame" anyone trying to help!!! I put in the battery but never knew about adjusting any setting. That was not the problem because it charges well enough in 5 minutes to restart.

It is one of their components not properly sleeping. This sort of thing makes me want to switch away from BMW. When things are too complicated to be fixed, some engineer needs to be shut down a bit.

These engineers need to be told that sometimes a car starting or not is the difference between life and death. Thank God my parents 1968 Pontiac started in May 1971 when I was bleeding from an artery or I would not be here and writing this.

Any more suggestions are much welcomed!

I cannot speak for other cars, but my daily drive is not very far. I have been told by my SA, and I know other people who have recieved the same information, that due to the miriad of electronics in a newer BMW that the batter may not fully recharge if your drive is does not last at least 20 minutes. For my normal weekday commute I have less than 3 miles door to door and relatively little traffic to deal with. As a result the car tends to draw charge out of the battery without replenishing it. As I had purchased a battery tender for my ///M Rdstr I started switching it between the X3 and the Rdstr depending upon which I drove. Since adopting this process I have not had the odd warning lights (4X4 and ABS) pop up as they did periodically 2 years ago.

Summary: if you don't drive very far or let your car sit for more than a couple of weeks, the battery will drain.

+1 on the bluetooth drawing current. If you have a TCU they have been known to draw current after the car is cut off. The ULF doesn't do this.