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Battery Questions

3K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  645/333 
#1 ·
I have heard some stories of 6ers not driving their car for a few days and the battery can be drained when the car has not been driven for a few days or weeks. Is this true?
 
#2 ·
The answer is yes! just read all the threads to tell you, but clearly there are many reasons why this would happen, least of all the age of the battery etc., but fair to say it is an issue that many now put their cars on a trickle charge were they can!!!!
 
#3 ·
Why is this the Consumer's problem?

My 650i is only eight months old, but I've already had the battery replaced once due to this problem. It seems to me that this is a design flaw, but BMW (two dealers and the BMW customer care line) tells me it's MY fault. According to them, I don't drive the car in the profile they have defined as "normal": a minimum of 20 highway miles a day, every day. They assert that if I don't meet that profile, I'm driving the car outside of "normal limits", and the have refused to honor the warranty on the battery if the car doesn't record that profile. That logic seems a bit tortured to me, and I doubt it would pass the "reasonable man" test in court. Am I the only person who thinks this is the manufacturer's problem and not the consumer's problem? Has anyone pushed the issue with BMW?

Nevertheless, I can certainly drive into the garage, pop the hood and put a trickle charger onto the battery; but frankly,I didn't drop almost six figures on a car to have to do that. Is there some sort of aftermarket wiring harness I can attach to the terminals in the engine compartment so that at least I don't have to open the hood - sort of like a block heater?
 
#6 ·
My 650i is only eight months old, but I've already had the battery replaced once due to this problem. It seems to me that this is a design flaw, but BMW (two dealers and the BMW customer care line) tells me it's MY fault. According to them, I don't drive the car in the profile they have defined as "normal": a minimum of 20 highway miles a day, every day. They assert that if I don't meet that profile, I'm driving the car outside of "normal limits", and the have refused to honor the warranty on the battery if the car doesn't record that profile. That logic seems a bit tortured to me, and I doubt it would pass the "reasonable man" test in court. Am I the only person who thinks this is the manufacturer's problem and not the consumer's problem? Has anyone pushed the issue with BMW?

Nevertheless, I can certainly drive into the garage, pop the hood and put a trickle charger onto the battery; but frankly,I didn't drop almost six figures on a car to have to do that. Is there some sort of aftermarket wiring harness I can attach to the terminals in the engine compartment so that at least I don't have to open the hood - sort of like a block heater?
I know it's ridiculous, but if the car is near six-figures when it's brand new, you should not have to do something like this. I rarely drive my Lexus SUV and it's fine when it has not been started for weeks.
 
#7 ·
~One of the issues is the intelligent battery management system, if you leave any device plugged into any aux power socket, even if the device is not plugged in, ie mobile phone etc. then the system thinks it needs to stay in operation mode and does not go into sleep mode, so drains the battery.........
 
#15 ·
Good information,

No wonder my iPod get jammed many times, almost once a month due to overcharge.

Besides, when I off the car, I still hear some sounds coming from the Nav DVD drive like its operating. Should I be worry for that?
 
#8 · (Edited)
"Just wondering, where can I purchase a battery tender from? "

http://smartercharger.com/

I believe the one that is available from BMW is made by these folks. I have a the CTEK Multi US 3300 .

They also sell a comfort indicator with eyelets that can be connected to the terminals under the hood permanently and simplifies hook-up.

I think it will still require you to pop the hood because the leads are not long enough to reach the radiator grill.
 
#11 ·
Hi ! I bought a CTEK 7000 and connect it in the boot where the battery is, via a hard wire with plug and socket, I did some pics in a previous thread on the subject, very easy and I could close the boot as the power cable quite thin. Did not have an issue with ventilation as the CTEK charges in a different way,ie intelligent charger, but common sense even then says make sure the vent is clear etc..
 
#13 ·
+ 1 on Roseng comments. I haven't touched my battery or placed it on a tender since I bought it 2.5 years ago. My profile is mostly daily driver but she stays in the garage on bad weather and whenever I travel, so more than a few 5-10 day breaks with no driving. Never any issues.... knock on wood :)
 
#14 · (Edited)
Getting a little worried, just bought mine recently and usually tend to let my cars sit for weeks with little to no drive time. Not sure if/when the battery was replaced. It wasn't listed on any service report, although the previous owner appears to have kept it in wonderful condition, the maintenance shows he cared about the car. Looked to try to find a date on the battery, nothing. Though I mentioned to a friend, the battery looks brand new. He said, that's because it's in the trunk...duh!..lol.

It's an 05 with about 45k miles on it, when do batteries usually go on these cars? Seems perfect right now.
 
#16 · (Edited)
The car takes a while before it goes into sleep mode, so you will hear various devices until it shuts off, But ! as I said it waits for any opportunity to stay awake, which is why leaving certain things plugged into the aux socket etc the car thinks it needs to stay out of sleep mode!!!! Sleep mode is also a timed interval before it engages which is why when some of the guys just leave the top down and the doors unlocked don't have an issue!!!! One has to remember some systems are on!!! all the time like the anti-theft etc..
 
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