Lights going crazy

I went to start my 2007 X3 tonight and the headlights went on than off in high beams, left turn signals were blinking and could not be canceled, dash lights went dim and bright on their own. I shut the engine off and pulled the key and opened, closed and remotely locked the doors but the headlights stayed on and the rear fog light which I don't have programed or have a switch for was on. Lights eventually went out on their own.

No work was done on the car recently and has been fine up to this. My only thought is a faulty lighting control module if this makes sense. Any ideas or experiences for same would be appreciated.

First check the battery, Low voltage after starting can cause havoc with the car electronics. re battery check - does the magic eye in the battery show green?

That was it, no green eye and the battery is the original (4 years old). I set off to the dealer and 6 miles in things started to work again. So I bought another battery from the dealer instead of leaving it this morning and swapped it out myself. Strange things are still happening like the mirrors initially retracted on and off ramdomly and the windows won't go down yet. I'm wondering if this is due to the new battery not being fully charged and things will come around once the battery is completely charged.

Any resolve on this? I had the left turn signal and high beam thing happen on my 2007 last week. And the parking lights will sporadically come on, then go off. I have the original battery, but no fault lights on the cluster. Seems this happens after a short startup and move the car in the driveway, then turn off.

I've never had this happen on my E46.

Over on the new X3 board "Selbyman" writes about a similar problem under "Possessed X3 lights flashing...." with his sister's new 28i. Might not be the same thing though it sounds similar.

It was a combination of things. The main issue was the battery nearing end of life, it just wasn't able to store enough charge to start the engine and provide the needed current for other electrical systems. The give-away was after the X3 was driven a few miles down the road, everything (lights, turn signals, flashers, mirrors etc) started to operate as it should.

The second and most unfortunate thing that may have coincidently occurred due to the faulty battery was the electrically folding mirrors. Even after I replaced the battery with a new BMW battery which I might add was cheaper than an aftermarket battery after my BMW CCA discount at the dealer was the folding mirrors still sporadically would fold in and out while driving. Also the side windows didn't always work. A scheduled visit to the dealer found that the passenger side mirror module was faulty and needed to be replaced under the CPO warranty. Magically that one mirror module was the issue for the mirrors and side windows. Go figure.

I might have some insight to your electrical gremlins. A couple of weeks ago my wifes 2004 325i started behaving like it was possessed. Interior lights going on and off while she drove. Haha, one night we looked like a driving disco tech. Anyways, her brake lights would sometimes stay on, cruise indicator light would stay on, power seats wouldn't work. There were a lot of stange electrical gremlins going on. Changed the battery and still these electrical gremlins would show up. Finally we took her car into the dealer and they diagnosed it with a faulty ignition switch. Everything is perfect now. I hope this helps.

What did the dealer charge you for the battery

Originally Posted by ncord

What did the dealer charge you for the battery

Surprisingly, it wasn't to bad after my BMW Car Club membership discount and ended up costing ~$145 USD. I put it in myself (very easy) and my 2007 X3 didn't require battery registration.

to ncord - Here in Canada ( Budds BMW Hamilton) I got one last month # 61-21-7-586-962 Battery from Exide: list $246.11 but sold it to me for $176.00 -that was in the parts store, and just put it in myself in the parking lot, and gave them the old one back.

Did anyone ever find out what was causing your X3 to behave that way? My 2007 X3 parking lights come on randomly & my dealership is no help. I am constantly worried my lights will randomly come on while my vehicle sits in the parking lot at work, then I'll come out to a dead battery. I asked the service associate if it could be my battery & he said it tested fine. I seriously doubt if they even tested it. I want to scream!!

Originally Posted by DKBX3

Did anyone ever find out what was causing your X3 to behave that way? My 2007 X3 parking lights come on randomly & my dealership is no help. I am constantly worried my lights will randomly come on while my vehicle sits in the parking lot at work, then I'll come out to a dead battery. I asked the service associate if it could be my battery & he said it tested fine. I seriously doubt if they even tested it. I want to scream!!

I would find another dealer. I know it's expensive to have those guys work on our vehicles but they have the diag equipment which should show the recorded faults in your X3.

My husband hooked the battery up to a charger last night and it was practically dead. Kept it on charger for 6 hours & it still wasn't fully charged. I took my X3 to the BMW dealership where I originally purchased it & basically paid $120 for a car wash yesterday. Getting the battery tested today for a bad cell.