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OK, long story but here it goes (hopefully the length will help with figuring out what is going on)...
I drove my car to the airport very early on the 24th - about 4am. I parked it in an uncovered, fully outdoor, long-term parking area.
Around midnight on the 27th, I come back to the car to find it is not starting. The interior lights work, lights turn on, all console lights are on, but the car will not turn over or even make the "rurr rurr" turning sound. What I DO hear is a repetitive clicking sound, then a humming, and then nothing. I turn the car off completely, take the key out of the ignition, turn out all the interior lights and get out my 375 amp jump starter. I hook the jump starter up to the battery, let it sit 1-2 minutes, then attempt to start the car - it starts up with no hesitation... I drove for a solid hour before parking it at my house.
The next day, about 10-11 hours later, I go out to the car to run errands to find that the car once again will not start. Same noises as the night before. I am thinking okay, maybe it is just because the car was exposed to extreme heat (it was 90-92 degrees over the weekend and with it being a tarmac, maybe it caused the battery to drain more? I am unsure.) - so, I get out the 375 amp jump starter again. This time, it does not start nor does it really attempt to.
SO, I take the battery out and take it to AutoZone for a load test. The AZ rep. tells me that my battery is at 9V and this is why my car will not start - so, he takes it back and charges it to a full 12V. I take it home, place it back in the trunk of the car as needed, start the X3 up and voila, it works! I let the car sit for 10-20 minutes, hoping that this would sufficiently charge/restore whatever is going on with the vehicle.
WELL, about 2 hours later, I return to the car to find it is dead AGAIN and this time, no clicking noise coming from the interior of the car. Just a hum and a quick buzzing-type of sound . I turned on my headlights and off again and noticed a bit of delay in them going off maybe 1 second - definitely longer than usual).
Does anyone have any idea what this could be? Would this be an alternator, or could this possibly just be as simple as the battery has gone kaput? Would a battery so simply die like this? I have absolutely no idea how old the battery is, but I can say that I purchased this car on August 26, 2011, so it is at least 2 years old.
I really appreciate any advice you could give me. I know a bit about cars and really don't think this could be the alternator as the interior lights, radio and diagnostic lights continue to work. Even my headlights will turn on. I treat this car really well. I can tell you that I have a passenger-side head lamp out. Would this be causing something to drain? I understand that BMW batteries have been known to go kaput after weeks of sitting in extreme cold or heat, but this seems a bit odd. I had no symptoms of a dying battery nor failing alternator (noise, smell, nothing). Also, I run this car on an almost daily basis. I drive to work every morning around 9am and leave around 6pm, going to the grocery store after work. In total, it gets 2-3 start-ups per day. I have left it for days at a time before with no problems as well in similar conditions as to that at the airport.
Also, the battery has had a green cell this entire time. The only other time my battery "died" (showing a black cell) was in the dead of winter of 2011, about 5 months after I got the car. I used the 375 amp jump starter then as well with no problems after.
I write to you hoping that my fear of a simple dead battery may be validated before I go spending the $$$ at a dealership so they can poke around and tell me something one of you may suggest is wrong.
Thanks all...
PS - If a video helps at all, I can take one and upload it.
I drove my car to the airport very early on the 24th - about 4am. I parked it in an uncovered, fully outdoor, long-term parking area.
Around midnight on the 27th, I come back to the car to find it is not starting. The interior lights work, lights turn on, all console lights are on, but the car will not turn over or even make the "rurr rurr" turning sound. What I DO hear is a repetitive clicking sound, then a humming, and then nothing. I turn the car off completely, take the key out of the ignition, turn out all the interior lights and get out my 375 amp jump starter. I hook the jump starter up to the battery, let it sit 1-2 minutes, then attempt to start the car - it starts up with no hesitation... I drove for a solid hour before parking it at my house.
The next day, about 10-11 hours later, I go out to the car to run errands to find that the car once again will not start. Same noises as the night before. I am thinking okay, maybe it is just because the car was exposed to extreme heat (it was 90-92 degrees over the weekend and with it being a tarmac, maybe it caused the battery to drain more? I am unsure.) - so, I get out the 375 amp jump starter again. This time, it does not start nor does it really attempt to.
SO, I take the battery out and take it to AutoZone for a load test. The AZ rep. tells me that my battery is at 9V and this is why my car will not start - so, he takes it back and charges it to a full 12V. I take it home, place it back in the trunk of the car as needed, start the X3 up and voila, it works! I let the car sit for 10-20 minutes, hoping that this would sufficiently charge/restore whatever is going on with the vehicle.
WELL, about 2 hours later, I return to the car to find it is dead AGAIN and this time, no clicking noise coming from the interior of the car. Just a hum and a quick buzzing-type of sound . I turned on my headlights and off again and noticed a bit of delay in them going off maybe 1 second - definitely longer than usual).
Does anyone have any idea what this could be? Would this be an alternator, or could this possibly just be as simple as the battery has gone kaput? Would a battery so simply die like this? I have absolutely no idea how old the battery is, but I can say that I purchased this car on August 26, 2011, so it is at least 2 years old.
I really appreciate any advice you could give me. I know a bit about cars and really don't think this could be the alternator as the interior lights, radio and diagnostic lights continue to work. Even my headlights will turn on. I treat this car really well. I can tell you that I have a passenger-side head lamp out. Would this be causing something to drain? I understand that BMW batteries have been known to go kaput after weeks of sitting in extreme cold or heat, but this seems a bit odd. I had no symptoms of a dying battery nor failing alternator (noise, smell, nothing). Also, I run this car on an almost daily basis. I drive to work every morning around 9am and leave around 6pm, going to the grocery store after work. In total, it gets 2-3 start-ups per day. I have left it for days at a time before with no problems as well in similar conditions as to that at the airport.
Also, the battery has had a green cell this entire time. The only other time my battery "died" (showing a black cell) was in the dead of winter of 2011, about 5 months after I got the car. I used the 375 amp jump starter then as well with no problems after.
I write to you hoping that my fear of a simple dead battery may be validated before I go spending the $$$ at a dealership so they can poke around and tell me something one of you may suggest is wrong.
Thanks all...
PS - If a video helps at all, I can take one and upload it.
