Battery drain and very low battery warnings

ionofchios · 05-12-2019, 10:16 AM

Hi all,

I've had a persistent issue with 2009 318D e91 for a year or so. It keeps throwing "abnormal battery drain" warning when starting the car, as well as "battery very low" when in ignition stage one, followed by switching off ignition stage one automatically after about a minute if I leave it and do not proceed to actually start the car. The car has never failed to start, however, and has never sounded weak when cranking.

This behaviour seems to be getting worse over time. When I try to charge the battery using the terminals under the bonnet, it normally starts charging drawing around 6A, then drops to 4A after a few minutes, then after about 10 minutes drops to pretty much nothing, which is, I believe, the car charging circuit deciding that the car does not need charging.

Battery is about a year old, and is correct spec and has been "coded" into the car.

Any ideas? Could this be failing IBS? Any troubleshooting suggestion?

No errors in INPA that I think are relevant - only something to do with DPF and occasional water-pump-related thingy.

ctuna · 05-12-2019, 11:44 AM

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh...hlight=battery

follow calwaterboys links in reply 2 .
Also a long slow charge from a tender is better than a fast charge
from a charger. Battery voltage should be over 12.2 and if good between
12.4 and 12.8.

05-12-2019, 10:16 AM	#1
ionofchios Registered 0 Rep 4 Posts Drives: E91 318d 2009 Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Finland iTrader: (0)	Battery drain and very low battery warnings Hi all, I've had a persistent issue with 2009 318D e91 for a year or so. It keeps throwing "abnormal battery drain" warning when starting the car, as well as "battery very low" when in ignition stage one, followed by switching off ignition stage one automatically after about a minute if I leave it and do not proceed to actually start the car. The car has never failed to start, however, and has never sounded weak when cranking. This behaviour seems to be getting worse over time. When I try to charge the battery using the terminals under the bonnet, it normally starts charging drawing around 6A, then drops to 4A after a few minutes, then after about 10 minutes drops to pretty much nothing, which is, I believe, the car charging circuit deciding that the car does not need charging. Battery is about a year old, and is correct spec and has been "coded" into the car. Any ideas? Could this be failing IBS? Any troubleshooting suggestion? No errors in INPA that I think are relevant - only something to do with DPF and occasional water-pump-related thingy.
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05-12-2019, 11:44 AM	#2
ctuna Lieutenant General 1921 Rep 13,129 Posts Drives: 325xi 06 wagon MT Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Santa Cruz, Ca iTrader: (0)	https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh...hlight=battery follow calwaterboys links in reply 2 . Also a long slow charge from a tender is better than a fast charge from a charger. Battery voltage should be over 12.2 and if good between 12.4 and 12.8.
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