Battery drain still after battery change & reg.

kimiraikkonen · 03-15-2022, 10:00 PM

Updates

3/17 Fixed my setup and now reading 0.01A (10 mA). This is with the EDC unplugged. Now have to do the regression and remeasure with the EDC back installed.
3/16 Measuring 3.2A parasitic draw and pulled all fuses and still at 3.2A.?!?!?!

------------------------
I haven't driven the M3 much in the past year, but in general have topped off with the CTEK charger every now and then. However, the battery seemed to finally give out last month and not able to recharge with the CTEK.

I have been suspecting some parasitic drain, as the battery was only just coming up on its 3 year anniversary, but chalked it up to not driving the car much in the past year.

Fast forward to yesterday and installed a new BMW 92 AGM battery. I measured the battery with a voltmeter and it was 12.6V before hooking up, and once installed at the terminals, it was still around 12.45-12.55 (not sure why the big drop). Nonetheless, was able to start the car and everything looked good. For good measure, I put the car on the CTEK overnight so that I could have a topped off battery the next day for the battery reg.

This morning, when I opened the door, I noticed the comfort access wasn't working, and when I set the ignition to ON, I got the Excessive Battery Drain error message.

Running of the codes showed the A559 error message (something about the 15/30 F-G terminals needing to be shutoff)....and attrituable to the KOMBI module.

I ran a few diagnostics and it showed a few of the modules awakening (JBE, CAS, FRM), but given I was doing the battery install and checking things over the past couple weeks, not sure how much was due to that. The diag showed that there was no parasitic drain over the 80 mv (can't remember exact number)....so no excessive current draw.

When I measured the battery terminals, it was still around 12.45V. I then went ahead and completed the successful registration in ISTA. I then proceeded to play around with ISTA and checking various modules etc.

All this time, I had the CTEK charger hooked up, so was expecting to keep a stable voltage. A few minutes later, I notice the battery drain message pop up on the display (A559 again). About 30 min. later, I measured the terminals, and the voltage had dropped to 12.0V and below.

At this pt, not sure what's going on, so what I've done now is to recharge the battery again tonight, and this time pulled my EDC module in case that's causing the drain. So plan to check out things again tomorrow to see what's up.

Any other ideas?....could be something with the CAS, JBE, or FRM modules, but haven't seen any codes or anything come up in the diagnostics.

As for the IBS sensor, it did take the battery registration, so assume that it's working?

asma123 · 03-16-2022, 12:56 AM

Honestly it could be anything. Get a multimeter that can measure power draw and connect it to the battery terminal. See what’s the amps being drawn. I can’t remember what’s acceptable but i would guess probably 0.5 amps max. You probably have a couple amps drawn. Anyways
While someone is looking at the meter start pulling fuses and if there’s no change then put them back in. If the power drawn drops then you have found the fault. Read on the manual what that fuse is for and continue diagnosing from there.
I have even read that bad coding can cause parasitic drainage so first figure out what’s draining your battery. Good luck!

tony093 · 03-16-2022, 08:18 AM

Does your car have EDC?
The module could be the culprit

jra85 · 03-16-2022, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tony093

Does your car have EDC?
The module could be the culprit

Refer to these for more info:
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1283704
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1169984

dozaiya · 03-16-2022, 09:43 AM

this is almost exactly what's happening to me, i have yet to figure out the problem. sometimes the battery drains just overnight and sometimes it's fine for a week. i have given up so just going to let the dealer figure it out

drwankel · 03-16-2022, 11:52 AM

Do not use voltage to monitor battery drain. Get a current clamp, and monitor the amperage while the car is going to sleep.

Once you have a confirmed parasitic draw, you will need to isolate it by measuring the current draw on a per circuit basis. This is most easily done from the fuseboxes.

ISTA supposedly has some additional diagnostic procedures you can use to identify the cause.

kimiraikkonen · 03-16-2022, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tony093

Does your car have EDC?
The module could be the culprit

Quote:

Originally Posted by jra85

Refer to these for more info:
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1283704
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1169984

Yes, that's why I pulled my EDC module last night and was going to check the drain today. Put the car on a charger overnight (and still stuck on charging, phase 4 on the CTEK)....so waiting for that to complete before I check for drains. Will let you know what I find.

No codes on the EDC and the start button light turns off after it goes to sleep....but seeing as others have seen this as the culprit will be interested in seeing what happens.

kimiraikkonen · 03-16-2022, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drwankel

Do not use voltage to monitor battery drain. Get a current clamp, and monitor the amperage while the car is going to sleep.

Once you have a confirmed parasitic draw, you will need to isolate it by measuring the current draw on a per circuit basis. This is most easily done from the fuseboxes.

ISTA supposedly has some additional diagnostic procedures you can use to identify the cause.

Yeah, I did this for my E39 back in the day and found the General Module causing the drain.....Was lazy and hoping I could avoid doing this again with the M3, but it's starting to look like I need to do this to narrow down the source. Will let you know what I find. Thx.

mrksquared · 03-16-2022, 03:47 PM

Similar issue here. Intermittent CAS and random Increased Battery Discharge followed by CAS no longer working. I ended up replacing the battery with no resolve. Pretty sure it isn't the EDC module since it still works as it should??

kimiraikkonen · 03-16-2022, 05:48 PM

3/16 Update

- Charged the battery up overnight again to start fresh. Note, EDC module is unplugged now.
- Started the parasitic battery drain test. Opened hood, doors, trunk. Forced lock the door locks and armed and then waited for the car to sleep.
- Then unhooked the negative battery clamp and measured amperage across the multimeter to negative terminal

--> 3.2A current draw initial reading
------> then proceeded to remove one by one every fuse in the glove compartment fuse box and measured amperage each time. Most of the time, readings stayed constant at 3.2A, and on occasion a couple fuses produced readings of 3.0A

Bottom line, things are still at a 3.2A draw right now if I were to hook things back up.

Should I physically unclamp connects to the CAS or FRM module and check?

What to next?

kimiraikkonen · 03-17-2022, 02:29 PM

Update 3/17

So stupid me, yesterday I was tapping the batter leads every time I was doing the measurement, so probably was awaking the system, hence the high 2A+ readings.

Today, with a proper setup using clamps, I was able to witness the amperage drop. So looks like I'm at 10ma level now.

This is with the EDC unplugged.

So next step is to hook up the EDC and to check. And can always do the empirical test of leaving the car now overnight with the EDC unplugged and seeing how it reacts next morning.

But am happy at least I am able to simulate a low battery drain scenario.

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03-15-2022, 10:00 PM	#1
kimiraikkonen Lieutenant 276 Rep 466 Posts Drives: 2008 E90 M3 6MT Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: San Francisco iTrader: (2)	Battery drain still after battery change & reg. - A559 Updates 3/17 Fixed my setup and now reading 0.01A (10 mA). This is with the EDC unplugged. Now have to do the regression and remeasure with the EDC back installed. 3/16 Measuring 3.2A parasitic draw and pulled all fuses and still at 3.2A.?!?!?! ------------------------ I haven't driven the M3 much in the past year, but in general have topped off with the CTEK charger every now and then. However, the battery seemed to finally give out last month and not able to recharge with the CTEK. I have been suspecting some parasitic drain, as the battery was only just coming up on its 3 year anniversary, but chalked it up to not driving the car much in the past year. Fast forward to yesterday and installed a new BMW 92 AGM battery. I measured the battery with a voltmeter and it was 12.6V before hooking up, and once installed at the terminals, it was still around 12.45-12.55 (not sure why the big drop). Nonetheless, was able to start the car and everything looked good. For good measure, I put the car on the CTEK overnight so that I could have a topped off battery the next day for the battery reg. This morning, when I opened the door, I noticed the comfort access wasn't working, and when I set the ignition to ON, I got the Excessive Battery Drain error message. Running of the codes showed the A559 error message (something about the 15/30 F-G terminals needing to be shutoff)....and attrituable to the KOMBI module. I ran a few diagnostics and it showed a few of the modules awakening (JBE, CAS, FRM), but given I was doing the battery install and checking things over the past couple weeks, not sure how much was due to that. The diag showed that there was no parasitic drain over the 80 mv (can't remember exact number)....so no excessive current draw. When I measured the battery terminals, it was still around 12.45V. I then went ahead and completed the successful registration in ISTA. I then proceeded to play around with ISTA and checking various modules etc. All this time, I had the CTEK charger hooked up, so was expecting to keep a stable voltage. A few minutes later, I notice the battery drain message pop up on the display (A559 again). About 30 min. later, I measured the terminals, and the voltage had dropped to 12.0V and below. At this pt, not sure what's going on, so what I've done now is to recharge the battery again tonight, and this time pulled my EDC module in case that's causing the drain. So plan to check out things again tomorrow to see what's up. Any other ideas?....could be something with the CAS, JBE, or FRM modules, but haven't seen any codes or anything come up in the diagnostics. As for the IBS sensor, it did take the battery registration, so assume that it's working? Last edited by kimiraikkonen; 03-17-2022 at 02:31 PM..
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03-16-2022, 12:56 AM	#2
asma123 Private First Class 190 Rep 123 Posts Drives: E92 M3, 5G 4Runner, 9G Civic Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Canada iTrader: (0)	Honestly it could be anything. Get a multimeter that can measure power draw and connect it to the battery terminal. See what’s the amps being drawn. I can’t remember what’s acceptable but i would guess probably 0.5 amps max. You probably have a couple amps drawn. Anyways While someone is looking at the meter start pulling fuses and if there’s no change then put them back in. If the power drawn drops then you have found the fault. Read on the manual what that fuse is for and continue diagnosing from there. I have even read that bad coding can cause parasitic drainage so first figure out what’s draining your battery. Good luck!
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03-16-2022, 08:18 AM	#3
tony093 Captain 111 Rep 746 Posts Drives: E92 AW M3 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Woodbridge, NJ iTrader: (2)	Does your car have EDC? The module could be the culprit
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03-16-2022, 09:43 AM	#5
dozaiya Captain 236 Rep 957 Posts Drives: 2011 MW E92 M3 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Shanghai iTrader: (1)	this is almost exactly what's happening to me, i have yet to figure out the problem. sometimes the battery drains just overnight and sometimes it's fine for a week. i have given up so just going to let the dealer figure it out
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03-16-2022, 11:52 AM	#6
drwankel Major 1053 Rep 1,051 Posts Drives: 2012 E92 M3 ZCP, 2021 M340i Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Bothell, WA iTrader: (0)	Do not use voltage to monitor battery drain. Get a current clamp, and monitor the amperage while the car is going to sleep. Once you have a confirmed parasitic draw, you will need to isolate it by measuring the current draw on a per circuit basis. This is most easily done from the fuseboxes. ISTA supposedly has some additional diagnostic procedures you can use to identify the cause.
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03-16-2022, 03:47 PM	#9
mrksquared Registered 0 Rep 4 Posts Drives: 2011 E92 M3 Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: Pittsburgh iTrader: (0)	Similar issue here. Intermittent CAS and random Increased Battery Discharge followed by CAS no longer working. I ended up replacing the battery with no resolve. Pretty sure it isn't the EDC module since it still works as it should??
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03-16-2022, 05:48 PM	#10
kimiraikkonen Lieutenant 276 Rep 466 Posts Drives: 2008 E90 M3 6MT Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: San Francisco iTrader: (2)	3/16 Update - Charged the battery up overnight again to start fresh. Note, EDC module is unplugged now. - Started the parasitic battery drain test. Opened hood, doors, trunk. Forced lock the door locks and armed and then waited for the car to sleep. - Then unhooked the negative battery clamp and measured amperage across the multimeter to negative terminal --> 3.2A current draw initial reading ------> then proceeded to remove one by one every fuse in the glove compartment fuse box and measured amperage each time. Most of the time, readings stayed constant at 3.2A, and on occasion a couple fuses produced readings of 3.0A Bottom line, things are still at a 3.2A draw right now if I were to hook things back up. Should I physically unclamp connects to the CAS or FRM module and check? What to next?
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03-17-2022, 02:29 PM	#11
kimiraikkonen Lieutenant 276 Rep 466 Posts Drives: 2008 E90 M3 6MT Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: San Francisco iTrader: (2)	Ok...got readings now! Update 3/17 So stupid me, yesterday I was tapping the batter leads every time I was doing the measurement, so probably was awaking the system, hence the high 2A+ readings. Today, with a proper setup using clamps, I was able to witness the amperage drop. So looks like I'm at 10ma level now. This is with the EDC unplugged. So next step is to hook up the EDC and to check. And can always do the empirical test of leaving the car now overnight with the EDC unplugged and seeing how it reacts next morning. But am happy at least I am able to simulate a low battery drain scenario.
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