Car dead as a dodo

TonyS · 02-18-2013, 04:34 AM

Walked out to the car this morning and it's sitting there unlocked (luckily in the garage) and completely dead. Nothing works at all. I thought it might be the battery in the key fob initially (wishful thinking) but the spare key is the same.

My immediate reaction was "flat battery" but I'm pretty sure I locked it all up properly, and I thought there was circuitry in there to stop the battery draining too far anyway. I do know there's a "battery disconnect" switch that triggers if you have a serious crash - I wonder if that's gone off?

Just called BMW Emergency Services to come and sort it out - luckily I wasn't going anywhere too important. Also lucky that it died here at home and not yesterday when we were out miles from anywhere.

I'll give an update when I know what it is.

TonyS · 02-18-2013, 10:49 AM

BWM Emergency Services man diagnosed a completely flat battery (it was down to 4 volts!). Of course initially we couldn't even get the boot open as there is no key for it, so he had to connect a power source under the bonnet to give enough juice for me to open it with my fob - great bit of design that, BMW.

He ran several diagnostics that showed nothing wrong - battery appears fine and is charging correctly, so I've got it charged up again and will see what the morning brings. Of course, if it's still ok I'll be worrying now that it's going to let me down again.

rich1068 · 02-18-2013, 10:56 AM

How odd.

venkata · 02-18-2013, 12:50 PM

Very Bizarre, So not only did the battery go flat, it also unlocked all the doors!!! Not good

F30AM · 02-18-2013, 01:08 PM

Stranger than Fiction.
Should have got a Diesel!

Spacebug · 02-18-2013, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by F30AM

Stranger than Fiction.
Should of got a Diesel!

Hehe.. I like your sense of humour..

F30AM · 02-18-2013, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spacebug

Hehe.. I like your sense of humour..

Damn, corrected me Eeenliiiishhh!

TonyS · 02-19-2013, 03:47 AM

Well, this morning it started fine. It's so weird I'm beginning to wonder if it was me that didn't lock the car on Sunday night, and something was left on.

That would explain it being unlocked, but even so I'm surprised that it would run the battery completely flat just overnight - that would have to be a fairly heavy current drain, more than just the radio being left on, surely.

Also, I thought the car would automatically shut off things like the ignition/radio/interior lights/etc after a while if they were left on accidentally. I shall have to test it by deliberately leaving it unlocked for an hour and see if anything is still on.

rich1068 · 02-19-2013, 08:46 AM

The radio certainly would turn off.

Not sure about interior lights. Do you have children who like pressing buttons? I do and they switch on the ones in my wife's Touran all the time.

Or another thought, where was the key? Could something have been activating lock/unlock or the welcome lights all night?

TonyS · 02-20-2013, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rich1068

The radio certainly would turn off.

Not sure about interior lights. Do you have children who like pressing buttons? I do and they switch on the ones in my wife's Touran all the time.

Or another thought, where was the key? Could something have been activating lock/unlock or the welcome lights all night?

No kids at home at the moment so that's ruled out

The car still seems ok this morning so it was either a weird random glitch or me doing something that left something switched on all night. My money is on the latter, although I've still to find out what it was.

venkata · 02-20-2013, 06:06 AM

Sleep walking!!! You love the car that much, you can't be separated from it. Lol

Redbaron1973 · 02-20-2013, 06:27 AM

sounds like you left something on and didnt realise... it happens to us all.

rjberry · 02-20-2013, 10:02 AM

A similar thing happened with my wife's S-Max. Parked up fine in the evening, come the morning the car wouldn't start, no power at all in the car. Got the RAC out and they charged it up, couldn't say what it was as the diagnostic machine drew a blank. Took it to Fords who initially did the same but after it happened again, they had a proper look at it and diagnosed a problem with a clutch switch that kept a constant drain on the battery. I think it started with the Stop-Start failing which as it was summer was a bit more obvious than it would be in this weather!

This was when her car was only a few months old so took the shine off a bit.

May not be the same thing at all, but it took some thorough investigating and perseverance to get it sorted.

02-18-2013, 04:34 AM	#1
TonyS Captain 84 Rep 729 Posts Drives: F30 335i Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: South West, UK iTrader: (0)	Car dead as a dodo Walked out to the car this morning and it's sitting there unlocked (luckily in the garage) and completely dead. Nothing works at all. I thought it might be the battery in the key fob initially (wishful thinking) but the spare key is the same. My immediate reaction was "flat battery" but I'm pretty sure I locked it all up properly, and I thought there was circuitry in there to stop the battery draining too far anyway. I do know there's a "battery disconnect" switch that triggers if you have a serious crash - I wonder if that's gone off? Just called BMW Emergency Services to come and sort it out - luckily I wasn't going anywhere too important. Also lucky that it died here at home and not yesterday when we were out miles from anywhere. I'll give an update when I know what it is.
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02-18-2013, 10:49 AM	#2
TonyS Captain 84 Rep 729 Posts Drives: F30 335i Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: South West, UK iTrader: (0)	BWM Emergency Services man diagnosed a completely flat battery (it was down to 4 volts!). Of course initially we couldn't even get the boot open as there is no key for it, so he had to connect a power source under the bonnet to give enough juice for me to open it with my fob - great bit of design that, BMW. He ran several diagnostics that showed nothing wrong - battery appears fine and is charging correctly, so I've got it charged up again and will see what the morning brings. Of course, if it's still ok I'll be worrying now that it's going to let me down again.
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02-18-2013, 10:56 AM	#3
rich1068 has left the building 90 Rep 3,359 Posts Drives: F30 330d M Sport Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	How odd.
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02-18-2013, 12:50 PM	#4
venkata Lieutenant 26 Rep 583 Posts Drives: F30 330e MSport Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Lancashire iTrader: (0)	Very Bizarre, So not only did the battery go flat, it also unlocked all the doors!!! Not good __________________ Driving: F30 330e // /M-Sport \| Mineral Grey \| Coral Red Leather \| M Sport Plus Pack \| Media Pro Plus Pack \| Active Security Pack \| Adaptive LED Lights \| Advanced Parking Pack \| Interior Comfort Pack \| Enhanced Bluetooth with Wireless Charging\| Black Performance Grill \| Heated Seats \| Heated Steering \| Speed Limit Display
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02-18-2013, 01:08 PM	#5
F30AM Major General 706 Rep 5,021 Posts Drives: F30 330d M Sport sDrive Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: London, UK iTrader: (0)	Stranger than Fiction. Should have got a Diesel! __________________ Previous: Superman 330d sDrive M Sport + Toys Present: Red Tornado Golf 7R 5 Dr, DSG + Toys Last edited by F30AM; 02-18-2013 at 01:58 PM..
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02-19-2013, 03:47 AM	#8
TonyS Captain 84 Rep 729 Posts Drives: F30 335i Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: South West, UK iTrader: (0)	Well, this morning it started fine. It's so weird I'm beginning to wonder if it was me that didn't lock the car on Sunday night, and something was left on. That would explain it being unlocked, but even so I'm surprised that it would run the battery completely flat just overnight - that would have to be a fairly heavy current drain, more than just the radio being left on, surely. Also, I thought the car would automatically shut off things like the ignition/radio/interior lights/etc after a while if they were left on accidentally. I shall have to test it by deliberately leaving it unlocked for an hour and see if anything is still on.
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02-19-2013, 08:46 AM	#9
rich1068 has left the building 90 Rep 3,359 Posts Drives: F30 330d M Sport Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	The radio certainly would turn off. Not sure about interior lights. Do you have children who like pressing buttons? I do and they switch on the ones in my wife's Touran all the time. Or another thought, where was the key? Could something have been activating lock/unlock or the welcome lights all night?
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02-20-2013, 06:06 AM	#11
venkata Lieutenant 26 Rep 583 Posts Drives: F30 330e MSport Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Lancashire iTrader: (0)	Sleep walking!!! You love the car that much, you can't be separated from it. Lol __________________ Driving: F30 330e // /M-Sport \| Mineral Grey \| Coral Red Leather \| M Sport Plus Pack \| Media Pro Plus Pack \| Active Security Pack \| Adaptive LED Lights \| Advanced Parking Pack \| Interior Comfort Pack \| Enhanced Bluetooth with Wireless Charging\| Black Performance Grill \| Heated Seats \| Heated Steering \| Speed Limit Display
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02-20-2013, 06:27 AM	#12
Redbaron1973 Second Lieutenant 39 Rep 219 Posts Drives: F82 M4 and G02 X4 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: UK iTrader: (0)	sounds like you left something on and didnt realise... it happens to us all. __________________ Cheers, Paul __________________________________________________ ________________ G02 X4 MSport X - Carbon Black w Black / Comfort Pack / Tech Pack / Privacy
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02-20-2013, 10:02 AM	#13
rjberry Major 412 Rep 1,157 Posts Drives: F31 340i Ruby Red II Join Date: May 2012 Location: South Wales iTrader: (0)	A similar thing happened with my wife's S-Max. Parked up fine in the evening, come the morning the car wouldn't start, no power at all in the car. Got the RAC out and they charged it up, couldn't say what it was as the diagnostic machine drew a blank. Took it to Fords who initially did the same but after it happened again, they had a proper look at it and diagnosed a problem with a clutch switch that kept a constant drain on the battery. I think it started with the Stop-Start failing which as it was summer was a bit more obvious than it would be in this weather! This was when her car was only a few months old so took the shine off a bit. May not be the same thing at all, but it took some thorough investigating and perseverance to get it sorted. __________________ Current: recovering slowly Previous: F31 340i Ruby Red IIM5 Singapore Grey, F30 335d Moonstone, F30 320d Tanzanite Blue
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