Replace New battery (varta) for a week and battery die after 20mins idling

[ckang008]

Hello

I have the car battery replaced a week ago after all the sensors (abs,edc, etc) popped up and the car wouldn't start after I turn it off. I had the car towed off the the mechanic and he said it's a battery issue. (Battery at least 2 years old). He replaced the battery with Varta brand battery and told me to disconnect the front and back car cameras to avoid excessive battery drain. I changed the camera from 24 hours surveillance to 6 hours for front and 1 hour for back camera after car shutdown.

Yesterday after I drove approximately 30km and parked idle for 20 mins with air conditioning on while waiting for a friend, the sensors error popped up again. This time I did not turn off the car and tried to rev it up to keep it running but the car gave up. I need the tow truck to help jumpstart the car to start again. Afterwards I was able to drive back home which is around 25km of driving.

The tow truck driver who owns a 1 series said it could the the computer or alternator going out and possibly not the new battery being a lemon. Advised me to get a jumpstart power bank in case this issue comes out again.

I just want to know if I idled for such short period of time should the car shutdown so quickly? I had the air con temperature at 24 degrees Celsius and had some music on. I didn't expect the battery will die so quickly like this consider how new it is and the amount I drove with it already

Thanks

[roastbeef]

You likely have an electronics management issue. You're essentially running the car on the battery and it's not getting recharged. Either an alternator issue or a management system issue.

[NascaBmw16]

Did you ever program the battery to the car?

[CamasM3e93]

I agree, it does sound like alternator failure is the root cause.

Your mechanic's comments about the cameras doesn't build confidence and I think good chance he didn't know to register this new battery. BMW's have software that alters how aggressively the alternator charges the battery, based on the battery's age. A new battery needs gentle recharging while an old battery needs more effort from the alternator. You'll want to verify this occured/occurs when you have the alternator looked at.

[CamasM3e93]

Refreshing the year old thread for a reason. I had a similar issue on the new-to-me e90 I picked up. The seller had put in a new BMW battery correct for the model a couple of weeks before the sale. No mention of labor charge for battery registration on the receipt. On my drive home I was getting some audio clipping on the stereo and then we started to get EDC/ABS errors followed by the speedometer going bonkers - all culminating in the iDrive screen rebooting then the car would be fine for a while then the problem would repeat. the car drove/started fine through this. I did a quick web search and saw it might be an alternator or battery registration issue. we drove the final 6 hours home with the seat heaters off and that was enough to make the issue disappear. Scanned the alternator yesterday and it read 'GOOD'. So off to the dealer I go to see if I can get them to register a 3 week old battery bought at a dealer 4 states away.

[DrFerry]

Originally Posted by CamasM3e93

Refreshing the year old thread for a reason. I had a similar issue on the new-to-me e90 I picked up. The seller had put in a new BMW battery correct for the model a couple of weeks before the sale. No mention of labor charge for battery registration on the receipt. On my drive home I was getting some audio clipping on the stereo and then we started to get EDC/ABS errors followed by the speedometer going bonkers - all culminating in the iDrive screen rebooting then the car would be fine for a while then the problem would repeat. the car drove/started fine through this. I did a quick web search and saw it might be an alternator or battery registration issue. we drove the final 6 hours home with the seat heaters off and that was enough to make the issue disappear. Scanned the alternator yesterday and it read 'GOOD'. So off to the dealer I go to see if I can get them to register a 3 week old battery bought at a dealer 4 states away.

One other important item to check with these symptoms is the "Intelligent Battery Sensor".....
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The IBS contains a micro-processor that is used to monitor/measure various battery conditions such as:

Terminal voltage via measurement from B+ to Gnd
Charge/discharge current via integrated shunt resistor
Temperature of battery acid via integrated temp sensor

And


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IF the sensor (blue plastic plug) is not clicked back together after battery replacement, then gremlins they WILL be comin'.. It's definitely worth checking..

https://bimmerscan.com/bmw-intellige...ry-sensor-ibs/

BMW Intelligent Battery Sensor (IBS)
The BMW Intelligent Battery Sensor (IBS) is a mechanical/electronic device which is connected directly to the negative battery terminal. The measuring/evaluation function of the IBS electronics, continuously measures the following values under all vehicle operating conditions:

Voltage (6V to 16.5V)
Current (200A to +200A)
Closed Circuit Current (0A to 10A)
Starting Current (0A to 1000A)
Temperature (-40C to 105C)
When the vehicle is stationary, the IBS is programmed to wake up every 14 sec. and makes the required measurements within approx. 50 ms in order to save power. The measured values from the IBS are provided to the DME by way of the Binary Serial Data Interface (BSD) to calculate the State of Charge and State of Health for the battery.

State of Charge (SoC) is a calculated condition showing the current charge of the battery. SoC is used during key ”OFF” periods to insure the battery maintains a sufficient charge to start the engine at least one more time.
State of Health (SoH) tracks the history of the battery. Charge/dis-charge cycles and times are monitored. SoH helps the DME determine the proper charging rates and anticipated battery life. Internal resistance of the battery is calculated by the IBS from the current and voltage dip during engine start. The values are forwarded to the DME to calculate the SoH of the battery.

Software contained in the microprocessor of the IBS utilizes the measured values to calculate the State of Charge (SoC) of the battery during vehicle sleep mode and compares this information with that received from the DME/ECM pertaining to the battery SoC/SoH, during the period of time between engine “OFF” and deactivation of the DME main relay.

The current SoC/battery data is stored in the IBS every 2 hours over a 6 hour time frame, providing 3-2 hour snapshots of battery SoC information. The stored information/snap-shot data is overwritten every 6 hours. Whenever KL15 is activated the IBS updates the DME with the current closed circuit histogram/battery status information, by way of the BSD. Upon obtaining updated information the DME evaluates the new data and if a closed-circuit current draw is identified a fault will be stored in the fault memory of the DME.

IBS Diagnosis
A fault code is stored in the DME when the IBS is defective. The DME adopts a substitute value and assumes IBS emergency mode. IBS emergency mode boosts the idle speed in order to sufficiently charge the battery. Direct diagnosis of the IBS is not possible, it can only be diagnosed through the DME. The self-diagnosis function checks the voltage, current, temperature, terminal 15 wake up signal as well as system errors in the IBS.

Diagnosis Hints

AND

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[CamasM3e93]

Originally Posted by DrFerry

One other important item to check with these symptoms is the "Intelligent Battery Sensor".....

.

Sweet, DrFerry. Thanks for posting this and I'll check it out this weekend.

[spammysammich]

Originally Posted by CamasM3e93

Sweet, DrFerry. Thanks for posting this and I'll check it out this weekend.

Nobody local to you with BimmerLink? I'd register it for you but I've got family flying into SeaTac tonight and then I fly out of town tomorrow. It's pretty easy with BimmerLink and BimmerCode

[CamasM3e93]

Originally Posted by spammysammich

Nobody local to you with BimmerLink? I'd register it for you but I've got family flying into SeaTac tonight and then I fly out of town tomorrow. It's pretty easy with BimmerLink and BimmerCode

I have a bluetooth OBDII device that is supposed to register the battery but the darn thing is impossible to connect to my iphone reliably and the software is terrible. I gave it go #2 and wasn't able to get it registered this weekend. I've read so many reviews of various OBDII products that claim to register BMW batteries (and even tell you it's been done successfully) but don't - like CARLY - that I'm wary to buy another one. I'm currently shopping for a wired obd2 with more functionality.


When I was checking on the IBS this weekend (per DRFERRY post above) I discovered that whomever installed the battery didn't tighten down the positive terminal. The whole positive terminal station was loose and movable. I got everything tightened down and went for a drive this morning with seat heater on - didn't have that strange electrical fault. will continue to monitor and will update the post if it ends up not being the issue.

[spammysammich]

to be fair, there are so many nuts and screws to tighten on the positive terminal. I can see how somebody could overlook one, but the main nut? Yikes. I wonder if the tech was interrupted while swapping the battery?