Flat battery and resultant faults...E60 help.

Flat battery and resultant faults...E60 help.

Author
Discussion

Maxket

Original Poster:

61 posts

128 months

Saturday 29th March 2014
quotequote all
My E60 M5 has been sat for approx 3 weeks, hence resulting in a flat battery...BMW assist technician arrives to confirm this and clears fault codes that appeared. Checks battery which is fine, just needs charging up! Advised to take for a run which i proceeded to do, and after a few meters applied brakes and pedal hits the floor, was like standing on a sponge. Warning then appears saying break with caution as brake fluid levels low! This cannot be as last time was driven had just had this service carried out. A minute longer then DSC fault pops up. Pic of all faults as below...all this because of a flat battery! What to do next, any help appreciated.



t8cmf

342 posts

159 months

Saturday 29th March 2014
quotequote all
These cars are unbelievably sensitive to low battery voltages. They throw up a whole plethora of warnings when the voltage dips. You need to get a Ctek MXS 5.0 which is a battery charger / conditioner for AGM batteries. Leave it on overnight and the warnings will reset once the battery is fully charged.

By the sounds of it your guy just started the car and didn't fully charge it as this would take many hours. If this is the case then your battery charge level is still too low.

It's a starting point at least.

Maxket

Original Poster:

61 posts

128 months

Saturday 29th March 2014
quotequote all
t8cmf said:
These cars are unbelievably sensitive to low battery voltages. They throw up a whole plethora of warnings when the voltage dips. You need to get a Ctek MXS 5.0 which is a battery charger / conditioner for AGM batteries. Leave it on overnight and the warnings will reset once the battery is fully charged.

By the sounds of it your guy just started the car and didn't fully charge it as this would take many hours. If this is the case then your battery charge level is still too low.

It's a starting point at least.
Thanks mate, yes he did not charge up, and like you say, will take hours! Where is best place to source one of these, as this situation is likely to occur, again, and again, due to infrequent use!

Schermerhorn

4,342 posts

188 months

Saturday 29th March 2014
quotequote all
I too am afraid of this also.

I drive it 1-2 times a week but always start it and leave it running for 5 mins every other day.

anonymous-user

53 months

Saturday 29th March 2014
quotequote all
Schermerhorn said:
I too am afraid of this also.

I drive it 1-2 times a week but always start it and leave it running for 5 mins every other day.
Starting a car and letting it idle for 5 minutes a day is amongst the worst things you can do for it. Get a battery conditioner.

t8cmf

342 posts

159 months

Saturday 29th March 2014
quotequote all
Maxket said:
Where is best place to source one of these, as this situation is likely to occur, again, and again, due to infrequent use!
I'm not sure where the best deals are as I've had mine for about 18mths now so I'm not up to speed on the latest deals. I use mine on my E92 M3. Just try Google / eBay and find the cheapest one. Make sure it's at least the MXS 5.0 or higher though as you have an AGM battery which this model is designed for. People leave their cars for years on these things, very useful bits of kit especially if you don't use your car all the time.

ss1977

88 posts

184 months

Saturday 29th March 2014
quotequote all
Not exactly the same problem as the OP, but I had an issue with my car frequently showing the 'high rate of battery discharge' message, even after I had the battery replaced and registered to the car. After some lengthy investigations, it was discovered that the tracker unit was faulty, which was draining out the battery. Tracker units apparently stay on and cannot be switched off remotely, even if there is no live subscription to the service, which can cause a high battery drain. Now sorted, I can leave the car for 3 weeks or more and the message does not appear. Might be worth checking out to see if it's a possible problem.

cosworth330

1,299 posts

236 months

Sunday 30th March 2014
quotequote all
I have an E60 M5 which can stand for a week or two at a time without use. Always keep the battery topped up with a battery conditioner/charger, never have any problems. Mine is a Ring from Halfords was about £70 from memory seems to work ok.

Maxket

Original Poster:

61 posts

128 months

Sunday 30th March 2014
quotequote all
How do you keep it on charge if car is not garaged??

cammy71

351 posts

197 months

Sunday 30th March 2014
quotequote all
My e92 m3 has just started acting up as well. Car does over 250 miles a week but at over 6 years old and £82k miles, I think the battery is just knacked. On Saturday, DSC failure, tyre monitor failure and engine fault reduced power came up. Was fine overnight started no probs drove a couple of miles to my mums no messages. Came out an hour later to have all 3 messages appear again. Into BMW tomorrow 1st thing.

BlackPorker

378 posts

174 months

Sunday 30th March 2014
quotequote all
Maxket said:
t8cmf said:
These cars are unbelievably sensitive to low battery voltages. They throw up a whole plethora of warnings when the voltage dips. You need to get a Ctek MXS 5.0 which is a battery charger / conditioner for AGM batteries. Leave it on overnight and the warnings will reset once the battery is fully charged.

By the sounds of it your guy just started the car and didn't fully charge it as this would take many hours. If this is the case then your battery charge level is still too low.

It's a starting point at least.
Thanks mate, yes he did not charge up, and like you say, will take hours! Where is best place to source one of these, as this situation is likely to occur, again, and again, due to infrequent use!
The battery was flat on my E60 M5 when I went to get it out of winter storage. My fault, I should've taken it out for a drive more often!

Anyway, BMW technician came and started it with a booster pack. The nice chap even followed me home to make sure I got it home safely.

He recommended a Halfords Charger, so I got this:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

It took over 10 hours to fully charge, but no problems since. I drive the car at least once a week now for a good run to keep the battery in good condition and do my bit for global warming! smile

crazy about cars

4,454 posts

168 months

Sunday 30th March 2014
quotequote all
If you buy something like a CTEK, it comes with plugs which allows you to charge with bonnet closed.

I'd be more concerned about the brake pedal hitting the floor and feeling like a sponge though. I don't think that's normal even with a low battery?

Schermerhorn

4,342 posts

188 months

Sunday 30th March 2014
quotequote all
REALIST123 said:
Schermerhorn said:
I too am afraid of this also.

I drive it 1-2 times a week but always start it and leave it running for 5 mins every other day.
Starting a car and letting it idle for 5 minutes a day is amongst the worst things you can do for it. Get a battery conditioner.
I dont know how much truth there is to that and you could be 100% correct but it is a practise that has not let me down.

Maxket

Original Poster:

61 posts

128 months

Sunday 30th March 2014
quotequote all
crazy about cars said:
If you buy something like a CTEK, it comes with plugs which allows you to charge with bonnet closed.

I'd be more concerned about the brake pedal hitting the floor and feeling like a sponge though. I don't think that's normal even with a low battery?
You are right...large puddle of brake fluid under the car this morning!! Last time it was driven was on the way back from the garage after a brake fluid change!! Went back today on a lowloader!!!!

Maxket

Original Poster:

61 posts

128 months

Sunday 30th March 2014
quotequote all
BlackPorker said:
Anyway, BMW technician came and started it with a booster pack. The nice chap even followed me home to make sure I got it home safely.

He recommended a Halfords Charger, so I got this:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
According to product description this is 'not suitable for AGM batteries' which i thought the M5 had.???

crazy about cars

4,454 posts

168 months

Sunday 30th March 2014
quotequote all
Maxket said:
You are right...large puddle of brake fluid under the car this morning!! Last time it was driven was on the way back from the garage after a brake fluid change!! Went back today on a lowloader!!!!
Hope you get that sorted soon matey smile

Get a CTEK it's suitable for AGM batteries too.

http://www.ctek.com/int/en/chargers/MXS%205.0

I've personally gone for a slightly more expensive model : http://www.ctek.com/int/en/chargers/MXS%2010

BlackPorker

378 posts

174 months

Monday 31st March 2014
quotequote all
Maxket said:
BlackPorker said:
Anyway, BMW technician came and started it with a booster pack. The nice chap even followed me home to make sure I got it home safely.

He recommended a Halfords Charger, so I got this:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
According to product description this is 'not suitable for AGM batteries' which i thought the M5 had.???
The later E60 M5s might have had an AGM battery? Mine didn't and, like I said, it charged up fine with the Halfords charger.

Edited by BlackPorker on Monday 31st March 08:42

cammy71

351 posts

197 months

Monday 31st March 2014
quotequote all
Just had my issue diagnosed as a throttle actuator on bank 1. £1100 to fix and that's just for bank 1 not 2. Looking through other forums, regular issue on recent M3, 5 and 6s across variable mileages!

jcolley

183 posts

125 months

Monday 31st March 2014
quotequote all
cammy71 said:
Just had my issue diagnosed as a throttle actuator on bank 1. £1100 to fix and that's just for bank 1 not 2. Looking through other forums, regular issue on recent M3, 5 and 6s across variable mileages!
Yep. Most commonly it's the gears within the actuator. Google "S85 Throttle Actuator Teardown" and you can see why. Most of the wear occurs on the teeth which are in contact when the engine is on idle or at low throttle demand. Possibly due to vibration, but not really certain.

Waiting for Evolve to release a solution for this...

Maxket

Original Poster:

61 posts

128 months

Monday 31st March 2014
quotequote all
BlackPorker said:
The later E60 M5s might have had an AGM battery? Mine didn't and, like I said, it charged
up fine with the Halfords charger.

Edited by BlackPorker on Monday 31st March 08:42
Mmmmmmmm....whats the best way of checking??