530d battery

[billy5]

hi all,
think i might have to change the battery on my
2001 530d tourer,
it has satnav, is there anything i should be aware of
doing before i disconnect it,
what do i look for on the battery condition colours,
cheers , billy

[Kinky]

Billy - just a side-note question .... why do you think you 'might' need to change your battery?

I only ask as mine is in for a service tomorrow and I've asked to check the battery and [possibly] replace.

K

[billy5]

hiya k,
why i say might is because i was at my local garage
today trying to sort out the dip beam.
the car was not running while we tried to find the problem
for about ten mins,[ lights on and off ].
when i tried to start it the starter was just clicking
away.

[Kinky]

Thanks for that Billy

I've got a problem whereby my steering wheel controls stopped working, the airbag and 'auto box' lights came on, on the dash.

I was (and still am I guess) dreading that it's a wiring problem somewhere - but it was suggested that the exact same happened to a mate of a fellow PHer, and it transpired it was the battery. Which is my personal case is a very likely possibility.

Hence my asking

Incidently, mines in for a service/MOT and new battery tomorrow - so fingers crossed.

K

[billy5]

hiya k,
i had a similar problem with the climate control
about six mths ago.
the whole system went off completly for about 5,6 days
and visions of £,s came into the head,
it came back on all on its own and been ok since.

blackspider i,m sure would have a good idea on the steering wheel controls.
why not put a post on regarding the problem.
good luck tomorrow.

[Kinky]

Yeah - it's funny how you start seeing the ££ rolling away, at the slightest hint of anything wrong

Anyway - for reference, here's the thread I started on it.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

K

[Scamp's Walker]

Hi, the battery on my 523i touring expired two days ago! The advice from our most informed/knowledgable contributors was buy german (Bosch for instance) and commensurate with your spec...the more toys/bigger engine size the bigger the Ah battery you will need. BMW sell 70-110Ah batteries and they are, predicably, on the expensive side so it is worth shopping around. Found German & Swedish to be helpful/knowledgable plus cheaper. They recommend a 70Ah for an e39 523i in the handbook but based on advice from fellow Pistonhead contributors I went for an 80Ah and now things seem to have remedied themselves, hopefully it will start in the morning now!
Hope this helps.

[Kinky]

Scamp - did you have any warning signs that it was on it's way out?

K

[billy5]

hiya scamps,
good advice on increasing the ah,
point taken on the toys bit.
the battery fitted to my car is 80ah, it has bmw all over it, probably the original.
do you know the procedure to determine whether it is iffy,
all i see is three different spots, nothing highlited
am i missing somthing in the manual.

[Scamp's Walker]

Not sure I realised the battery was iffy until almost TOO late! Have been having various electrical issues for a while now but had not really put 2 and 2 together. It began with weak starting I think, then the car wouldn't start on a couple of occasions, which I put down to the cold, short trips, not used every day etc. Had to jump start it a couple of times but it started immediately so again put it down to the short trips etc but finally thought, as I couldn't find a way of jumpstarting it, that I would call the AA. The AA man was very thorough and checked the car out for any unnecessary battery drain plus alternator check and pronounced the car fit and healthy but discovered that the battery was about to expire and was not holding ANY charge. Yesterday it would not even hold a charge for more than an hour or so! Took the battery off and dicovered that it was a 65Ah battery, not the recommended min 70Ah, replaced the battery and now everything appears to have resolved itself! I think that Halfords and most battery suppliers probably have the same meters/tools to check the battery to see if they are holding a charge and also if your alternator is providing enough power to maintain the charge of the battery. I spoke to a fellow e39 owner last weekend who was having a similar problem and he had had the RAC/AA out and they had found a 2 amp drain on his battery when the car was switched off and the interior lights were switched off, mine registered 0.4 amp drain so any problem that you may be having may not be the battery, you may find the battery is ok but something is drawing power from the battery when the car is parked. The first time it went flat I jump started it, drove it and came home in the dark and my son pointed out that my glovebox light was still on when the car was switched off so I innocently blamed that!

Hopefully neither of you will need new batteries but if you have a doubt at all, and following my recent experience, I would have it checked. I am assuming, but am probably wrong, that battery issues may appear as part of the diagnostic checks they perform during a service

[Kinky]

Scamp,

Cheers for the info - very useful.

I've had a selection of electrical problems (as per my own thread linked above) - although I've never experienced the poor starting problem. It has always started perfectly at all times. That said - I still hope it's the battery as opposed to the ignition switch - which means flaffing around and wiring - which I thought I'd never do again after the TiV went!

I just hope the MOT guy passes it

And thanks for the battery upgrade tip I've spoken to the guy this morning and he's going to bung in an 80Ah batter - so many thanks for that one.

K

[Scamp's Walker]

How did your car do at the MOT? Have you noticed any difference with the new battery?

[Kinky]

Well,

Firstly theres a 90Ah battery fitted

Secondly there's been no change to the electrical issues - ie - the steering wheel controls not working, airbag and auto box dash lights are still there.

So now reverting to plan B which is to replace the ignition switch. I'm maxxed out this weekend and have absolutely no time to do it myself (I know it's a cheap and 30 minute job) - so he's going to do that on Wednesday - assuming the problem does not correct itself (which is remotely possible).

It's going back to him on Wednesday anyway, to strip and clean the washer pump - so he's going to do the ignition switch too.

Thanks for asking. I was going to update this later - but you beat me to it

K

[Scamp's Walker]

Strip and clean the washer pump? No water getting througn to front or rear? If it's any help had both fail recently, they pop off just before the washer nozzles themselves. Thankfully, discovered the front ones myself but was advised about the rear one by a BMW tech that posts here. I have put it down to weak washer fluid mix which allowed the water in the pipes to freeze and forces the ends off!!!

90Ah battery should power a small country for a week, do the internal lights seem brighter or is it just my eyesight?!

[Kinky]

I did trace the tubes as far as I easily could - which was half way along the off-side wing, at which point it runs down behind the wing. There was no water coming from that point.

It is well known for the pump to block up - hence the stripping/cleaning it. The pump itself does work as you can hear it.

As for the internal lights - I've not been out tonight - so can't confirm that - but am half tempted to go out and play

K

[Scamp's Walker]

Let me know if you think the lights are brighter, then I'll know I'm not going mad!

With regard to the washers, try taking the end nozzle/s off and then set the pump working as then you are not restricting the flow at all, it seemed to help clear mine. In case it doesn't work the next time and is blocked, what is the best way to get to the pump. As far as I can make out the pumps and reservoir seem to be tucked way beneath the filler neck somewhere. Am guessing that it is a time consuming thing to do!

[Kinky]

I disconnected all the pipes up to the connector halfway along the wing - and still no help.

The bottle and pump are accessed via the wheel arch - which means (IIRC) taking the offside front wheel off, then unclipping/screwing the archliner.

I might have a fiddle tomorrow if I get a chance - but highly unlikely

K