Battery going flat

[Neil Mitchener]

Hello there.  I'm Neil Mitchener, and recently aquired my BMW 530i SE fvrom my Sister and Brother in law.

 

The battery goes flat after a few days, yet is fully charged, say beginning of a week, and although not using my car for a week, it goes quite down, sometimes flat. Often the CD player wont work too if battery not 100%.

 

Please advise anyone please.

 

Rgds

 

Neil in Poole

[Sandy5252]

1- Turn everything off interior lights etc,    Check the battery with a voltmeter, a good, charged, battery should show at least 12.5v - if you cannot do it then most local garages can do it and do a load test.  Takes two minutes. Most modern cars dont perform well if the battery is weak or failing.

2. if the battery is ok then you may have a parasitic battery drain. Modern BMWs do use more power than the older models even when switched off.  Check on Youtube on how to trace a parasitic draw,  lots of good info out there. eg pulling fuses one by one and check the battery drain- can take a while......

3. Worst case would be a weird electrical fault, which means you will need to find a competent car electrician.

4. If necessary get a new battery, make sure it is the correct type and rating for your car, (most battery suppliers eg VARTA BOSCH  and AA RAC have a battery guide) sometimes BMW can offer a good deal on a suitable new battery with a decent guarantee. DOnt bother with cheap stuff of EBY that will just let you down in six months time.

 

good luck