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-   -   BMW 520d: Increased battery discharge error (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/182016-bmw-520d-increased-battery-discharge-error.html)

Gents - I have been facing a peculiar issue with my 2009 Model BMW 520D. A few months ago I started to get this error "Increased Battery Discharge" and then this used to disappear a few days of driving. I thought it went away. Then again after a few days the same error popped up and only this time, this led to multiple errors popping up including the "Transmission Breakdown Failure". Shut the car off for a few minutes and turned it back on and no errors for a few days again. However same thing started again. I definitely knew this was related to the battery and when got the battery checked, it was nearly dead. I put a new 100din battery from Exide. 20 days this all looked good and then the same thing started to happen. Went to the exide dealer and complained and then put a stand by battery for me and said he will conduct tests on the battery and let me know. I drove with the stand by battery for about a month without a single issue. I went back and got my new battery back thinking it will all be good. Now the same issue again popped by after 10 days and now again a stand by battery. Exide guy is sending my new battery back to the company who will conduct tests and determine if it is faulty or not. Now, with this standby battery same errors popped up in a day and this time the car just shut. Had to get it jump started.

This is really getting annoying for me. Any advice on this will be much appreciated. I also wanted to know what is the best suitable battery for a 520D? Should I just get another new battery and try this time?

Looking forward to your responses.

Many Thanks

Well, one thing is for sure. Either the battery is not charging, as it should, or it is draining more than it should. See this link. There are some owners who have shared their experiences and solutions.
BTW, i don't drive a Beemer, but had similar issues in my car. Culprit turned out to be a weak battery. Replaced and all ok now.

If I'm not mistaken, in a BMW the type of battery (AGM, flooded etc) has to be set. Might or might not relate to the issue at hand.

Regards
Sutripta

Why not get a battery from the dealer?

E60 runs on intelligent power management. So, the battery you put on, should be registered on the vehicle. The car then manages the charge by affecting even the engine rpm. Even for E60, the energy management can rev up the engine on its own by up to 200 notch if the charging is insufficient.

Why Exide? Let BMW give it's own diagnosis on it.

It's not the battery; something is drawing current from & draining your battery while it's parked. You need to take your car to a competent Euro-car mechanic or BMW dealer and check the source of drain + also whether your alternator is functioning properly.

Ensure that your battery is set, as per Sutripta's post:

I now believe its draining more than it should.

When the new battery was installed, got the same installed and confirmed via the software as well.

I believe its draining excess power while not in use. I think its the CD changer. Will remove the CD changer and give it a shot. Otherwise will visit the BMW service.

Thanks GTO. I agree with you. I had the alternator checked and its working just fine.

Now, something I missed to mention earlier was, before this error used to pop up, when I put the key fob in suddenly I hear the CD changer trying to shuffle making some funny noises and immediately after that I get the error. This happened every single time I got the error message. I did a bit of reading on other forums and people did mention regarding the same issue. For now I have removed the CD changer out of the console. Ill observe for a few days otherwise take it to a competent guy to check the electricals on the CD Changer unit. Will also just disable the whole CD Changer unit if required as I do not use it.

Will keep you all posted on the same.

Many Thanks

http://www.bimmerscan.com/bmw-energy-diagnosis/

Go to BMW. Buy their Energy Diagnosis Report. It is a lovely report to read through. Example is in the above link.

Run the energy diagnosis report and you will get your answer. Just for your information, the E60 battery management info runs into 67 pages with font size 10. I doubt Exide will have enough information to give you an informed answer.

Thanks mate. That's exactly what I will be doing. I have a cousin who works at BMW and he has suggested the very same thing. Booked an appointment.

Cheers

Gents - Wanted to update this thread with the latest updates on this issue. Ran the battery diagnostics and nothing in particular popped up. Registered the new battery via the software. Checked the fuses and replaced the CD Changer fuse. I have been using the car for about 10 days now and no errors as such. I also feel the start crank very effective, feels like no battery drain. I have also started to use the 2 steps in turning off the car, 1st step is the usual off and the 2nd step is the Off Button without the leg on the brakes which ensures its puts the car to sleep completely.

Now simply enjoying me drives in this beauty.

Many Thanks!

You should take a look at this post, and the post below it.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post4046979

IMO, it is better to stick to OEM/AGM batteries in these cars. Even though they cost more, they last really long. How long did your original battery last (7yrs assuming 2009 car)? BMWs especially have some sort of intelligence built into battery charging, etc. and non-OEM batteries may not play nice and may cost as much due to shorter replacement cycles.

As a few other members have mentioned, most likely something is draining the battery. Could be all sorts of things, but always first check the most obvious ones:

Do all the lights dim completely when you switch the ignition off? Check the cabin lights, glove compartment, boot, under the bonnet.

I had a similar problem years ago on one of my cars. Turned out to be a cabin light underneath the dashboard/footwell. It was permanently switched on, stayed on when the ignition was on and it was also very dim, so I did not notice until I started looking for it. You would be surprised how quickly one small bulb drains a car battery.

I don’t think such an item would show up in a diagnostic report perse, as it is / could be a normal condition.

If all fails, get a multimeter and pull the fuses one by one to determine where something is still putting a drain on the battery.

Lead-acid batteries can be used especially in the older cars. There is a full reference table somewhere. Anyhow, it is just that changing the battery type from lead-acid to AGM, or the other way around, requires coding/reprogramming apart from the battery registration.

Battery coding replaces the charging map, analogous to the engine map that gets modified during engine remaps.

The OP can have the battery coding/reprogramming done, if not already done, and there should not be any issues, due to the change in the battery type. It has been mentioned that the battery registration has been done.

Thanks Guys. Phew a bit nervous now after ready the above. However, I got the Exide Battery Registered via the BMW Software and it all seems fine now. Hopefully no further issues I encounter.