Well .. just called BMW service and they said it's the battery. So now the question is .. do you guys normally buy the origional BMW battery or just any other aftermarket ones?
Where are you at? Are you in the States? You have a 520i, that doesn't sound familiar, that's why I ask.
If you get it from the dealer, it's close to $300 installed.
If you get it from outside, it's about $85.
Check the specs and size, there should be a place near you that carries batteries for BMW's.
I went home and check the battery reading with a multimeter, it reads 13.5V.
There is a small window on top of the battery, beside the window it says Green - Battery is in good coniditon, Black - Battery needs recharging, Yellow - Replace battery.
I can only see Black so I guess the battery needs recharging...
What I don't understand is why the battery needs recharging when it reads 13.5V ?
when a battery dies it's not always voltage that gives a bad reading.
Could you take a 12v camera battery and start your car with it? Nope.
Often times the battery can't take load. or under load it dies EXTREMELY fast and only partially recharges.
Any lead acid battery, no matter how dead it is will allmost allways read the correct voltage. Unfortunatly there is no amperage behind it. Voltage doesn't start cars, amperage does. The way you test these types of batteries is under a load, what a mutimeter tells you is useless. You just need a new battery.
Originally posted by sp0rky@Apr 18 2005, 11:27 AM when a battery dies it's not always voltage that gives a bad reading.
Could you take a 12v camera battery and start your car with it? Nope.
Often times the battery can't take load. or under load it dies EXTREMELY fast and only partially recharges.
Thanks guys, you are right, it's not the voltage... I charge the battery overnight and able to start the car in the morning. It needs a new battery, so I bought one. All is good, thanks guys.
Hi all from Australia, I've recently purchased an e39 528i auto, Oxford Green, M5 wheels and lowered springs all-round. Initially it had the dreaded e39 shimmy that worked out to be totally frustrating. After reading many posts on this problem I decided to renew the front thrust arm bushes as everyone suggested, but before I did this I thought I would do a tyre rotation. To my amazement I found 2 tyres with unusual wear. The L/H rear carried a cut about 5" long on the inside shoulder right to the steel bands which was obviously from some kind of impact as the rim showed evidence of a dent. The front R/H also had a section of wear on the inside shoulder again about the same size as the rear but no evidence of damage. Now with new Kumho Ecstra KU 25s the car is now as smooth as silk-I'm one of the lucky ones eh!. A day later the car started overheating at idle, once again I looked up the relevant posts and was horrified at the expensive fixes other owners had gone through. Again with a lot of luck I was recommended to a local BMW specialist who diagnosed and fixed the problem for $A165.00 by replacing the fan clutch.
And now for the latest, yesterday I jumped into the car and when I attempted to start the car in Park all I got was a "grunt" as the starter seemed to engage but not crank the engine. After a few more tries, it started and behaved all day. this morning was a repeat of yesterday but eventually starting after 3 or 4 attempts. I'm thinking battery problem? The car's booked into the same shop on Thursday for a service, I'll get them to check the latest problem. The car has done 202k kms. It seems a case of new day , new problem. Any comments would be appreciated. Don't get me wrong; I actually adore the car and love driving it. This is my second Beemer, the first being an e30 323i which I had for 10 years without major problems.
New developments all round
1. Rear tyre wear caused by worn rear suspension knuckles and control arm bushes- being replaced.
2. Starting problems and new overheating problem-diagnosed as auxiliary fan rectifier fault but NOW blown head gasket (ouch), about $AUS2500 repaIr bill and off the road for 2 weeks. Hoping the block/head stud threads are OK. one quote for a used M52 about $AUS4000.00 + $AUS1000.00 labour - still an unknown quantity.
New developments all round
1. Rear tyre wear caused by worn rear suspension knuckles and control arm bushes- being replaced.
2. Starting problems and new overheating problem-diagnosed as auxiliary fan rectifier fault but NOW blown head gasket (ouch), about $AUS2500 repaIr. Hoping the block/head stud threads are OK. Used M52 about $AUS4000.00 + $AUS1000.00 labour - still an unknown quantity.
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