Power Draw / Repeated Battery Failure / Loose Connection

[Dathaeus]

Ok the saga with this $#@&% shop continue... just when I thought I was out, the suck me back in. Maybe I need to get Al Pacino and a tommy gun in here to get some results.

So for the 4th time in 5 months, the battery dies. They have replaced the battery a year ago, replaced my perfectly good AAA premium battery that always lasted me 5-7 years here in South FL heat, which was still under warranty... (Gee, I wonder why that died while they kept my car for 3+ months???) Pic of the one they used is attached in this post, I guess a battery is a battery?

Anyways, so for the 4th time last week my car didn't start. I drive my car at least once every 2 days, very rare I dont drive over 2 day in a row. Shop refused to pay for a tow for my car to the shop even though I had told them all 3 times to make sure they thoroughly tested what's wrong with my car each time. They claimed they replaced the alternator, new wires, and tried to charge up the battery, not sure how... When this tow guy had brought my car back from the shop after the alternator fix, he said the shop told him to leave the car running the whole time on the truck on his drive up for 1 hour... At that point the battery was only 6 months old, and even the driver thought that was an odd request and said he was not about to leave a running car on his truck while delivering it back to me.

So this time, I demanded they just replace the battery since it might be damaged, and bec he swore that he also tested for any electrical draw that might be sucking the battery dry, that was the only thing left. The battery guy came, replaced it, and said the old battery literally had zero juice in it...

So basically its running fine now, but anyone have any comments or ideas on this? My friend told me once his radio was defective where it was drawing power even when car was off (and simply getting a new radio fixed that), but again the shop told me they checked for that. I have my doubts they checked for anything.

This battery guy also asked the shop while he was here if this loose wire plug (see image, blue circle) meant anything... the shop said he doesnt know. Great, of course you dont. Why would you have looked at anything there when you had to work on this 4 times for power issues.

Also, the battery guy said his records show that a 2003 BMW 330i needs to have the computer reset after a new battery. The shop said they did no do that, nor do they need to, that this car doesnt need it. I looked at the listing the battery guy showed me on his phone, and it clearly said it needed to be computer reset and something else. The battery guy thought that was odd that the shop did not think it was necessary.

So as you can see I am not feeling good yet about all this.

Help?

(And dont worry, last thing I want to do again is drive down 50 miles to this ahole or pay for another tow to him to fix something that should have been fixed the first or second time... I just dont like paying another shop for his incompetence, but this might be the final straw anyways...
Rest assured I will post a full review of this shop in the appropriate section here after this is all done)

33171

[az3579]

E46's do not need battery registration. The only 2003's that do are the 7 series, as far as I know.

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[PetesZ]

The cigarette lighter is a always on circuit. Also the turn lights will stay on if the lever is flipped.

Concur with no need to register the battery for the car. Not an option for the car on my scanner. It is grayed out.

[Dathaeus]

The cigarette lighter is a always on circuit. Also the turn lights will stay on if the lever is flipped.

Concur with no need to register the battery for the car. Not an option for the car on my scanner. It is grayed out.

I plugged my lighter adapter out from now on, see if that helps. It only has my radar detector plugged in, and its off, but who knows right? I guess we'll see after a couple of months....

[Dathaeus]

And BTW, I forgot to say, there was some clicking sound on the battery when the car is on, after the battery guy left. Now is that normal? He assumed it was just vibration when I contacted him, but I know the difference in sound between mechanical vibration and electrical clicks... so I don't %$#@$% know whats going on.

[PetesZ]

You can check the live data. To see what the charge and voltage numbers are. I have not played with it on the scanner I have but it is open to see.

[johnrando]

A bad FSR is a very common parasitic battery drain. Have they tried that? And re-confirming, battery registration not required.

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[pedro2u]

In this thread with the FSR as the final cause, this guy measured the current drain and identified the fuses to pull to see if they eliminated the symptom while he narrowed it down(confirm if your fuses are the came config). Could be your next approach

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2019588-E46-battery-drain-SOLVED!!!

[sillieidiot]

Just go through and check for the parasitic drain yourself by pulling the fuses out one by one. Get a cheap multimeter. It's faster then us just throwing out potential causes. You can look up YouTube videos on how to do this process. It won't take you long at all.

Then report back and go from there.

[Dathaeus]

Checking for drain this week...

Is it possible during all this idiotic fumbling and bumbling of this shop for the LAST YEAR on my car that messed up some connection or part so it causes a drain now? Again it seems highly convenient that I needed a new alternator (which prob wasn't even the right diagnosis right?) and now 2 trips later, the battery is still draining, right during this whole process when literally I had ZERO issues with this car besides routine maintenance and wear and tear before this.

Just trying to assess how bad this shop really is.

[Phillips0417]

We had this problem with our X3 as well. After a new starter, alternator and battery it kept doing it. I found it to be a disconnected ground strap underneath the vehicle while changing the oil. I was about to pull my hair out with this but happy to say it's been rectified and zero issues since finding and reconnecting this.

Just a thought.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9807744&postcount=10

[Dathaeus]

We had this problem with our X3 as well. After a new starter, alternator and battery it kept doing it. I found it to be a disconnected ground strap underneath the vehicle while changing the oil. I was about to pull my hair out with this but happy to say it's been rectified and zero issues since finding and reconnecting this.

Just a thought.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9807744&postcount=10How did you find that, or did you actually have a competent mechanic look?

That helps in case I have to take it somewhere else and tell them to look for that if that is the same in the e46... Something like that, really wondering if these aholes messed that up while working on my car for the last 15 months


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[Johnmadd]

How did you find that, or did you actually have a competent mechanic look?

That helps in case I have to take it somewhere else and tell them to look for that if that is the same in the e46... Something like that, really wondering if these aholes messed that up while working on my car for the last 15 months


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That would make a lot of sense, it would definitely make a difference. Just print some pictures of where the ground straps are located and give them to your mechanic or diy.

[Phillips0417]

I found that myself one day changing the oil in the shop. I removed and replaced the strap under the bolt I pictured and haven’t had a problem since.

The starter, alternator and battery were all replaced under CPO warranty. Two batteries later I found this and haven’t changed or charged the battery in two years.

[johnrando]

Have you checked the FSR? Also, do we have this ground strap on the E46?

[Phillips0417]

I don’t think we have this particular ground strap, I really just wanted to point out to check his grounding straps.

[Johnd]

Did you find the problem? I barely drive my ZHP - about 1800 miles in the past two years. Every time I go to start it it needs a jump. I replaced the battery with a new Bosch one and it too is draining after about 2 weeks without a start. Aside from that the car runs great, all electrical items work, and the headlights are bright. The car is 100% original so no electrical modifications - so not sure where to look. Any help would be greatly appreciated

[johnrando]

As said before, FSR is a common parasitic drain for our cars.

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[Johnd]

Thanks - I will order one this week and toss it in. I have the car on the charger now and the battery is at 89% complete. I will then see how long it takes to fully drain.

[Dathaeus]

Ya sorry, actually it has something to do with my glove compartment... the weird thing is, it isnt light light, so what else draws power from the GC???

Right now I left that fuse out and I havent had any trouble starting the car, yet, after over a week.

[cornercarver]

Just as a data point for this thread; My buddy was chasing battery drain gremlins on his E46, which he rarely drove. He said he always left it unlocked (lives in a safe neighborhood) and for the longest time couldn't figure out what was draining it. He locked it by accident recently, came back a week later and the battery was fine. Seems like when it isn't locked it draws power because it doesn't go into 'sleep mode.'

[sillieidiot]

that plug where you plug the flashlight in draws power. I believe it's constant. The glove box light itself will go to sleep with the rest of the car in like 20 mins if you happen to leave it open for some reason.