[afsar]

My JL HD 600/4 and 900/5 combinely won't let my 110ah battery last even for 30-40 minutes and then car will barely tick over.

Last weekend after 2 hours of driving I left my car door open at a shopping center for a while (kids in) and probably after 30-40 minutes (can't remember could be less) car won't start. It did start after leaving it all locked for 15 minutes or so.

I believe it is clearly the amp drawing too much from battery, they run very hot too. Wondering what will be solution to this problem and I don't want to have a manual switch to physically turn it all off. How did you guys manage this?

My setup in the signature.

[afsar]

this could be weak battery as well but hell 1500 watts load on 110ah battery is about its capacity.

would HDs consume same power irrspective of if input signal is present or not?

[bmw325i]

My amps draw more power than that, and I can listen to music for a while with the car off. I dont know if I could park and listen to music for 40 minutes though.I replaced my battery a few months ago with this.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...wer-D4800.html

[afsar]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

My amps draw more power than that, and I can listen to music for a while with the car off. I dont know if I could park and listen to music for 40 minutes though.I replaced my battery a few months ago with this.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...wer-D4800.html

I wasn't even playing music on it. It was just on but I doubt it makes "much" difference incase with HDs. Now having this experience I won't ever install this big system in a car. I won't go more than 500-600 watts. I don't play loud anyway.

[cdgatti]

if you are not playing music loudly, than you are not consuming much energy. There is physics at play here. Your amps cannot consume much power if they are not conveting it to something, ie heat and air pressure. Sounds like you have a fault somewhere else in the car or just an old battery, they tend to last about 5-6 years in these cars.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by cdgatti

if you are not playing music loudly, than you are not consuming much energy. There is physics at play here. Your amps cannot consume much power if they are not conveting it to something, ie heat and air pressure. Sounds like you have a fault somewhere else in the car or just an old battery, they tend to last about 5-6 years in these cars.

+1 They should draw very little power if you were not listening to music. I misread the question I thought you were sitting in the car listening to music with the car off. There are other things that will use up some power if you do not let the car go to sleep. The problem is you didn't close or lock the door and your battery might be on its way out.

[kaigoss69]

I doubt the amps' idle current draw had much to do with that. Get a new battery.

[ctuna]

Is your car actually going into sleep mode ever
would be one thing to check . About 6 years for
a battery if you have been driving a decent amount
and not letting the car sit , otherwise battery tender
once in a awhile is a good idea.

[afsar]

My stock 90A battery was upgraded as I thought that could be the reason. New 110A battery was taken from ebay for cheap. Battery physically looked new and BMW branded, so didn't think anything could be wrong with the replacement battery. Battery was installed and VO updated and coded. How to rule battery problem out? I don't want to shell out £150 just to findout I had problem elsewhere.

Car goes to sleep well after usual 5-15 minutes of locking it, so there is nothing wrong in the car electronics in itself.

Problem is certainly in the amp setup where you can't turn the engine off and talk to someone over the phone for more then 20 minutes (over the bluetooth) or even arrange your boot without the risk of hampering the next engine crank. I can workaround that but I have seen my friend's car remain "on" without engine start for hours and no problem whatsoever.

[tdgesq]

You may have a short or other unusual power draw. Where I live there are shops (not bmw specific) that will test your battery for free and even determine if there is a big amperage draw at the battery while your engine is shut off. I would try that first.

[afsar]

Originally Posted by tdgesq

You may have a short or other unusual power draw. Where I live there are shops (not bmw specific) that will test your battery for free and even determine if there is a big amperage draw at the battery while your engine is shut off. I would try that first.

If the car is off there is no unusual draw, so next morning or next week it will always start fine. Draw is heavy while car is "on" but engine not running.

[tdgesq]

Right, still could be a weak battery though. A shop can rule that out very easily.

[ctuna]

normal draw .5 amps when awake (stock) 20ma asleep.
Maybe you need to get a clamping amp meter and do some checks.
Also check the charging voltage.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.cGU&cad=rja

What is the voltage on your battery in the morning before you wake
up the car. (You need to lock it with the hood latch open the night
before) If you are checking the voltage while awake and you lock
the car you can see the voltage start to rise as the car goes to sleep
and draws less current if things are working as they should and shutting off.

[ctuna]

normal draw .5 amps when awake (stock) 20ma asleep.
Maybe you need to get a clamping amp meter and do some checks.
Also check the charging voltage.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.cGU&cad=rja

Batterys are batterys I don't think BMW makes a magic
battery . But they can still be good or bad.

[cage911]

Hi Asfar,

Have you checked to see if you Alternator is actually charging the battery. Have the engine running with the lights on and heater/AC on full and use a meter to check the voltage. If the battery is not reading between 12.5 - 14.4v with the engine running and the voltage continue to drop most probably the alternator and at the same time battery is not holding it charge.

[afsar]

Originally Posted by cage911

Hi Asfar,

Have you checked to see if you Alternator is actually charging the battery. Have the engine running with the lights on and heater/AC on full and use a meter to check the voltage. If the battery is not reading between 12.5 - 14.4v with the engine running and the voltage continue to drop most probably the alternator and at the same time battery is not holding it charge.

If alternator was dead eventually battery will finish and will never start the car unless replaced. That's not the case here.

My batter drain problem has been there since a while now. It is irritating but not a show stopper, I am still able to use my car.

If someone can confirm who uses JL HD which runs warm how long they can keep their car "on" (no music on play) before they get battery warning it will help to identify if it is faulty battery or faulty amp.

[cdgatti]

Originally Posted by afsar

If alternator was dead eventually battery will finish and will never start the car unless replaced. That's not the case here.

My batter drain problem has been there since a while now. It is irritating but not a show stopper, I am still able to use my car.

If someone can confirm who uses JL HD which runs warm how long they can keep their car "on" (no music on play) before they get battery warning it will help to identify if it is faulty battery or faulty amp.

You are a very difficult person to help when you argue with every suggestion and are unwilling to help yourself by taking your car to someone who knows cars like any damn mechanic.

[afsar]

Originally Posted by cdgatti

YoI d are a very difficult person to help when you argue with every suggestion and are unwilling to help yourself by taking your car to someone who knows cars like any damn mechanic.

Which mechanic are you talking about? Main dealer won't touch it with a barge pole due to heavy retrofits. They were scared of dension unit and refused to work on the car few years back. Indy know nothing about electrical issues of bmw. Last time I had dreaded ibs lead issue they didn't have a clue, found nothing and charged me £250 for diagnosis fee!

Aren't we all diyers here? I won't be discussing problem here if I thought I have to go to mechanic for everything we do. I haven't seen a mechanic since past 5 years or so, bar 3 times for alignment.

I know my car (and few other Exx models) in and out, I offer professional retrofit services (not my main job though). I don't know much about audio tuning and don't have much experience with it, that's when I need help from the forum.

I will appreciate logical discussions not judgements.

[afsar]

Originally Posted by kaigoss69

I doubt the amps' idle current draw had much to do with that. Get a new battery.

Thats next plan of action now. Will update after the battery replacement.

[JazStar740]

Originally Posted by afsar

Last weekend after 2 hours of driving I left my car door open at a shopping center for a while (kids in) and probably after 30-40 minutes (can't remember could be less) car won't start. It did start after leaving it all locked for 15 minutes or so.

What gets me is that you stated that the car would not start, but after 15 mins locked, the car started.......


Sounds like it is not the battery drained, but something else, some fail safe preventing the car from starting. If the battery was dead, and you did nothing to charge it but wait 15 minutes, the battery was not dead. ???

[sal_park]

Originally Posted by afsar

I will appreciate logical discussions not judgements.

ok, here's what I suggest:

I would not buy a new battery yet, as that does not match all the symptoms. First I would get my multimeter and measure the current draw from the battery by removing the negative lead and putting the multimeter (as a current / amp) meter in line.

DO NOT TRY TO START THE CAR LIKE THIS - IT WILL GO WRONG!

The see what the current draw is with the car locked unlocked / after 10 minutes / 20 minutes and 30 minutes.

Do this, and post back with the results.

btw if you don't have a mulitmeter to measure the current, they can be had for around 10 quid on ebay ( probably less). You want one capable of measuring upto 5 amps or so.

If you have no idea what a mulimeter is, do some googling - it quite straight forward and if you get stuck, come back here.

hth

sp

[kaigoss69]

No, this is normal. The battery can recover to some degree if you let it sit. I used to do that when my first battery was on the way out. I would completely drain it listening to music (or installing the COBB Accessport) and it would not turn over immediately after I got the low battery warning, then I would shut all doors, walk away for 5-10 minutes, and afterwards it would turn over.