# Possible bad battery or other problem????



## NickD (Jul 16, 2003)

Earlier this morning I posted about a bad battery. However now I am having second thoughts.

This morning I went to start my car and it made a somewhat characterstic clicking sound that my other cars in the past (non-BMW) have made when the batteries are dead. However I had no previous signs of a weak battery. In addition to this I noticed that my xenon lights were ON when trying to start the car and I confirmed that indeed the light switch was OFF. I was thinking the drain on teh system from the xenons could prevent the car from starting. Even after getting the jumper cables hooked up my car still had the xenons on when trying to start.

So after getting in to work I checked the "eye" in the battery and it's green, indicating an OK, fully charged battery.

Does anyone have any ideas if this was indeed a battery problem or maybe a glitch in the computer system somewhere that was turning on my lights?


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## Cowbox (Aug 25, 2003)

*Similar problem, even w/ new battery*

I've had this problem too. It seems the key recognition system was malfunctioning. The car will start after waiting about 10 minutes. I've also learned that temporarily disconnecting the negative battery terminal and reconnecting allows my car to start again right away.

Does anyone else have this problem?


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## NickD (Jul 16, 2003)

Cowbox said:


> I've had this problem too. It seems the key recognition system was malfunctioning. The car will start after waiting about 10 minutes. I've also learned that temporarily disconnecting the negative battery terminal and reconnecting allows my car to start again right away.
> 
> Does anyone else have this problem?


Hmm... Could it be the battery in my key is dying?


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## Cowbox (Aug 25, 2003)

I thought about that too. When it happened to my car, I tried the little plastic spare key, and it didn't work. I believe the battery is only used to transmit the lock/unlock signals for door/trunk. The code gets read when the key is in the ignition, I don't think this process requires key battery.


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## Grant (Feb 18, 2002)

Hmmmm....

Same thing just happened to my car. My xenons flash, I hear the clicking noise, and there is this humming sound coming from the instrument cluster or the area near the center vents even after I remove the key from my ignition.

I'm thinking of charging the battery. Would it be better to remove the battery first? I'm unsure of charging the battery in an enclosed area, the trunk, and having hydrogen gasses possibly collect...

Any other ideas other than a dead battery?

Thanks for the info.


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## NickD (Jul 16, 2003)

Grant said:


> Hmmmm....
> 
> Same thing just happened to my car. My xenons flash, I hear the clicking noise, and there is this humming sound coming from the instrument cluster or the area near the center vents even after I remove the key from my ignition.
> 
> ...


I replaced my battery and it solved the exact symptoms you were having. My battery was the original factory battery and was 4.5 years old.

You can charge your battery, don't worry about the gases. There is a vent tube to vent all the gasses from the trunk.


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