Here is the link to my OP over on Biimerfest. http://ift.tt/1yDd92I
TL;DR - 2012 E91. Penny fell into center console 12V outlet, went unnoticed for 2 weeks (BMW dealer told me slow starts were because of cold temperatures), battery drained, penny was found and removed, battery continues to drain. Why and what do I do?
Long version:
November 10th: I noticed that my car seemed to be starting slowly.
November 15th: I took the car for scheduled service and mentioned this to them. They say that they did not find anything wrong with the car at that time and it was most likely just the cold temperatures affecting the power delivery and causing the slow starts.
November 26th: After I had been washing my car (and likely "waking up" the car over and over), it barely turned over at all. The problem was definitely NOT the outside temperature, but likely a discharging battery. I started searching for issues and found a very interesting one the next day.
A penny was down in my (uncovered) 12V outlet in the center console. (Pics over on the BF post. Penny has burns on the contact points, so I am at least certain that current passed through it at some point.) I removed the penny and tested the two front 12V outlets - they were non-functional. I assumed that, despite the fuse almost certainly being blown, there must still a small amount of current passing through the penny/shorted circuit that was causing the battery to drain. Penny removed should mean problem solved.
December 30th: 2 days after driving the car for 4 hours on the interstate and, again, "waking" it over and over while loading and unloading while visiting family, the car failed to start again. The two days prior it started over and over without issue, although power loss was apparent. (I.e., not a bad alternator.) I can't imagine that 4 hours of interstate charging would not fully charge the battery.
So the questions/issues are (1) Sulfated battery and (2) Parasitic power loss:
(1) If sulfated battery is the case, then how did that occur? If the penny fell into the outlet and the fuse blew as soon as the outlet was powered, shouldn't this have prevented any kind of further discharge from the outlet? Would the short alone be enough to cause that much damage to the battery?
(2) Whether the battery was/is sulfated, something had to cause the power draw in the first place. Is it possible that a shorted fuse could be causing some kind of persistent PPL that replacing the fuse will cure?
Thanks for any thoughts. The post over at BF gave me: "desulfate the battery, get a cover for that outlet." Obviously helpful and something I will do. But not before I identify how the battery could have been sulfated in the first place. Don't want to ruin a new battery because I didn't treat the right symptom.
TL;DR - 2012 E91. Penny fell into center console 12V outlet, went unnoticed for 2 weeks (BMW dealer told me slow starts were because of cold temperatures), battery drained, penny was found and removed, battery continues to drain. Why and what do I do?
Long version:
November 10th: I noticed that my car seemed to be starting slowly.
November 15th: I took the car for scheduled service and mentioned this to them. They say that they did not find anything wrong with the car at that time and it was most likely just the cold temperatures affecting the power delivery and causing the slow starts.
November 26th: After I had been washing my car (and likely "waking up" the car over and over), it barely turned over at all. The problem was definitely NOT the outside temperature, but likely a discharging battery. I started searching for issues and found a very interesting one the next day.
A penny was down in my (uncovered) 12V outlet in the center console. (Pics over on the BF post. Penny has burns on the contact points, so I am at least certain that current passed through it at some point.) I removed the penny and tested the two front 12V outlets - they were non-functional. I assumed that, despite the fuse almost certainly being blown, there must still a small amount of current passing through the penny/shorted circuit that was causing the battery to drain. Penny removed should mean problem solved.
December 30th: 2 days after driving the car for 4 hours on the interstate and, again, "waking" it over and over while loading and unloading while visiting family, the car failed to start again. The two days prior it started over and over without issue, although power loss was apparent. (I.e., not a bad alternator.) I can't imagine that 4 hours of interstate charging would not fully charge the battery.
So the questions/issues are (1) Sulfated battery and (2) Parasitic power loss:
(1) If sulfated battery is the case, then how did that occur? If the penny fell into the outlet and the fuse blew as soon as the outlet was powered, shouldn't this have prevented any kind of further discharge from the outlet? Would the short alone be enough to cause that much damage to the battery?
(2) Whether the battery was/is sulfated, something had to cause the power draw in the first place. Is it possible that a shorted fuse could be causing some kind of persistent PPL that replacing the fuse will cure?
Thanks for any thoughts. The post over at BF gave me: "desulfate the battery, get a cover for that outlet." Obviously helpful and something I will do. But not before I identify how the battery could have been sulfated in the first place. Don't want to ruin a new battery because I didn't treat the right symptom.
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