irs cold - dead Z4M
- Thread starter physprof
- Start date
Started fine this morning at 5-30.
Got a Bosch HSB096 from halfords on way home last night, 120 notes or so. I'll keep reciept handy in case it discharges and I will want refund from BMW warranty, minus my 100 excess once they trace any cause..
Car has sat out at airport all day so, when I get back this evening around 10pm I'll be starting it with trepidation.
The weird click I get and previously reported is still their although a tad muted.
The car is very much daily car, racking up miles, so you'd think battery would be ok though at this time of year most of drive in lights on etc so not much chance to recharge unless it gets a good long daytime run at weekend.
Think I will by a charger just as an insurance 40 quid versus the hassle of drained battery is no brainer.
That is the great thing about this place - think you've got a bollix of a car and then people pop up with same problem and solutions. Cheers guys.
Got a Bosch HSB096 from halfords on way home last night, 120 notes or so. I'll keep reciept handy in case it discharges and I will want refund from BMW warranty, minus my 100 excess once they trace any cause..
Car has sat out at airport all day so, when I get back this evening around 10pm I'll be starting it with trepidation.
The weird click I get and previously reported is still their although a tad muted.
The car is very much daily car, racking up miles, so you'd think battery would be ok though at this time of year most of drive in lights on etc so not much chance to recharge unless it gets a good long daytime run at weekend.
Think I will by a charger just as an insurance 40 quid versus the hassle of drained battery is no brainer.
That is the great thing about this place - think you've got a bollix of a car and then people pop up with same problem and solutions. Cheers guys.
so yesterday, car failed to turn over, then five minutes later it came to life.......
there is obviously something deeper at play.... on friday sat nav seems to have gone awol - can't find satellites and so think's i'm about ten miles from where we are.....
took the car straight to local dealer and have left it with them.....
there is obviously something deeper at play.... on friday sat nav seems to have gone awol - can't find satellites and so think's i'm about ten miles from where we are.....
took the car straight to local dealer and have left it with them.....
physprof said:
Hope it gets sorted - keep us updated.
D6GMB said:
Not a great fan of this style of attachment. CTEK do a battery terminal plug set. The lead connects directly to the +ve and -ve with a small female connector for the charger connection on one end. I have it on my Zed and just need to lift the battery cover plug the CTEK in and away you go. Quick and easy and means that the battery charger is connected via the boot (trunk for you colonial types) and no need for leads through open windows which the local cats I am sure will appreciate if you are doing this outside.
Mine seems to be behaving for the moment, got the coolant changed so I had the garage top up the battery. It's probably on its way but if I can make it into the new year before another big expense onthe car I'll be happy. Now just to fix a scrape I've discovered on the front bumper...the joys of parking on the street are beginning to test my patience!
so the car has sat at dealer outside over the weekend... last night -5C.
today it started up fine.....on two occassions.... battery seems OK - there is a sat nav issue that is being investigated.... and they don't know or haven't heard the wierd clicking I get when it goes over bumps/potholes ... but they hadn't roadtested it yet.
so still with them.... i ordered a CTEK last night ...so will have it to hand when Zed comes back and came use it for the other two cars at home ...
I think there is a maladay in the electrics .... I'm at 56K miles probably one of the higher miles Z4M and like other cars ... over time common faults start to make themselves know at differing mileages (as we all know a la O2 sensors, springs) or like thermistors/water pumps on my e39. i'm reassurred if that is the word at the similar sounding problems in this thread. maybe is is just very very sensitive to battery potential.
today it started up fine.....on two occassions.... battery seems OK - there is a sat nav issue that is being investigated.... and they don't know or haven't heard the wierd clicking I get when it goes over bumps/potholes ... but they hadn't roadtested it yet.
so still with them.... i ordered a CTEK last night ...so will have it to hand when Zed comes back and came use it for the other two cars at home ...
I think there is a maladay in the electrics .... I'm at 56K miles probably one of the higher miles Z4M and like other cars ... over time common faults start to make themselves know at differing mileages (as we all know a la O2 sensors, springs) or like thermistors/water pumps on my e39. i'm reassurred if that is the word at the similar sounding problems in this thread. maybe is is just very very sensitive to battery potential.
Hmm still sounds a bit odd, you would have thought that the new battery would have fixed all that though.
OK so an update....(i took the car to nearest bmw garage becuase of weather conditions at time and wanting tp avoid a 25 mile cross country run)
got the car back on thursday. i called wednesday - they said everything fine now. so arrived middle of thursday to collect. had to wait 20 minutes while my 'warranty bill' was worked out.
presented with bill for nearly 300 quid. (bear in mind I have fully comp extended warranty 100 quid excess.)
there was no problem with battery or electrics, one sat nav detector was bust so it was replaced.
I ask for explanation of the 200 quids worth of work ..... which I'm unsure that i shouyld be paying for as car was faulty and I have warranty.
so, this is it - I tell them about strage electrical clicking noise I've been getting...(see earlier and other post).... we'll they couldn't get that but they decided it would be fixed by 1. lubing the roof mechanisms in header rail (given that is direct above my head - i'd be pretty daft not to have noticed if that was where noise was coming from) 2. the two brace bars in engine compartment were re set and re tightened (WTF....) and they are charging me for time to drive car to see if they can find electrical noise.... but didn't
I get somewhat stroppy and say I'm not paying this.... go back through all my details they have recorded and ask where I reported mechanical noise that would make them investigated header and strut braces? desk person goes off to get service manager...
and we go though the whole episode again..... I point out that I'm suspect of their work in that they cannot even follow simple instructtions such as DO NOT WASH CAR - which I sigend against (this is because the last time I went to that garage they cuased significant cosmetic damage in washing that required them to do remedial work - i had run in with same service manager.)
so we have a stand off - i'm not paying for work that was unnecessary and I'm not paying for work where you don't /can't find the fault.
manager asks why I get car serviced at other garage 25 miles away.... i say politely it is becuase they tend to be competent not f^ckwits. that is why i'm surprised they think there was need to twat about with strut braces given car had an Isp II a while back.... he says we'll that garage is a differnet company.... I saw but its a main BMW as you are are you trying to tell me they do different things... now, then amazing thing... he says that if my perferreed garage is so good at servicing my car and given that I appear to be technically knowledgeable perhaps it is better I use them in future and don't come back.....he then slinks of to his desk makes some adjustments and ask me to settle the 100 warranty excess....
so, this gets me thinking.... a major main dealer who doesn't want business or only wants to numb brained un questioning owners who just pay whatever some 22 yr old girl on the services desk ask for with out a full technical explanation. bizarre...
so get in car and within 1/2 mile I hit a rutted but of road and 'click' the electrical sound is there... so much for roof mechanisms and strut brace work... my arse...
but that leaves me with the niggle .... is there an unhidden electrical gremlin.... maybe come xmas holidays I'll have to get the multimeter out and pull fuses one by one to see if I can see an anomolous current flows.... (the sort of think you'd have though the professional garage would have done)
main dealers eh.... cest la vie - we'll back to the one I trust ( fingers crossed they never drop me in it)
got the car back on thursday. i called wednesday - they said everything fine now. so arrived middle of thursday to collect. had to wait 20 minutes while my 'warranty bill' was worked out.
presented with bill for nearly 300 quid. (bear in mind I have fully comp extended warranty 100 quid excess.)
there was no problem with battery or electrics, one sat nav detector was bust so it was replaced.
I ask for explanation of the 200 quids worth of work ..... which I'm unsure that i shouyld be paying for as car was faulty and I have warranty.
so, this is it - I tell them about strage electrical clicking noise I've been getting...(see earlier and other post).... we'll they couldn't get that but they decided it would be fixed by 1. lubing the roof mechanisms in header rail (given that is direct above my head - i'd be pretty daft not to have noticed if that was where noise was coming from) 2. the two brace bars in engine compartment were re set and re tightened (WTF....) and they are charging me for time to drive car to see if they can find electrical noise.... but didn't
I get somewhat stroppy and say I'm not paying this.... go back through all my details they have recorded and ask where I reported mechanical noise that would make them investigated header and strut braces? desk person goes off to get service manager...
and we go though the whole episode again..... I point out that I'm suspect of their work in that they cannot even follow simple instructtions such as DO NOT WASH CAR - which I sigend against (this is because the last time I went to that garage they cuased significant cosmetic damage in washing that required them to do remedial work - i had run in with same service manager.)
so we have a stand off - i'm not paying for work that was unnecessary and I'm not paying for work where you don't /can't find the fault.
manager asks why I get car serviced at other garage 25 miles away.... i say politely it is becuase they tend to be competent not f^ckwits. that is why i'm surprised they think there was need to twat about with strut braces given car had an Isp II a while back.... he says we'll that garage is a differnet company.... I saw but its a main BMW as you are are you trying to tell me they do different things... now, then amazing thing... he says that if my perferreed garage is so good at servicing my car and given that I appear to be technically knowledgeable perhaps it is better I use them in future and don't come back.....he then slinks of to his desk makes some adjustments and ask me to settle the 100 warranty excess....
so, this gets me thinking.... a major main dealer who doesn't want business or only wants to numb brained un questioning owners who just pay whatever some 22 yr old girl on the services desk ask for with out a full technical explanation. bizarre...
so get in car and within 1/2 mile I hit a rutted but of road and 'click' the electrical sound is there... so much for roof mechanisms and strut brace work... my arse...
but that leaves me with the niggle .... is there an unhidden electrical gremlin.... maybe come xmas holidays I'll have to get the multimeter out and pull fuses one by one to see if I can see an anomolous current flows.... (the sort of think you'd have though the professional garage would have done)
main dealers eh.... cest la vie - we'll back to the one I trust ( fingers crossed they never drop me in it)
I had similar problems with my battery as you after I ran it flat. Then as a result was getting the clicking noise some cold mornings when the battery was almost completely flat, its a horrible noise. Have heard the alternator is unable to fully recharge the battery so after short runs it loses power again.
At this point I also noticed that the clocks and mpg read outs had all been reset too. I think the car realises it needs every ounce of power to start and therefore turns everything else off during the night, the clicking noise I presume is it all coming on again.
I have been luckly, I removed my battery and gave it an overnight charge which has completely fixed the problem and the car behaves normally once again.
However, I suspect you do in fact have an electrical gremlin of some description, maybe a connection issue somewhere. I think you need to take the car somewhere else but also think you need to complain about paying for an excess that has not fixed your problem. Call BMW and explain the situation to them is my advice.
Best of luck.
At this point I also noticed that the clocks and mpg read outs had all been reset too. I think the car realises it needs every ounce of power to start and therefore turns everything else off during the night, the clicking noise I presume is it all coming on again.
I have been luckly, I removed my battery and gave it an overnight charge which has completely fixed the problem and the car behaves normally once again.
However, I suspect you do in fact have an electrical gremlin of some description, maybe a connection issue somewhere. I think you need to take the car somewhere else but also think you need to complain about paying for an excess that has not fixed your problem. Call BMW and explain the situation to them is my advice.
Best of luck.
physprof said:
Ha! Totally dead this morning. Hadnt used it for 4 days and wouldnt turn over this morning (after going to the effort of clearing all the snow off the car and my path!)...
BMW Emergency Services came to jump start me, checked the battery out, said it was taking charge but borderline on the output current...
Maybe time for a new 1....
Bosch HSB096 I think someone said???
Liverpool
