My '89 BMW 535i Battery Keeps Dying... Help!

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CosmicH

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#1
I have a 1989 BMW 535i that my dad gave me a couple months ago. It was his old car and it gave him problems when he had it and now it's giving me problems. The battery keeps dying. It's died twice in the past week. The first time it was only sitting in the driveway for less than a day. When I tried to go to school...*brrt..click click click click* the battery's pretty much drained. I didn't leave any lights or anything on. My dad and I jump it later on that night. Everything's fine until this morning when the battery's even more drained than before. It was sitting in the driveway since Friday afternoon. It's not the battery because we've gotten a new one and it's still been giving us problems. We think it's a short somewhere in the car but we've taken it to a couple mechanic's and they couldn't find where the short is. I was think maybe some of the car gurus here could give me some tips or information.

I really appreciate it. Thanks a bunch.
 
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dayallan

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uk
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I guess it's new battry time for you. Sounds like one of the cells has gone short. If that's the original battery then it ain't done bad. If it's a replacement that's not that old then it's time to have your charging system checked out.
 
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geneo

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when you park the car go out like and hour later and check the rear window with your hand if it is hot the relay is sticking, this could be one of the may problems. also check the under the fuse panel it may have water damage poor connections.
 
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chuck540owner

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If your ground cable to the battery is corroded it won't pass enough current to turn over the engine but everything else might work ok. This is a commonly overlooked problem with older cars. Do the headlights and horn work? If ther do then it's the ground cable.
If not the ground then take off the ground from the battery and put a current meter in series. With everything off youo should measure less then 1 amp. If you measure more then that then you have a short or something is on that shouldn't be. Don't try to start the car or turn anything on or you will blow the fuse in the meter. Isolate the bad circuit by pulling out fuses until the current drops. Radio shack sells a meter for a few bucks that should work. The same meter will tell you if your alternator is charging. Set it up for DC volts and put the leads on the battery terminals + and - and read the volts with the engine off. Then start the car and the voltage should increase to around 14 or 15.
 
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