liyi_92 37 Report post Posted July 1, 2012 (edited) Hi guys, I have a E39 528i Recently (this month or so) with this cold weather my car had a few start ups where the car starts up, but none of the dials or the dash display works. Now today after starting up, parking in a different spot to wash it. It could not restart! When in position 2, the radio, tv, and all the usual works, but when I try to start the car, the head lights flash, and just wont start! I also hear a tick tick tick sound from the front. I checked the battery immediately and found all this yellow stuff (maybe acid? corrosion?) around wher the battery is hooked up. (both positive and negative sides) Please give me advice. Car cannot start and is completely stationary! Thanks Andy Edited July 3, 2012 by andy_e39 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmw335i 16 Report post Posted July 1, 2012 usually tickticktick is the battery telling you its flat, do you have any other car batteries you could change this one with? as for the yellow shizz around your termianls i cant help you there Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted July 1, 2012 Winters always the time for battery failure Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liyi_92 37 Report post Posted July 1, 2012 would it be a bad idea to jump start my car? Taken into account there is that yellow stuff there... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark 178 Report post Posted July 1, 2012 Your battery is poked. You can jumpstart it, but it won't start again on its own because it won't hold a charge. Time to call the AA or drive to your nearest place that sells batteries. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwi535 538 Report post Posted July 1, 2012 the yellow stuff is just a product of electro_ corrosion(my term for it) at the terminals.You can get rid of that with baking soda-water (base) solution that sorta dissolves it.It is acidic though so you need to keep adding your solution until it stops "fizzing" and wash the whole area down with lots of water cos you dont want that stuff lodging anywhere(its corrosive)Once the terminals are nice and clean put everything back together and apply a thin coating of grease or vaseline (to keep the air off) and attempt your jump start.Alternatively you can try giving your battery a good charge making sure it is topped up with water first.However your battery sounds like it had it so it will only be a matter of time before its flat again. In my experience most garages and the AA wont have the correct battery on hand.Its worth getting the proper rated battery for a e39 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liyi_92 37 Report post Posted July 1, 2012 the yellow stuff is just a product of electro_ corrosion(my term for it) at the terminals.You can get rid of that with baking soda-water (base) solution that sorta dissolves it.It is acidic though so you need to keep adding your solution until it stops "fizzing" and wash the whole area down with lots of water cos you dont want that stuff lodging anywhere(its corrosive)Once the terminals are nice and clean put everything back together and apply a thin coating of grease or vaseline (to keep the air off) and attempt your jump start.Alternatively you can try giving your battery a good charge making sure it is topped up with water first.However your battery sounds like it had it so it will only be a matter of time before its flat again. In my experience most garages and the AA wont have the correct battery on hand.Its worth getting the proper rated battery for a e39 sorry I am noob about these things. Should I unplug both the terminals before washing down? If I remember correctly disconnect Black (negative) first then the red (positive)? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hotwire 352 Report post Posted July 1, 2012 No need to disconnect the battery first. Boiling water poured over the terminals will dissolve the corosion. (makes less mess than baking soda too). Then disconnect & clean the contact points too. Plenty of boiling water poured slowly over the connections is the answer. Make sure you completely remove all water from the compartment afterwards. (can't remember offhand if there is a drain plug in there). Best practice to disconnect neg first (not essential but safer if you were to short the spanner) Does sound like a battery/connection fault, best go to a sparky & get things checked. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2132 Report post Posted July 1, 2012 i think dissconnecing it would be a good idea? wouldnt water short the terminals out? id rather not take the risk with bmw electrics Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liyi_92 37 Report post Posted July 1, 2012 Alright, cleaned up the mess, removed old battery. Asking the wise men on this topic a last time. Are batteries plug and play? Like I take my battery into a place such as super cheap auto or such and get them to find me one with same specifications, take it home and put the new battery in how I took the old battery out (but connecting positive first) ? Thanks guys Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hybrid 1043 Report post Posted July 2, 2012 e39 takes DIN88, anything less and youll have other wierd goings on like gearbox limp mode or not enough grunt to start. Gavin @ euro italian (forum sponsor) stocks them for a good prices. edit: just realised youre in CHCH not ak. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oscar90 0 Report post Posted July 2, 2012 try find a mate in the trade or retail where they get discount, batteries have huge mark ups. my din battery for the 540i e39 cost like 240 or 290...cant really remember cause it was winter and i'd been in auckland for 2 weeks and needed the bloody car to move, but that was at COST from a hook up Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liyi_92 37 Report post Posted July 2, 2012 Replace battery today. $252 for battery and $37 for labour so $290 total. The guy started off convincing me to try buy a $700 battery, after saying no he recommended me to buy a $500+ battery. Already felt he was trying to rip me off so told him I'm a student and ask for the lowest price. The battery they put in is slightly smaller than the one they took out so I asked them twice if it would run good. They confirmed it was ok. Will see how it goes. For the time being start up and all electronics seem good Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hotwire 352 Report post Posted July 2, 2012 Replace battery today. $252 for battery and $37 for labour so $290 total. The guy started off convincing me to try buy a $700 battery, after saying no he recommended me to buy a $500+ battery. Already felt he was trying to rip me off so told him I'm a student and ask for the lowest price. The battery they put in is slightly smaller than the one they took out so I asked them twice if it would run good. They confirmed it was ok. Will see how it goes. For the time being start up and all electronics seem good As Josh said, it should have a DIN 85 or 88 (number depending on manufacturer) - it should NOT be smaller, why would BMW put in a battery bigger than required? They (the person supplying) obviously has no idea what they are on about. Especially when starting at $700 - WTF? Even from BMW the correct battery is nowhere near that. I suspect for that price they put in a DIN 66 which is undesized for the application. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hotwire 352 Report post Posted July 2, 2012 i think dissconnecing it would be a good idea? wouldnt water short the terminals out? id rather not take the risk with bmw electrics Nup, not at all. It's not going into electronics around the battery. And reason for not disconnecting initially is that it is easier to clean the bulk of the crap off while terminals are connected to the posts. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liyi_92 37 Report post Posted July 3, 2012 Out of question, is din 85 * din88 standard for all e39? so a 520i, 525i, 528i, 540i all use the same battery? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
