E60 540i, oddball issue

[Chrisblob 3]

Hey all, yesterday my 2006 E60 540i with the N62B40TU V8 decided to throw an error on the screen and cut power while I was on the on ramp to a motorway - initially a message about a transmission fault popped up on iDrive, then after cycling the power I got a oil sensor fault pop up - all the while the car wouldn't start. So I called a towie and kept investigating while I waited. When the towie dropped me and the car to my place I had to get in the car to put it in neutral - at that point the car started and popped an engine fault on the iDrive screen warning me that it was in low power mode but could be driven slowly. I bought a cheap Tool PRO OBD2 scanner, and while it couldn't see any error codes I did notice on the live data streams that the battery voltage was around 11.3V while the engine was off - obviously way too low. So I'll get a new battery (the current one is around 5.5 years old), but really could it be that simple? All those error codes triggered by a crappy battery? Has anyone else running an E60 like the 540i or 550i encountered a similar issue, and solved it with a new battery?

Cheers, Chris W, Chch

[Vass 702]

It very well could be as simple as the battery needing replacing. E60-era cars are notoriously capricious when it come to battery voltages, many modules and sensors tend to go haywire when the battery isn't holding enough power. With your symptoms seemingly being all over the place, I'd suspect it to be the culprit. Worth replacing before going any further anyway.

Keep in mind you might need to register the new battery to the car, especially if the new battery isn't exactly the same spec. The scanner you bought might very well be capable of doing it, just dig through the options on it.

[Chrisblob 3]

3 hours ago, Vass said:

It very well could be as simple as the battery needing replacing. E60-era cars are notoriously capricious when it come to battery voltages, many modules and sensors tend to go haywire when the battery isn't holding enough power. With your symptoms seemingly being all over the place, I'd suspect it to be the culprit. Worth replacing before going any further anyway.

Keep in mind you might need to register the new battery to the car, especially if the new battery isn't exactly the same spec. The scanner you bought might very well be capable of doing it, just dig through the options on it.

Cheers for the info, I'm hopeful that battery is all it is. The scanner I bought specifically says it cannot do battery registration - it was only $150 from SCA so I wasn't expecting much.

Hopefully I can find a suitable battery in Chch - a couple of local battery retailers that allow inputting ones rego plate to help the search have come up either with nothing, or with a battery that for some reason is well short of the 850CCA min that is recommended - if anyone has a recommend for a battery merchant who can supply the suitable battery for the E60 V8's, register it with the car, and maybe even come to me to install it, I'm all ears. 👍

[Vass 702]

Don't have any leads on the batteries themselves but I've got a scanner that should be capable of coding it. Shout out if you run into trouble, I'm also Chch based.

[Chrisblob 3]

On 3/11/2024 at 11:34 AM, Vass said:

Don't have any leads on the batteries themselves but I've got a scanner that should be capable of coding it. Shout out if you run into trouble, I'm also Chch based.

Cheers for the coding offer. I'm still searching for a suitable battery - one outfit has offered a DIN85L with 780CCA for less than $500 but I'm wary of installing anything with a lower than recommended CCA or DIN number, if anyone has any stories re: using a battery with lower rating than recommended I'd be keen to hear their experiences 👍

Cheers

[treone 612]

My 2c - don’t scrimp on a battery. Just replaced the one in my e60 m5 with a Varta AGM, had it coded, and it is a happy chappie... for now 😎

[aja540i 1896]

I think I am on my third battery in the M5,  but definately worth paying more for the correct size, these cars do a heap of stuff that requires battery power aside from starting the engine! I got my first one at BMW but when it needed the second one the prices had all gone a bit crazy so I got that somewhere else and had it coded, I also upgraded the bms cable at the same time, not sure it has made any difference.

[Spinner99 53]

I now have a Varta H15 in the E61 550 and the car is so much happier for it.  (Thank you  @Jun )    I'd definitely buy another the same if I needed a new battery.

Re your transmission issue it could be the battery. I had something similar that happened only once and while the battery was in a low charge state.  I was driving along and was going up a bridge that crosses a railway track and all of a sudden there was a massive bang that nearly resulted in an unplanned #2's event on my part.  There was an error that came up on the Idrive that I *think* was about DSC but my memory could be failing me on that.  Unfortunately I couldn't quite coast it over the top of the bridge   .  Once stopped I put it in Park, and I also can't remember if I turned the car off or not but eventually I selected Drive again and off it went and I continued my way home.  That was over a year ago now.  That same day I purchased a battery charger and I use it when I think it's needed and the same thing has never happened again.  FYI I do have the LCI with electronic shift so that might be a variable.