Battery not recharging when car is not running

2001 BMW 740
160,000 MILES
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JAMES GREEN2
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
Something is draining my battery dashboard lights up, automatic door unlock works. Battery is not all the way dead with a jump starts it starts right up.
Jul 4, 2016 at 1:28 AM
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CJ MEDEVAC
  • CAR REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
  • 11,004 POSTS
I thought we had a "parasitic drain" article on our site, I could not find it.

Never the less, I am going give you one example of something that causes this (your cause may be different, but a "draw" is a "draw") See my answer in this link.

https://www.2carpros.com/questions/1989-ford-tempo-98-tempo-bran-new-battery-shut-car-off-didn-t-days-now

Go to "You Tube" and put "parasitic drain" in the search box.

You are going to find many videos on the subject, look at a few, some are going explain things better and have better camera shots and some may use different tools and meters to find the problem. Maybe one will 'have it all' to include the tooling you may already possess.

Return with an update

Should you narrow down the circuit (along with the fuse # and its location) I may be able to acquire a wire diagram for the circuit so you can see what is on/in that particular circuit.

Should you need a diagram, the info above for your vehicle is not in depth enough for me to find it in "Prodemand". If you can send your VIN number it would help me out a bunch.

The Medic
Jul 4, 2016 at 12:55 PM
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