Battery Discharge Rate High?

MIE91 · 11-12-2018, 03:09 PM

I've owned my e91 for 5 months, during this time periodically i have gotten CC-415 "Battery Discharge Rate High" code.

I've since replaced the battery with a new OEM battery which was done at the dealership. They registered the new battery.

I still receive the code occasionally even with the new battery.

Others have a similar issue? What fixed it?

Edit:
Solved with replacing a new battery.

bmw335ie90 · 11-12-2018, 05:04 PM

It could be a faulty IBS module (if your car has one), or more likely a parasitic drain of some sort (maybe a module that isn't going to sleep correctly). On my e39 I disconnected my negative terminal and hooked up a multi-meter in series to measure the amperage. Once the car goes to sleep you start pulling fuses one by one until the amperage dropped significantly. Then you have to figure out what modules are connected to that fuse, in my case it was a faulty LCM. I would assume you could do something similar with the e90

cdm244@gmail.com · 11-13-2018, 06:30 PM

Battery issues seem way too common on our cars - and this with a huge 54 lbs battery properly sited in the trunk (correct for weight balance of course but also no hideous under hood heat - should last longer, etc.). Normal parasitic draw in sleep state is 10 - 20 ma - dependent on equipment (so 1/100 to 1/50 of an amp). Draw loss is the same locked or unlocked but in locked state the system reaches its sleep mode more quickly - I have a 2011 and mine goes to sleep (start button backlight off) in about 15 seconds locked and 1 minute unlocked. In my experience the battery loses about .01 volt per day - so if you start at a nice 12.4 v you should be able to still start the car 40 days later with 12.0 v available. Personally I wouldn't go this long - figuring on a month as the maximum (I had mine drop to 11.9 v once when doing work on the car and it would not crank at that voltage) (not sure how the IBS is intended to function but in that case it did not shut down secondary loads to conserve starting reserve). Be careful of doing battery checks in the trunk - I have a 2011 with no mechanical key so any voltage loss prevents the truck from opening. To check parasitic draw without having the trunk open - which also prevents sleep mode (but with hood open since the hood - at least on LCI's - has no open/close switches so sleep mode initiates correctly):

> take a healthy extra battery
> hook it up to under hood jump connector - as if doing a jump start
> let the system sit for a few hours to allow both batteries to equalize in voltage (since one might start a 12.4 and one at 12.2)
> put your meter between the jump battery negative and vehicle ground
> current reading in ma will be 1/2 the actual parasitic draw - because two batteries in parallel at equal voltage will share any load pulled off the pair
(hopefully you should get a reading on only a few ma meaning that your draw is within normal range)

ctuna · 11-13-2018, 08:06 PM

If you are not driving it enough or only driving it short
distances you need a battery tender.

If you have added aftermarket equipment you need to
be sure it's turned off when the car goes to sleep.

Lots of things can cause the car not to go to sleep .
Like paired cell phones in range . Key fobs in range.
or doors and trunks being open.

electical e90 pdf
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.cGU&cad=rja
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...85464276,d.cGU
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...85464276,d.cGU

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...15&postcount=6

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...hlight=battery

MIE91 · 11-19-2018, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctuna

If you are not driving it enough or only driving it short
distances you need a battery tender.

If you have added aftermarket equipment you need to
be sure it's turned off when the car goes to sleep.

Lots of things can cause the car not to go to sleep .
Like paired cell phones in range . Key fobs in range.
or doors and trunks being open.

electical e90 pdf
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.cGU&cad=rja
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...85464276,d.cGU
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...85464276,d.cGU

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...15&postcount=6

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...hlight=battery

Wow really good info. Thanks for this!!

looks like my 7mi trip to work and back isnt enough to give the battery a full charge, seems to be common.

Pladi · 11-19-2018, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MIE91

Wow really good info. Thanks for this!!

looks like my 7mi trip to work and back isnt enough to give the battery a full charge, seems to be common.

Honestly i dont think thats your issue. My trip to work is very short. Never seen such errors. I also scan the car often for other monitoring. Never even seen it as an inactive code.

MIE91 · 11-19-2018, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pladi

Honestly i dont think thats your issue. My trip to work is very short. Never seen such errors. I also scan the car often for other monitoring. Never even seen it as an inactive code.

Hmm,,

Is it highway? I do about 4 miles at 35mph and 3 at 50.

Pladi · 11-19-2018, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MIE91

Hmm,,

Is it highway? I do about 4 miles at 35mph and 3 at 50.

Regardless. Fast discharge rate code does not equal not charging very often. Those are two different things. You can have a car with very low battery voltage and that doesn't mean its discharging quickly. Discharging quickly means something is drawing more current than it should. Has nothing to do with how often/long the battery charges. (which is how far/often you drive. )

nissubaru · 11-19-2018, 08:28 PM

Check your ground cables. If your grounds have gone bad your battery will struggle to get a charge. Easy way to do this is with a multimeter. Put the positive/red lead on the alternator output and then the negative/black lead on at least two metal parts of the car somewhere. The engine block and a strut brace bolts are what I used. Keep reading to understand why you want to use two different metal parts.

My dumb ass replaced the battery and the alternator only to discover it was a $10 ground cable. When I did the multimeter test to check my alternator I used the strut brace bolts as my ground. This gave me weak readings indicating a bad alternator, or so I thought. Eventually I checked with the multimeter again but this time I just so happened to use the engine block as my ground but I was seeing perfect voltages.

Long story short, the engine block is connected to the alternator much more directly than the battery and its well grounded. I believe it's connected via the starter but I could be wrong. Anyways, the strut brace bolts are connected to the chassis which is what the ground cable is for. Without this functioning properly you'll have a weak ground and therefore a weak charge. Idk how or why the battery relies on this ground but I can tell you with 100% certainty my multimeter readings at the strut brace and ultimately my battery were perfect after replacing the ground with a $10 eBay marine ground cable.

11-12-2018, 03:09 PM	#1
MIE91 New Member 2 Rep 15 Posts Drives: '11 E91 6MT Xdrive Join Date: May 2018 Location: Detroit iTrader: (0)	Battery Discharge Rate High? I've owned my e91 for 5 months, during this time periodically i have gotten CC-415 "Battery Discharge Rate High" code. I've since replaced the battery with a new OEM battery which was done at the dealership. They registered the new battery. I still receive the code occasionally even with the new battery. Others have a similar issue? What fixed it? Edit: Solved with replacing a new battery. Last edited by MIE91; 05-07-2019 at 12:44 PM.. Reason: solved
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11-12-2018, 05:04 PM	#2
bmw335ie90 Lieutenant 534 Rep 432 Posts Drives: 2011 335i M Sport Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Norcal iTrader: (0)	It could be a faulty IBS module (if your car has one), or more likely a parasitic drain of some sort (maybe a module that isn't going to sleep correctly). On my e39 I disconnected my negative terminal and hooked up a multi-meter in series to measure the amperage. Once the car goes to sleep you start pulling fuses one by one until the amperage dropped significantly. Then you have to figure out what modules are connected to that fuse, in my case it was a faulty LCM. I would assume you could do something similar with the e90
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11-13-2018, 06:30 PM	#3
cdm244@gmail.com cdmontgomery 0 Rep 17 Posts Drives: 2011 E90/N51 6MT Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Washington DC iTrader: (0)	Battery issues seem way too common on our cars - and this with a huge 54 lbs battery properly sited in the trunk (correct for weight balance of course but also no hideous under hood heat - should last longer, etc.). Normal parasitic draw in sleep state is 10 - 20 ma - dependent on equipment (so 1/100 to 1/50 of an amp). Draw loss is the same locked or unlocked but in locked state the system reaches its sleep mode more quickly - I have a 2011 and mine goes to sleep (start button backlight off) in about 15 seconds locked and 1 minute unlocked. In my experience the battery loses about .01 volt per day - so if you start at a nice 12.4 v you should be able to still start the car 40 days later with 12.0 v available. Personally I wouldn't go this long - figuring on a month as the maximum (I had mine drop to 11.9 v once when doing work on the car and it would not crank at that voltage) (not sure how the IBS is intended to function but in that case it did not shut down secondary loads to conserve starting reserve). Be careful of doing battery checks in the trunk - I have a 2011 with no mechanical key so any voltage loss prevents the truck from opening. To check parasitic draw without having the trunk open - which also prevents sleep mode (but with hood open since the hood - at least on LCI's - has no open/close switches so sleep mode initiates correctly): > take a healthy extra battery > hook it up to under hood jump connector - as if doing a jump start > let the system sit for a few hours to allow both batteries to equalize in voltage (since one might start a 12.4 and one at 12.2) > put your meter between the jump battery negative and vehicle ground > current reading in ma will be 1/2 the actual parasitic draw - because two batteries in parallel at equal voltage will share any load pulled off the pair (hopefully you should get a reading on only a few ma meaning that your draw is within normal range)
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11-13-2018, 08:06 PM	#4
ctuna Lieutenant General 1911 Rep 13,103 Posts Drives: 325xi 06 wagon MT Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Santa Cruz, Ca iTrader: (0)	If you are not driving it enough or only driving it short distances you need a battery tender. If you have added aftermarket equipment you need to be sure it's turned off when the car goes to sleep. Lots of things can cause the car not to go to sleep . Like paired cell phones in range . Key fobs in range. or doors and trunks being open. electical e90 pdf http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.cGU&cad=rja http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...85464276,d.cGU http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...85464276,d.cGU http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...15&postcount=6 http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...hlight=battery Last edited by ctuna; 11-13-2018 at 08:12 PM..
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11-19-2018, 08:28 PM	#9
nissubaru Lieutenant 233 Rep 564 Posts Drives: 09 335i MSport + 1990 300ZX TT Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Philadelphia iTrader: (0)	Check your ground cables. If your grounds have gone bad your battery will struggle to get a charge. Easy way to do this is with a multimeter. Put the positive/red lead on the alternator output and then the negative/black lead on at least two metal parts of the car somewhere. The engine block and a strut brace bolts are what I used. Keep reading to understand why you want to use two different metal parts. My dumb ass replaced the battery and the alternator only to discover it was a $10 ground cable. When I did the multimeter test to check my alternator I used the strut brace bolts as my ground. This gave me weak readings indicating a bad alternator, or so I thought. Eventually I checked with the multimeter again but this time I just so happened to use the engine block as my ground but I was seeing perfect voltages. Long story short, the engine block is connected to the alternator much more directly than the battery and its well grounded. I believe it's connected via the starter but I could be wrong. Anyways, the strut brace bolts are connected to the chassis which is what the ground cable is for. Without this functioning properly you'll have a weak ground and therefore a weak charge. Idk how or why the battery relies on this ground but I can tell you with 100% certainty my multimeter readings at the strut brace and ultimately my battery were perfect after replacing the ground with a $10 eBay marine ground cable.
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