help, my bimmer is dead

[vgame64]

I have a 525i from 95 and everything that requires battery power wont work. The car won't start at all, no reaction when I turn the key, no symboles, no brake lights, no nothing.

I looked at my interior light and it looks like I left it on could a jump solve this?

[DanH]

Try to jump it see if it works. You may need a new battery if the interior light drained it, unless the light was on a long time and it is very cold weather.

[SRR2]

It's not necessarily a good idea to jump a totally dead battery -- if it's damaged with shorted cells the resulting overcurrent could explode one or more cells. You'd be better off with a 6A charger that you can let on overnight. Take the battery out of the car to charge it in case it has been damaged by sulfation. Put it somewhere safe, away from the house and any living things. If it charges OK overnight you should be good to go. You'll need to reset the clock and code the radio. The engine will run like crap for a while until the ECU readapts.

[SRR2]

Do not jump it. See my other post.

[vgame64]

Yeah its real cold weather

[vgame64]

can anyone post directions on how to remove the battery?

[632 Regal]

its under the back seat and its a pretty straight forward project. you might even be better off to grab a new battery for the 65 bux at autozone or wherever.

[Jay 535i]

its under the back seat and its a pretty straight forward project. you might even be better off to grab a new battery for the 65 bux at autozone or wherever.

That can't hurt. It's about the same price as a battery charger if you don't already have one.

I've been told that once a battery's been run down to zero it's done for good. I don't know how true that is, though. The guy was trying to sell me a battery at the time

[vgame64]

Does the new battery come charged? Thanks

[DanH]

Sure that could happen srr2. I've seen the loss of a cell occur on a newer battery from driving with a failing alternator. I don't know about from a low wattage light bulb though. Just to be safe use a multimeter to test the battery voltage and see how dead it really is. If you charge the battery and it wont go much higher than 10V then there is a bad cell. (6 cells * 2.1V/cell nominal = 12.6V) Get a new one.

Also, when a car battery is severely discharged in cold weather the liquid inside may freeze up.

Usually when i jump a car I'll leave the cables connected for sometime to the dead car before attempting to start it, that way the battery will charge up. You should never connect the neg batt cable to the dead battery, it could create a spark an ignite the hydrogen gas from a sulfating battery, which happens at charging voltages of > 14.4V on a good battery, so > 12V on one with a shorted cell.

Basic Jumping procedure to minimize risk of explosion:
1. Pos cable to dead car batt.
2. pos cable to good car batt.
3. neg cable to dead car large metal part, keep away from rotating parts
4. neg cable to good car batt.
5. wait for a few minutes while good car is running, charging the battery
6. attempt to start dead car.

If the battery is 4 or 5 or more years old you're better off buying a new one than attempting to revive this one that'll die again when you are out on a cold night with nowhere to go. Its cheaper than a towtruck.

It's not necessarily a good idea to jump a totally dead battery -- if it's damaged with shorted cells the resulting overcurrent could explode one or more cells. You'd be better off with a 6A charger that you can let on overnight. Take the battery out of the car to charge it in case it has been damaged by sulfation. Put it somewhere safe, away from the house and any living things. If it charges OK overnight you should be good to go. You'll need to reset the clock and code the radio. The engine will run like crap for a while until the ECU readapts.