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      10-17-2021, 10:10 PM   #1
AmmarYasirA
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Battery Dead with Battery Tender??

Ok so a little background, car has been on a battery tender since July. Haven't had much time to start it/take it out as I haven't been home much and just been generally pretty busy.

But a few weeks back I noticed the battery tender was blinking red (battery not charging).

Its happened in the past and thought it was just a fluke (thought I might not have connected it properly) but it was still under warranty so I had it replaced when it happened the first time. (I forgot where i got it from exactly but it was a recommended battery on the sticky).

This time it was late at night and the store was closed so i figured i would jump it and see what was up.

Car started up fine with a jump, no funny business but traction control light was on. Didn't think much of it. Waited about 20 or so minutes before I took it out and it was feeling nice so I put the top down, rolled the windows down annnnndddd poof. car is dead. tried to start it up again, no lights come on. Its as if the battery is completely dead.

Tried jumping it again, waited a few minutes for it to let it charge up and still nothing. Cabin lights and radio come on but car doesn't start.

Someone help me out. wtf is going on. I need to get it serviced soon anyways but Id rather not need to tow it there. Then again I don't want to be at a light, roll down my windows and my car die.
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      10-18-2021, 06:29 AM   #2
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Sounds like your battery might be toast. I find that if the car isn't driven much then the batteries don't seem to last as long as my DD.
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      10-18-2021, 11:05 AM   #3
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Battery will die even when on a battery tender. Mine lasted 7 years.

Because it died you will get low voltage error codes and others when battery is replaced. Even though initially I had no codes when it was replaced, after driving for 10-20 min I got codes. I stopped and turned off car for a minute and restarted. Did this on two further episodes and then car was ok. You might need to clear codes with software though.
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      10-18-2021, 07:06 PM   #4
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Fair enough but the battery is barely a year old. Faulty battery? Doesn’t seem right.
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      10-18-2021, 07:47 PM   #5
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A battery tender's red light will flash if connected to a battery that has a less than 3 volt charge (the other time it'll flash is when it's not correctly connected as you mentioned). Get the battery fully charged. Then have it load tested to insure it is a good battery. If it's good, the next thing would be to check if there's an abnormally large key off electrical draw..
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      10-19-2021, 04:28 PM   #6
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Check your alternator voltage output…. You could have issues there.
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      10-27-2021, 03:38 PM   #7
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Quick update: Got it jumped again somehow, took a second but it started up. Waited a while for it to charge up, even took it out for a little drive. Lights on the dash seemed to go on and off but the battery light didn't come on. Brought it back inside, got the battery tender hooked up again, turned off the car and same thing happened again, dead (no interior lights on, no beeping, nothing). Battery tender was showing it was charging for a while but I turned the key to the "on" position and battery tender then started flashing again saying it wasn't charging.

If I have time this weekend Ill take the battery back to the store and see what they say. I don't know where my multimeter is but if I find it ill try and see what the alternator readings are and report back.

Hopefully its just a battery issue not a car issue. If issue persists I'll just have it towed to my BMW tech and see what's up. I wish I had the time to fix all this myself but I just can't seem to get any time off.
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      10-29-2021, 04:47 PM   #8
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What brand battery tender are you using? I swear by CTEK -- they probably saved me from having to put a battery in my E93. I bought the car with a weak battery, hooked it up to the CTEK and let it do its battery recovery thing. Took a long time! Days and days. But it was winter and I didn't care. That battery is still in the car, knock wood.
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      03-25-2022, 09:51 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wdb View Post
What brand battery tender are you using? I swear by CTEK -- they probably saved me from having to put a battery in my E93. I bought the car with a weak battery, hooked it up to the CTEK and let it do its battery recovery thing. Took a long time! Days and days. But it was winter and I didn't care. That battery is still in the car, knock wood.
Where you plug your CTEK ?
Battery directly in the trunk or under the hood jump start connectors ?
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      03-26-2022, 12:34 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lanoipat View Post
Where you plug your CTEK ?
Battery directly in the trunk or under the hood jump start connectors ?
Either way will work. Use whichever you have best access to. I personally have been using a CTEK connected to the jump post under the hood for the past 10+ years. I've also use the cigarette lighter socket on occasion as well.
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      03-26-2022, 12:05 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lanoipat View Post
Where you plug your CTEK ?
Battery directly in the trunk or under the hood jump start connectors ?
I originally used the jump posts but recently I took the time to install the CTEK connectors on all my cars that use a tender. Super convenient.
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      03-26-2022, 04:21 PM   #12
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Thanks guys !
I won't use the Z4 for more a month .
I have only used my CTEK to recharge the battery on my other DD car (2010 S4 with original Battery)
Never used it as a Tender .
Going to try it .
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