$1900 lesson - leaving camera plugged in but "off"

[rigdowntex]

2016 M4, still under warranty buttt .......... I found out today I ruined my Lithium Ion car battery by not totally unplugging the camera/radar detector from power. Seems it still draws a minute amount of current after the ignition is off, car is "dark" but it really isn't. Car sensed that there was some current draw and didn't power down all the other systems/sensors in the car and over about a 6 or 8 week period it discharged the battery to the point I was getting battery warning last 3 days. Took it in and they knew what it was, there was a code stating an external device was not letting the system shut down properly. Now 2 plus weeks for new battery. My bad and my 1900 bucks. Also too bad it didn't warn me of what was happening until it was tooooo late, Damn.

[arashir]

you'll want to get a separate battery such as Cellink B and then hardwire it to a fuse so that while your car is off, the camera runs off the side battery, and while your car is on, the side battery recharges

[aBMWfan]

Originally Posted by rigdowntex

2016 M4, still under warranty buttt .......... I found out today I ruined my Lithium Ion car battery by not totally unplugging the camera/radar detector from power. Seems it still draws a minute amount of current after the ignition is off, car is "dark" but it really isn't. Car sensed that there was some current draw and didn't power down all the other systems/sensors in the car and over about a 6 or 8 week period it discharged the battery to the point I was getting battery warning last 3 days. Took it in and they knew what it was, there was a code stating an external device was not letting the system shut down properly. Now 2 plus weeks for new battery. My bad and my 1900 bucks. Also too bad it didn't warn me of what was happening until it was tooooo late, Damn.

Damn which camera set-up did you use?

[pokerface]

Is your set up hardwired to constant source?

[rigdowntex]

No it was hardwired to a connector behind the mirror that switches off when the ignition is off or so I thought. So even though the Escort Max 360 and the add on Escort camera appeared to be off they still put a slight draw on the system to cause other systems/sensor to still be "on" ever so slightly. After this I will disconnect the 4 pin connector that easily unplugs when I done driving.

[TrauCon]

Do you have anything plugged into the obd2 port?

[jpy1980]

Was your escort connected to the mirror like this?

If so, I have my uniden R3 hooked up like that. Should I be concerned? I don't have a dash cam hooked up like that.

[NickyC]

$1900 for a battery, what?!? Highest I've heard is like $1200. Is something else broke too or are the batteries really that much?

Sorry to hear OP, good luck.

[anderson87]

Ah that sucks. Sorry to hear OP.

On a side note which may be a stupid question but does leaving a cigarette lighter phone charger plugged in that has a small light on it drain the battery (without phone connected of course) or does it eventually kill all power to it?

[pokerface]

I’ve had my dashcam plugged by cigarette before. The car shuts that off in 25 minutes or so. I’ve since moved to a battery pack set up - charged by cig socket and manually shut off if I am parked at home.

On my wife’s X3 I hardwired the dashcam, tapped alarm circuit for constant, cig socket circuit for switched. Dashcam switches to parking mode (lower draw) when the cig socket cuts out and has a low voltage cut off.

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by anderson87

Ah that sucks. Sorry to hear OP.

On a side note which may be a stupid question but does leaving a cigarette lighter phone charger plugged in that has a small light on it drain the battery (without phone connected of course) or does it eventually kill all power to it?

The car will eventually turn off the port.

[IB M]

Just imagine when 2015 and 2016 cars start needing new batteries just based on age - gonna be a lot of gnashing of teeth over that $1900, my teeth included.

[SD ///M4]

You need to read my post about discharging my battery: https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...hlight=battery. I thought it was dead and I ruined it.

Are you sure your battery is completely discharged? The battery saving circuitry may have kicked in and prevented it from being completely discharged and it might still be able to be revived. It might be worth getting the CTEK Lithium US that I mentioned in my post and seeing it that can revive it. Certainly worth $100 to try before shelling out for a new battery.

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by IB M

Just imagine when 2015 and 2016 cars start needing new batteries just based on age - gonna be a lot of gnashing of teeth over that $1900, my teeth included.

Not to mention the fact it's taking two weeks for a replacement to arrive? What the heck is that all about? If these cars start dropping quickly around the same time, there could be some tremendously long wait times here for something so ridiculous.

[schrdngrsct]

Thats awful...........

Alternatively from the CelllinkB you can also use the magic pro. You'll need to buy fuse connectors for ~$7 and plug it into the fuse board in the trunk, which you access by lifting up the cover of the trunk liner. I've had mine set up for 3 years to cut off at either 12 hours or once the car gets under something like 11.8 or 12.3, cant remember. I usually get a discharge warning if the car hasn't been running for more than 24 hours, but after 1-2 minutes of driving it clears. My dealer warned me about using this, and it may catch up to me, but for the most part the car protects itself by shutting down secondary features like the puddle lights turning on when you walk up to it, or comfort access won't work the first time until you wake the car up. Again... sorry this happened to you...

https://www.blackvue.com/power-magic-pro/

[BMR DOC]

Hope its not to late but . We have a 2018 that sat since April after a blown engine . Battery was very dead . Charged up battery and still kept getting the faults for battery fatigued and battery discharge warning coming on in the CID . Tried clearing codes a few times and would not clear . Performed the battery replacement ABL on ISTA . And low and behold no more warning and i didn't replace the battery . As far as you camera killing the battery I would be surprised if that is actually what killed it .

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

wait hold up; is my BMS can flap going to cause this. I know different but might as well ask.

sorry op.

[jzhu625]

i think you could've gotten a battery from crashed car, not sure if required program since same battery but used?

[TrauCon]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

You need to read my post about discharging my battery: https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...hlight=battery. I thought it was dead and I ruined it.

Are you sure your battery is completely discharged? The battery saving circuitry may have kicked in and prevented it from being completely discharged and it might still be able to be revived. It might be worth getting the CTEK Lithium US that I mentioned in my post and seeing it that can revive it. Certainly worth $100 to try before shelling out for a new battery.

Same thing happened to me. In my case, I used ISTAD to pull some codes and I did not close the connection properly from the tool before the exit. I then didn't start the car and shut it off as well. What I did after the scanning was plug in my Automatic Gold (a smart obd2 that keep records of my driving) and left for the night. The next morning, I came out and hit the remote button and no beep. I was a little panic as nothing was working. I unlocked the door by the key hole, opened the hood, pulled out the multimeter and it was low. I then realized that modules were running after the scanning, with/or together with the obd2 plugged in. And it drained all the juice.

I jumped start it by a Noco Battery pack (had to put the battery pack to overdrive mode since the F80 battery was so low). It started right up. I went to the dealer and got myself a a BMW branded cteck charger. Went home and plugged it in, jump right to the 3rd light, and moved to the 6th light in 3 hours and then to 7th light.
After the incident, since I have the charger I usually plug it in if I dont drive the car for more than 3 days, even for a weekend.

To OP, I dont think the dashcam/radar can drain your battery as the car cut the power to the Homelink/mirror completely when the car is off.
For the cigarette socket, yes it will be on after the car off but not for long. The car will cut that off as well after some minutes.

Let us know how the new battery is behaving. Your old battery probably is still good.

[Kev608]

Originally Posted by G35POPPEDMYCHERRY

wait hold up; is my BMS can flap going to cause this. I know different but might as well ask.

sorry op.

I accidentally left the Drive Analyzer connected to the OBD port last winter while my car was in storage. Ended up having to buy a new battery. I tried everything to get the battery to charge with no luck.

[Bimmer Pleaser]

can anyone tell me why a new M4 battery costs about $2k? Even with installation and coding it sounds asinine.

[Tangent]

Originally Posted by schrdngrsct

Thats awful...........

Alternatively from the CelllinkB you can also use the magic pro. ...

https://www.blackvue.com/power-magic-pro/

This is exactly what I've been using in my BMWs for years. The only one that gives me any issue at all is my wife's X3 that complains about increased battery discharge if it's not driven for a few days. I've been meaning to reset the PMP to shut off after 12 hours which would take care of that but since the biggest effect is the mildly annoying message it hasn't been a priority...