[k9baddog]

My battery recently died in my 2013 328i Sedan (F30). Encountered numerous problems after successfully jump starting car. Problems included:
Speedometer not working. USB port disabled and would not charge phone.
Warning messages: Drivetrain failure; Air Bag Malfunction, etc. The turn signal would not deactivate after completing turn.
I drove car to dealer and had new battery installed. All of the problems remain and the dealer is currently trouble shooting. Dealer says they are unable to communicated ith OBD to clear the faults and it appears appears they are
guessing at possible cause of problem.
Has anyone ever heard of this? Could it be fuses were blown during the jump starting of the car? Any help would be approciated

[natesi]

hmm... not sure.

But how did you jump it? Using the hot terminal under the hood, or did you hook things up directly to the battery?

[k9baddog]

Used hot terminal under hood. None of the problems were present before the dead battery and jump start.

[Bmwman325]

You might have blown a fuse or breaker that is controlling a fuse box

[bigfelix170]

Have the same problem. I was told terminal 15 might be bad. So I'm buying s used front fuse box for cheap.if that font work I'll buy the start/stop button. Pretty cheap options before I take it to a thief mechanic

[k9baddog]

Update: Dealer concluded 4 component failures: 1. Dead Battery (7 years old); 2. Instrument Cluster had short in it that would not allow car to go to sleep and caused a small voltage drain on battery.; 3. FEM (Front Electronic Module) failure; 4. DSC (Dynamic System Control) Module failure.
Conclusion: Instrument Cluster drained the batery while car sat idle for 2 weeks.
A voltage spike occurred during jump start of car causing FEM and DSC to Fail.

After newly installed DSC and FEM, the numerous error messages were gone and the tech could communicate with on board computer. After new instrument panel installed, the low voltage drain disappeared and car would go to sleep. Diagnostics, troubleshooting, and repair took 2 weeks. This was a very expensive repair. Don't think i will ever jump start a BMW again.

[natesi]

Thanks for the update. Yeah, that does sound mega expensive.

What a strange issue. Honestly, it sounds like they were just throwing parts at it, and making you pay for it. I'm not a mechanic, but it's hard for me to believe that many components could blow up all at once, unless something went horribly wrong with the jump -- like the polarity was reversed, or something.

My other question is, what are you supposed to do in the future, if you suspect your battery is low? Not try jumping it? I mean, that's one of the first things anyone is going to think to try -- especially if they are stranded or have somewhere to be.

Did they say you did something wrong during the jump?

Much thanks,

[Billfitz]

A jump start only provides to the car from an external source the same voltage that normally is provided by the battery, so there's no way it will cause damage.

[Jam101jam]

Then how did it blow?

Curious how much it cost at the dealer if you don't mind me asking?

[Enabled]

There wouldn't be a problem with jump starting... Unless the leads were accidentally switched, or there was a high over voltage condition. This is definitely an unusual exception.

Switching ground to +12V would cause something like this.. complete with multiple electronics fried. But since we weren't there, it's difficult to tell.

[agentorange]

Originally Posted by Enabled

There wouldn't be a problem with jump starting... Unless the leads were accidentally switched, or there was a high over voltage condition. This is definitely an unusual exception.

Switching ground to +12V would cause something like this.. complete with multiple electronics fried. But since we weren't there, it's difficult to tell.

I concur with the +12V on the ground theory. You may guess how I know.

[bimmer456]

If you use the post under the hood it should be fine unless you reversed the plugs

[AlpineX]

Also keep the ignition fully off until everything is hooked up

[Beek]

I was taught the proper way to jump one vehicle to another is connect the cables and let some juice flow, then turn off the vehicle providing power to prevent two alternators from pushing juice at each other.

[rak299]

I agree that it sounds like reversed cables on jump

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by Beek

I was taught the proper way to jump one vehicle to another is connect the cables and let some juice flow, then turn off the vehicle providing power to prevent two alternators from pushing juice at each other.

Close. You connect the two cars, then start the good one. Let the second car run for a bit, which will allow the alternator of the second car to get some charge into the battery of the first car. In severe cases it might even help to disconnect the battery of the first car, so it doesn't just suck up all the juice from the second car, not leaving enough left over to start the first car. When the first car is started remove the jumpers, and then reconnect the battery if you had disconnected it. The two alternators aren't going to push juice at each other, that's not how parallel power sources work.

I agree that it sounds like reversed cables on jump

If that had been the case the first car wouldn't have started.

[Enabled]

What usually happens is attempting to connect, sparks fly, then the leads get swapped around to actually start the car.
Especially when there is a helper involved.

[natesi]

I guess the OP has abandon the thread -- not answering any questions.

[upsidedownfunnel]

Connection order is most important, especially if one or both of your cars has a battery under the hood and not remote posts like many modern cars do. Strictly following this order also helps to avoid confusion and reversing polarity.
1) positive on positive battery terminal of bad car
2) positive on positive battery terminal of good car
3) negative on negative battery terminal of good car
4) good ground point on chassis as far away from battery as possible on bad car (to avoid sparks near battery). You might see a small spark when connecting to chassis to confirm you have a good connection. This has to be bare metal. On BMWs, you can just use the negative post bolted to the chassis under the hood.

Then:
5) Start good car.
6) Wait 30 seconds or so and start the bad car. If it doesn't start, wait a couple minutes and try again. Revving the good car to 2000-2500 RPM will help get the alternator running at a higher capacity and charge the dead battery a bit more quickly.

Then disconnect in the opposite order they were connected in. Start and stop on bad car starting with the chassis connection and ending with bad car's positive terminal. This also makes it easy to do safely with one person.

[upsidedownfunnel]

Originally Posted by Beek

I was taught the proper way to jump one vehicle to another is connect the cables and let some juice flow, then turn off the vehicle providing power to prevent two alternators from pushing juice at each other.

That's actually not a thing. Starting the dead car while the donor car is still running and connected is fine. The biggest risk is if you connect or disconnect the jumper cables while one or both cars is running. However, it's not alway feasible to stop the dead car, disconnect cables, then start it up again. So really you just want to disconnect the cables while both cars are still running. Making sure HVAC, headlights, and any other potential electrical loads are off will minimize risk.

[k9baddog]

Dealership worked with me on cost. Following is Component List Price (Discounted Insurance Co Price).
Battery - $245 (N/A)
FEM - $765 ($685)
DSC - $1374 ($1192)
Instrument Cluster - $1547 ($1222)

Dealer only charged standard labor rate for Battery install and Instrument Cluster install. Dealer waived labor cost on FEM and DSC. Labor Cost:
Battery - $246
Cluster - $580

Dealer charged me the discounted price for all parts. I filed an insurance claim and my comprehensive coverage reimbursed for FEM and DSC as it was determined it was a sudden failure caused by voltage spike from jump start. Battery and cluster were out of pocket.

I agree with all that comment about suspected human error with cable hook up and procedure, but I cannot confirm any error was made. This was costly, but dealership treated me well and insurance eased the pain.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by upsidedownfunnel

The biggest risk is if you connect or disconnect the jumper cables while one or both cars is running.

There's no risk there either, unless you touch the jumper cable ends to each other or hook them up backwards. I have seen people manage to do that, even though logic dictates that the red and black cable clamps should connect to the red and black battery/charging posts respectively. After being started the car that was jumped has to be left running, the battery isn't going to charge sufficiently in less than a half hour or so to start it again if you turn it off.

I agree with all that comment about suspected human error with cable hook up and procedure, but I cannot confirm any error was made.

You'd really have to mess up to do that damage, and it probably would have been accompanied by sparks and smoke, if not flames. My bet is that whatever killed the battery in the first place also killed the modules.