[asonntag]

Not sure what is going on with my E92, but would like to try and get some kind of idea before it happens again and I'm stranded.

This morning as I'm driving down my street to the get to the main road the sound on my radio went out. The radio was still on, but no sound. I tried changing the station, switching to CD, the displayed changed for each item, but still no sound. Then, as I'm pulling up to the stop sign my traction light comes on and off, then my brake light and ABS light come on. Now that I'm sitting at the stop sign I decide to try to restart my car to fix whatever issue is going on. I shut the car off and it would not restart, there was absolutely no power in the car. I couldn't even turn the hazards on.

Thinking my keyfob might be dead (even though I just replaced the battery a month ago), I leave my car and run back to my house to get the spare key. As I'm running back to the car I notice the tail lights are on and when I open the door the radio is playing....

Car started right away and hasn't had another problem all day. One thing I did notice once it restarted is the clock was blank, like when you disconnect the battery. I had the battery replaced a month about 2 months ago, so I doubt it has anything to do with that.

WTF could be going on with this thing? Could the battery have a loose connection? If so, what would cause the sound on the radio to stop, but the radio still be on? And the traction, ABS and brake light?

[UKBasketball]

Have you had the battery cable recall taken care of?

[asonntag]

Originally Posted by UKBasketball

Have you had the battery cable recall taken care of?

I was not aware of the recall. I just bought the car about 3 months ago. I'll call the dealership and see if they have a record of it.

[ctuna]

Sounds like your battery is low
Loosing your clock is what happens when the battery is to
low also the IBS system in the car can turn what is considers
to be unnecessary loads off to keep the car running.
There is a recall out on the battery cable connector at the fuse
box also for 07 onward but the symptom of that is no power at
all and the car doesn't start or suddenly stops running with the power
dead.
The battery life is about 6 years maximum on these.
Also if you do short drives or don't drive much the
battery can go flat as these cars are battery hogs.
You may need a battery tender if you fall into the use pattern described above.

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

Did the battery get registered?
You need to read the resting and running voltage
to see if the battery voltage is good and the alternator is working . It should be 12.4 to 12.6 for the battery and about 14.5 running.

[sandjam]

Originally Posted by asonntag

I was not aware of the recall. I just bought the car about 3 months ago. I'll call the dealership and see if they have a record of it.

Yeah make sure you check and it has been done. Its where the cable connects to the fuse box, behind your glove box. I saw one article on a 3 Series that caught on fire because of the bad connection for the battery cable recall and the car was parked and locked in the garage. It doesn't even have to be running. Others have had their fuse box melted. Some just had an intermittent loss of electrical power. The sooner it is done the better, don't wait. BMWs don't have those kind of crazy electrical issues show up unless there is very low or interrupted power from the battery. I'm on my 3rd BMW and they have never had just general electrical gremlins. There is always a very specific reason.

[SpeedBuggy]

Link to Battery Cable Connector Recall:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=804545

[JTILAK07]

If it's not the battery or a loose cable it could be your alternator might be going slowly.

[NGEE]

Definitely sounds like the recall.

[asonntag]

I agree it sounds like the recall. I just called the dealership and gave them my VIN and they said the recall doesn't cover my year (2007). So it's going in for service next Monday.