[ChiefOne]

Out of sheer frustration, I took my vehicle to the service center and described the charging problem. Their first reaction was, I may not be charging in the right mode because not all X5 have an AGM battery. Well, I explained to them that I have confirmed the battery type and I am choosing the right mode.

Nonetheless, they took the vehicle in, I was told that they determined that there is an AGM battery in there, they charged it for about an hour, said that the battery is 85% charged now. Sent me home with instructions to connect the charger again within a day or two and see if it charges. If not then probably the charger is not working, exchange the charger and attempt again. They say, they did not find any issues with the system and they don't know what else to suggest.

I will see how the charge status is after a couple of days, but it all looks so messy and frustrating.

[tcbmhell]

Originally Posted by ChiefOne

Out of sheer frustration, I took my vehicle to the service center and described the charging problem. Their first reaction was, I may not be charging in the right mode because not all X5 have an AGM battery. Well, I explained to them that I have confirmed the battery type and I am choosing the right mode.

Nonetheless, they took the vehicle in, I was told that they determined that there is an AGM battery in there, they charged it for about an hour, said that the battery is 85% charged now. Sent me home with instructions to connect the charger again within a day or two and see if it charges. If not then probably the charger is not working, exchange the charger and attempt again. They say, they did not find any issues with the system and they don't know what else to suggest.

I will see how the charge status is after a couple of days, but it all looks so messy and frustrating.

Thanks for the update.

You can keep an eye if you have the behavior that some units wake up periodically during the charging.

[BobsM3Coupe]

Originally Posted by ChiefOne

Out of sheer frustration, I took my vehicle to the service center and described the charging problem. Their first reaction was, I may not be charging in the right mode because not all X5 have an AGM battery. Well, I explained to them that I have confirmed the battery type and I am choosing the right mode.

Nonetheless, they took the vehicle in, I was told that they determined that there is an AGM battery in there, they charged it for about an hour, said that the battery is 85% charged now. Sent me home with instructions to connect the charger again within a day or two and see if it charges. If not then probably the charger is not working, exchange the charger and attempt again. They say, they did not find any issues with the system and they don't know what else to suggest.

I will see how the charge status is after a couple of days, but it all looks so messy and frustrating.

I'd be looking for another dealer if they didn't think the G05 wasn't using an AGM battery. What else don't they know?

[ChiefOne]

Originally Posted by tcbmhell

Thanks for the update.

You can keep an eye if you have the behavior that some units wake up periodically during the charging.

I have not observed any such behavior yet but sure will keep an eye out. The thing is, I attempt to charge my vehicle in my garage and it takes so much time in this process that I leave it unattended.

So far, I have just one successful charge last week out of numerous attempts. I tried this week, the same methods that had worked last week, and it failed. And that's why I took the vehicle to the dealer. It's barely a month I took the delivery of my vehicle.

I attempted charging again the night after the service guys said that the battery is 85% charged, I connected my CTEK charger and left it overnight thinking that since it is already 85% charged, it should show up full charge in no time, but that did not happen. After about 14 hours sitting at stage 3, I disconnected the charger. I am gonna connect the BMW charger on Sunday night and will leave it on and see how long it takes.

This is so frustrating and so messy. It seems most of us who have MY2021 are going through a similar issue. Were you able to successfully charge?

[ChiefOne]

Originally Posted by BobsM3Coupe

I'd be looking for another dealer if they didn't think the G05 wasn't using an AGM battery. What else don't they know?

Oh absolutely. They accepted that they did not do the battery care as stated in the checklist prior to the vehicle delivery assuming that the vehicle will be driven after the delivery will bring the battery to a reasonable state.

I am thinking of investing in a voltage meter to see what the battery voltage is at different stages, static and charging.

[tcbmhell]

Originally Posted by ChiefOne

This is so frustrating and so messy. It seems most of us who have MY2021 are going through a similar issue. Were you able to successfully charge?

I have tried CTEK MXS 5.0, NOCO genius 5 and Deltran, no one succeeded.

[ChiefOne]

Originally Posted by tcbmhell

I have tried CTEK MXS 5.0, NOCO genius 5 and Deltran, no one succeeded.

What are your thoughts on NOCO Genius 10? I am planning to get one.

[tcbmhell]

Originally Posted by ChiefOne

What are your thoughts on NOCO Genius 10? I am planning to get one.

I think the issue is not the chargers. Renzm and gianlucatest encountered the same issue in G20/G30.

SmartSaves Were you able to successfully charge?

[SmartSaves]

Originally Posted by tcbmhell

I think the issue is not the chargers. Renzm and gianlucatest encountered the same issue in G20/G30.

SmartSaves Were you able to successfully charge?

I'll try it soon. I have a shelf in the garage that is preventing me from opening the hood while the X5 is inside, will take it down permanently to make room. My charger displays current, voltage, and battery capacity; so I'll have a clear picture. Charger cable is 12 AWG. Stay tuned.

[Renzm]

Tried another charge of our G20 with the bonnet fully opened, unlocked and after another 18 hours or so still on step 3 of charging. From my understanding with the CTEK and many other chargers it won't change to step 4 or the equivalent, due to the voltage drops caused by the vehicle constantly entering a wakened state. It seems whether unlocked or locked these wakeups constantly happen on any model with the 48v system even if the bonnet is open. I assume maybe this can only be fixed with a software update to stop these happening during charging?

[ChiefOne]

Originally Posted by Renzm

Tried another charge of our G20 with the bonnet fully opened, unlocked and after another 18 hours or so still on step 3 of charging. From my understanding with the CTEK and many other chargers it won't change to step 4 or the equivalent, due to the voltage drops caused by the vehicle constantly entering a wakened state. It seems whether unlocked or locked these wakeups constantly happen on any model with the 48v system even if the bonnet is open. I assume maybe this can only be fixed with a software update to stop these happening during charging?

This is so annoying. Even though it is not causing any immediate issue, but I would have preferred to take care of the battery tending as early in the ownership as possible. But it seems, BMW is making it harder for us to do that.

[biterror]

I understand that we all want to take good care of our cars. I also believe that charging the battery should not be necessary under normal circumstances. It is the car's job to keep the battery/batteries sufficiently charged. If it fails to do that, there's something wrong with the car (or design).

Of course, if you don't drive for several months, it's a good idea to recharge the battery every now and then. Or if the battery is constantly at low temperatures (say, -20 to -30 C (-4 F to -22 F)), it may be necessary to charge it. But normally, this should not be needed. In over 20 years, I have only charged the battery of one car and only a few times. And I have been driving and parking my cars even in -37 C (-35 F)..

So, don't worry so much about charging the battery when everything is working well

[SmartSaves]

I started the test, 1:15 PM EST, Sunday December 10th. Steps I am following:

1. Unlocked and started the X5 with Digital Key Card
2. Drove it from driveway into the garage
3. Parking brake on, turned off the car, next turned off the iDrive by pressing and holding the volume/power button
4. Unlocked hood/bonnet
5. Walked out of the car, closed door (not locked, all autocomfort features are off including tailgate foot lock/unlock)
6. Attached the charger: Positive > Negative > Charger power on
7. Checked current flow, voltage, and battery capacity status (displayed LOW, explanations below)
8. Heard some motor actuator inside the engine compartment turned on and off a few times
9. Hood/bonnet stayed open (half way), don't let those two hood latches go into the sockets, make sure there is gap. I am pretty sure this is how iDrive knows if the hood is open or closed (and when open it turns off the 48V system).
10. LED on gear shifter, parking etc. stayed illuminated
11. Locked the door, security light under the rear view mirror is blinking as usual
12. Locked the car using digital key card
13. Outside temperature is around negative 8 C

Charger showed battery charge status is 'LO'. It means

• At less than 50% battery capacity, the display will read LO
• The display will increase in 10% increments between 50% to 90% capacity
• At full charge, the display will read FUL

Update 0 (when I connected the charger)

• Battery charge status is Low.
• Voltage fluctuated between 12.4 to 12.6
• Current/amp: moved from 4 to 7 amp. Shortly after I connected the charger I saw current/amp jumped to around 7.

Note: This charger can select optimal current on its own. I have the option to choose specific current/amp as well (4A, 12A, 25A). I left the current/amp flow setting for the charger to decide.

[SmartSaves]

Update 1: 2:10 PM EST, Sunday December 10th.

Battery capacity status now showing 80%

Voltage went up to 14.8

Current/amp is now at 4.1A

LED on gear shifter, parking etc. NOT illuminated anymore.

[SmartSaves]

Update 2: 2:35 PM EST, Sunday December 10th.

Battery capacity status showing 80% (same as update 1).

Voltage is at 14.8 (same as update 1).

Current/amp slowed down to 2.2A (down from update 1).

LED on gear shifter, parking etc. not illuminated, (same as update 1).

[SmartSaves]

Update 3: 3:07 PM EST, Sunday December 10th.

Battery capacity status showing 90% (changed from update 2).

Voltage is at 14.8 (same as update 1 and 2).

Current/amp slowed down to 1.1A (down from update 2).

LED on gear shifter, parking button etc. not illuminated, (same as update 1 and 2).

[SmartSaves]

Update 4: 4:22 PM EST, Sunday December 10th.

• Battery capacity status showing 90% (same as update 3). I expect this stage will linger around long until it reaches FULL capacity because of low current/amp).
• Voltage is at 14.8 (same as update 1, 2, and 3).
• Current/amp slowed down to [COLOR="Red"]0.8A[/COLOR] (down from update 3, steadily dropping).
• LED on gear shifter, parking button etc. not illuminated, (same as update 1, 2, and 3).
• Didn't hear anymore motor/actuator noise since I started charging

Everything seems normal up until this point. It feels like we need powerful charger that can pump variable current/amp. I wouldn't even try the CTEK MXS 5.0 (definitely returning) because wires are too thin (18 AWG), only indicator light (no actual readouts like the one I am using), more than 6 years old model, BMW X5 battery is huge (105 Ah). The one I am using has 12 AWG wires.

[Renzm]

Originally Posted by SmartSaves

Update 4: 4:22 PM EST, Sunday December 10th.

• Battery capacity status showing 90% (same as update 3). I expect this stage will linger around long until it reaches FULL capacity because of low current/amp).
• Voltage is at 14.8 (same as update 1, 2, and 3).
• Current/amp slowed down to 0.8A (down from update 3, steadily dropping).
• LED on gear shifter, parking button etc. not illuminated, (same as update 1, 2, and 3).
• Didn't hear anymore motor/actuator noise since I started charging

Everything seems normal up until this point. It feels like we need powerful charger that can pump variable current/amp. I wouldn't even try the CTEK MXS 5.0 (definitely returning) because wires are too thin (18 AWG), only indicator light (no actual readouts like the one I am using), more than 6 years old model, BMW X5 batter is huge (105 Ah). The one I am using has 12 AWG wires.

What I don't understand is that the CTEK MXS 5.0 works completely fine on our M850i xDrive which has the same 105Ah battery as the G05. It also worked fine on our X2 which had somewhere around an 80Ah battery.

[gianlucatest]

This is very strange...In the car manual BMW says that trickle charge is possible, and they sell a trickle charger but...max amp is 5A, just like CTEK MXS 5.0, so in their opinion what are we supposed to use?

[ChiefOne]

Originally Posted by SmartSaves

Update 4: 4:22 PM EST, Sunday December 10th.

• Battery capacity status showing 90% (same as update 3). I expect this stage will linger around long until it reaches FULL capacity because of low current/amp).
• Voltage is at 14.8 (same as update 1, 2, and 3).
• Current/amp slowed down to 0.8A (down from update 3, steadily dropping).
• LED on gear shifter, parking button etc. not illuminated, (same as update 1, 2, and 3).
• Didn't hear anymore motor/actuator noise since I started charging

Everything seems normal up until this point. It feels like we need powerful charger that can pump variable current/amp. I wouldn't even try the CTEK MXS 5.0 (definitely returning) because wires are too thin (18 AWG), only indicator light (no actual readouts like the one I am using), more than 6 years old model, BMW X5 battery is huge (105 Ah). The one I am using has 12 AWG wires.

SmartSaves absolutely amazing illustration. You broke the process down extremely well. What apparatus do you use? How can I charge and monitor the voltage at the same time? Would appreciate your help!

[jad03060]

A good multimeter can show you the current and voltage, but for less than one that can do that, you could probably buy a smarter battery charger. A good multimeter is handy to have around for other things, but takes a little knowledge to understand how to use it properly. Inductive dc charging rate meters are fairly expensive, but in-line ones aren't. Make sure to match up the max current rating of the meter to whatever you're using to charge so you don't blow its fuse.

[SmartSaves]

Final Update: 6:30 PM EST, Sunday December 10th.

• Battery capacity status showing FUL
• Disconnected the charger in reverse order (wall plug > Negative > Positive)
• Closed the hood/bonnet.
• Opened the door using Digital Key Card.
• No message on the iDrive (initial start-up screen).
• Started the X5 and checked vehicle status on the iDrive (Car > Setting > Vehicle status > Check Control messages), no error message displayed.

One thing I did differently than you all is that I turned off the iDrive manually by pressing the volume/power button before charging process started, plus parking brake was on. Also, I did not open the doors during charging, nor did I do anything that might have woken up the vehicle.

By the way, don't let those two hood latches go into the sockets, make sure there is gap. I am pretty sure this is how iDrive knows if the hood is open or closed (and when open it turns off the 48V system).

Test is done and seems successful on the first attempt. I'll share if I see something different going forward.