battery being drained

[mrebean]

last week the memory settings for the steering wheel and power seats started acting weird. when using the remote to unlock the car, they both went to odd settings. also, concurrently, the auto lock feature when you start driving somehow got deactivated.

today the car started w/ a slight hesitation and i was on my way. come lunch time, i get in and ...nothing. would not start, and barely had enough jucice to tilt the steering wheel.

thought it was the battery, but it turns out that it is ok, along w/ the alternator. nothing seems to be on electronically when the car is off (accept for the indicator light that shows what drive your in. is that normal?). a friend tested a couple of things out, and there seems to be something draining the battery.

is there a way to find out besides going through every single fuse to see what it is?

or does anyone have any other suggestions.

btw, the car is a 199 540i ...oh, and my warranty just ran out on the 13th. figures!!

many thanks in advance...

jOe

 

[connectionsav]

Not sure cause Im new to the BMW thing but sounds like there is a short to groung involving the wire system that lights up your gear indicator. Perhaps a broken or exposed wire due to road vibration? I would go to a pawn shop and pick up a $10 battery charger and an extention cord to put in the trunk until you figure it out. That way when you run out of juice a quick 5 min. charge will at least get you home. I would check first to make sure that you dont need to unhook the negative before you charge with all those crazy lectronics to fry or break by essentialy boosting the battery on your now expensive showroom piece (paper weight).