Battery Drain!!

[Del]

Hi,

Looking at buying a 1998 318ti Sport Compact. Took it out for a spin about 7 days ago but before I did the fella at the garage had to get the jump leads out as the battery was dead. He explained it hadn't moved in a good while so fair enough.

Went back today to give it a good look over and take it for another spin and same thing - battery dead.

Been reading around and battery draining seems to come up a lot. Thinking it might be the alarm drawing the power out. Either that or it might just need a few good long runs.

Anyway, any help or thoughts are most welcome!

Cheers.

[CirrusSR22]

Could be a number of things. The battery might be bad, or worst case scenario, there's a short somwhere due to worn wire sheathing. That's probably unlikely on a 1998 though.

It's also possible that an interior light switch is on. A car dealership that operates in daylight hours mainly, might never notice this. There's really no easy answer, as it will take a little bit of investigating to find a defintive answer. On the plus side, I think the solution would most likely be a cheap fix. Ask the garage is they would be willing to run tests on the battery to see if that's shot.

[318iS]

if the battery cant start after a long enough drive...


its probably the alternator not recharging it ? ? ?

[Del]

Thanks. Will get it looked into. Keen to buy as, other than the battery issue, it is a real decent car for its age.