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BMW 120i Sport auto 2015 - Electrical glitches - Danzak Dave

In Dec 2018 I purchased a BMW 120i Sport auto (65 plate) with 34k miles from an independent dealer

Three times in the first month of ownership I noticed warning signs flash up on the central information screen to show a defective light(s) – each time a physical check of all lighting revealed no defect

The dashboard digital clock has to be continually reset as it regularly loses time – as much as 5 minutes over a single week

On 24.01.19 at 0630 the outside temperature was around minus 3 C. I started the car engine without issue but the instrument cluster was inoperative – no speedo/rev counter/fuel gauge/binnacle lighting. The headlights/tail lights worked ok but the indicators did not. After driving for 5 minutes the instrument cluster burst into life and everything (including the indicators) worked normally for the duration of the journey

My initial thoughts were that the main car battery could be failing – I owned a 2009 BMW 320d prior to this and noted certain facilities (heated rear window/stop-start function/radio when engine off etc.) began to stop working before I replaced the battery. All functions were restored on replacing the battery on my 320d. However, the 320d was 6 years old with 120k on the clock before I began to notice signs of battery failure so I wouldn’t expect this with my current 3 year old/35k car

Any thoughts on where these electrical issues may lie?

BMW 120i Sport auto 2015 - Electrical glitches - daveyjp
So because your last battery lasted a long time there can't anything wrong with this one?

Dealers aare notorious for leaving cars on forecourts and letting batteries go flat, this may have caused it to fail early.

As its only a a few weeks since you bought the car take it back to the dealer and ask them to sort it.

BMW 120i Sport auto 2015 - Electrical glitches - elekie&a/c doctor
It is probably a stop/start battery which can be very sensitive to loading. You are assuming this is the battery originally fitted to this car from new . It is very possible this battery has been lifted out of a different car, could be older .