Hello everyone,

I wanted to get the forums' opinion on my 2011 JCW Clubman. I have owned the car for nearly a year now and I really love it!! I have been slowly tweaking things to make it my own (seems to be the Mini way). Just recently I re-did my dash cam wiring to hard wire it into the fuse panel ()was in the power socket). I did not use any "add-a-fuse" or splices but rather found an unused fuse and pin (fuse 38 which powers pin 16 on X11008) to provide the constant 12V power to allow for parking mode. This fuse is powered off the 30g-f terminal so the car can cut off the power to this if the battery charge drops too low. I wired the switched 12V line to X11008 Pin 4 which is for the auto-dim mirror.

Subsequent to that, I get a "High Discharge Rate" error when I start the car after parking. I realize that the dash cam is going to draw some current in its parking mode but the IBS seems really sensitive in this case. I know BMW has the "Advanced Car Eye" as an optional after sales accessory that has this same functionality but doesn't trip this error. I am okay to live with the error provided there isn't an underlying issue that has been revealed by this.

My first thought is to ensure that the battery is healthy. I checked the battery and I find the date code sticker showing "A6" which I believe means the battery was made in January of 2016. That makes it 4.5 years old at this point. Not super ancient but still on the aged side. I also inspected the "magic eye" on the top of the battery after a commute (20 miles, around 30 minutes) and it did not show green, just black. I believe this indicates that the battery isn't fully charged which you would think it would be after a drive.

I did find a Bosch S6585B 70Ah AGM battery that looks good and can be had from Rock Auto for $200 shipped. I would rather not spend the money unless it is needed though.

Thoughts?

 

IMO 4.5 year old battery is ancient . . .

but isn't it easy to disconnect the new crap and see if the problem goes away?

*********************
When you are sure everything is right
and the program does not work
something you are sure of
is wrong

from my computer programming days . . .

+++++++++++++
and hard to believe a suitable battery is not available locally .......

 

Thanks for the reply. I am very sure my addition of the Dash Cam to the 30g-f terminal is causal to the issue I am seeing. Whether it is the only cause is unknown however. I was just wondering if this has simply brought to light a marginal issue that existed already. It is also possible the car is very sensitive to additional draws and this is just enough to push it over. It would be nice if I could change something via coding to tell the car that this additional draw is acceptable to eliminate the error but that is probably pretty advanced coding.

Also, I am certain there is likely a battery available locally however I am one of the crazy people that wants to get the best quality and is willing to spend a little more for it. I know I could just go down to Napa or O'Reilly's and get whatever they have on the shelf but I would honestly prefer to get a battery that has a higher reputation and reliability. Bosch is a very well known name and I think that they made high quality batteries. I am also looking to upgrade to an AGM style battery and keep my existing 70Ah capacity. I suspect if I walked into one of the aforementioned stores and asked for an AGM battery they would probably be confused and not know what I was talking about.

BTW, since I have the Carly app I will be able to register the new battery and also change the battery type (Lead Acid --> AGM) on my own so that is a plus.

 

My battery was 7 years old & still started the car. I replaced it as a preventative measure. I bought a Deka battery.

I would just disconnect the added circuit.