Aftermarket stereo equipment caused my battery to burst.

[Randy Corvin]

Hopefully I've put this in the correct spot but here it goes. I've got a E90 that I bought brand new back in 09. I was able to drive it for about a year until I got stationed in Alaska and didn't take it with me. I left the car with my brother and he drove it at least once a week not counting when he took it in for services. I've recently been stationed in Fort Carson, CO and I flew home on the 31st of Jan to drive the car from Virginia to Colorado. On the 1st of Feb I took it to the local BMW dealership to have a quick look over on it to make sure it was alright to make the 1700 mile trip to Colorado Springs. I left on the 2nd of Feb and got to Colorado Springs the night of the 3rd. I stopped at my home for about 30 minutes and then left to grab a bite to eat when I started losing power and the temp indicator light came on. I turned around and parked the car until the following Friday when I had it towed to the dealership here in Colorado Springs. Later that day the BMW service rep told me that the battery had burst out of the bottom emptying acid into the battery compartment, the water pump ceased to get the power it needed and it exploded and the coolant reservoir now needs replacing. The initial determination by BMW was that my aftermarket stereo equipment (which included a new receiver, front speakers, a stealth box with 2 12's in the back, and 3 small JBL amps mounted in the trunk) had drawn too much power from the battery causing the car to overcharge the battery and causing the ensuing damage. BMW sent me their plan of action which is totalling about 3500.00 at this time (could be more when it's said and done). I forwarded the plan of action to the company that installed my stereo and after they did all their research emailed me back stating that the issue probably came from a faulty battery or altenator. I forwarded this back to the BMW rep and even though he agrees with the findings, BMW still maintains that there was a 3 amp draw even when the car was off that they claim was the radio. Also, the rep said that the battery was not made to handle that sort of draw that they claim was from the aftermarket stereo equipment which I find sketchy. Like I said before, the car is an 2009 and it has less than 30,000 miles on it which tells you how much I got to drive it and the entire stereo has been in the car as long as I owned it. The place that installed the stereo is a well respected business that has been around for years, in fact it was recommended to me by the same dealership that I bought the car from. What I find interesting is that I can find no other record of this happening on the internet and neither could the original installers. I had an adjuster from my insurance company go and take a look at it and he was told that this process has been going on "for a while". If this has been an ongoing problem, shouldn't I have at least seen some sort of warning signs? Long story short, I have a car that I personally have only been able to drive twice in the last three years and now that I moved it here in Colorado it's now undriveable through no fault of my own and it seems like everyone is pointing the finger at the other person. BMW claims that this issue was caused by the stereo but yet tells the owner of the company that installed it that it was a perfect install. Sorry the back story seems to go all over the place but everytime I think of this whole ordeal I get pissed. Any opinions would be appreciated, if you need more information feel free to post on here and I'll answer it if there's anything else that I can remember.

[HHR Ed]

Most likely, it has nothing to do with the stereo.

Dealerships are notorious for blaming faults or defects on any aftermarket equipment they see installed. And German car dealers are the worst.

If the draw was too much for the battery to the point of causing charging issues, what would happen would be that the car would become increasingly more difficult to start. Especially if the car sat for a week, it shouldnt have started at all if the stereo had a 3A parasitic draw.

Furthermore, if the stereo did drain the battery, the alternator should be regulated only to a certain limit, so it should never send more voltage to the battery than what the battery needs.

What is most likely the cause is a defective battery, especially modern batts that use substandard lead which is recycled in many cases. Or a faulty regulator or other horrible german car electronic device.

I have 2 cases where, as an installer, I had to fight dealerships on warranty issues. I will write them here in a sec.

[Need Bass]

Not that I think it was the car audio, but just gotta ask, what are the numbers on the amps and subs you have? I have a small 1000 watt system and have had it for a year now on my stock electrical system. No problems at all.

Welcome to the forums btw

EDIT: I agree with the above statement, a 3 amp parasitic draw is pretty extreme for an inactive stereo system...

[Randy Corvin]

Much appreciated for the posts. My paperwork for all the gear is actually in the car that lists the capabilities of the amps which I want to find out how much the numbers are too.

[HHR Ed]

One similar case was an early 90s VW. We installed an dash CD player and a few speakers.

The customer was happy with it for months until we got a call from him stating that the car was having trouble starting in the morning and he thought it could be the stereo.

We mentioned that though that is extremely rare, we would be glad to take a look. He came in, we checked our wiring, tested for parasitic draw, checked his batt and alt and all seemed fine. Sent him on his way.

A week later he calls from a VW dealership claiming that we broke his car and we owe his repair fees to the dealership. Though the car was still in their shop being looked at. He was told by their head mechanic that the stereo is the issue and it needs to be returned to stock to solve the issue. We explained that the stereo is not the cause but we'd be willing to remove it to appease him. He chose to have the dealership remove it and bill us later. We never agreed to pay and he would have to deal with corporate on the matter.

A couple weeks later I personally received an apology letter explaining that the issue remained even with the stock stereo and instead of having the dealer look into the problem again, the customer took the car to a local mechanic. The mechanic tested the car for draw overnight and upon testing a few things with the ignition system and then confirming his findings on a VW forum, it was concluded that the culprit was a faulty ignition switch.

Those generation VWs has a weak ignition cylinder that when heavy key rings were used, would weigh down the cylinder and cause loose internal connections. So as the car sat overnight, the ignition switch would turn on all the accessories (heater, lights, radio etc...) And drain the batt.

A new key cylinder solved his problem.

[HHR Ed]

My other case was a mercedes in which we installed an under the seat changer.

Install went fine, customer was happy.

A few days later we received a call from the customer stating we owe his dealership $3000 for evaluation time and repair because we damaged his power seat. He claimed that after we installed the changer, the seat would no longer slide back. We talked with the mechanic who said the $3000 was for evaluation time which so far took 9 hours and they still have not found the problem. We offered to send an installer over to inspect the changer install. It was agreed and withing 5 minutes, our installer found a cloth belt from the customer's coat stuck in the power seat slider track. He pulled it out and the seat worked fine.

The customer was still charged for over 9 hours of evaluation time.

[WastedTalent]

Most likely, it has nothing to do with the stereo.

Dealerships are notorious for blaming faults or defects on any aftermarket equipment they see installed. And German car dealers are the worst.

If the draw was too much for the battery to the point of causing charging issues, what would happen would be that the car would become increasingly more difficult to start. Especially if the car sat for a week, it shouldnt have started at all if the stereo had a 3A parasitic draw.

Furthermore, if the stereo did drain the battery, the alternator should be regulated only to a certain limit, so it should never send more voltage to the battery than what the battery needs.

What is most likely the cause is a defective battery, especially modern batts that use substandard lead which is recycled in many cases. Or a faulty regulator or other horrible german car electronic device.

I have 2 cases where, as an installer, I had to fight dealerships on warranty issues. I will write them here in a sec.

x2 on that. By no means does it seem that an inactive stereo system would cause unnecessary voltage to be sent to the battery. If your battery leaked/exploded/ect... either a bad battery or something else is bad. That seems like them wanting to save money on their manufacturing process. Parts go bad, parts need replaced. There are lemons as to some ignition switches or whatnot are pos. Somehow 1 outta 1 million suck. But, saying the stereo caused THAT? Doubt that.

And Ed, that's hilarious about the seat. "We can't find out why" and it's a damn belt from her clothing...So how effective must that dealership be if they looked for 9 hours and STILL couldn't find out why? Lol.

[Fosgatefeind]

My other case was a mercedes in which we installed an under the seat changer.

Install went fine, customer was happy.

A few days later we received a call from the customer stating we owe his dealership $3000 for evaluation time and repair because we damaged his power seat. He claimed that after we installed the changer, the seat would no longer slide back. We talked with the mechanic who said the $3000 was for evaluation time which so far took 9 hours and they still have not found the problem. We offered to send an installer over to inspect the changer install. It was agreed and withing 5 minutes, our installer found a cloth belt from the customer's coat stuck in the power seat slider track. He pulled it out and the seat worked fine.

The customer was still charged for over 9 hours of evaluation time.

some people these days

[Wicks]

I can't find specifics on your stock battery but let's ballpark it at 100AH (amp-hours).

With a 3A parasitic draw, your battery will drain in 100/3 =~ 33hours, give or take.

If that was the case, you would definitely know it regardless of the exact rating of the battery.

You said that the car lost power while driving..?

Sounds like a possible alternator issue which may have lead to a drained and damaged battery.

Was the battery light on at all?

Otherwise did you or anybody play the stereo or anything for long periods with the car off?

When the car was started weekly, how long was it run?

If it was only a short time then it's possible the battery would get depleted over time as it takes a lot of energy to start the car initially. Then you have to make up that charge and then any lost while it sat.

[SlamminBeats]

My other case was a mercedes in which we installed an under the seat changer.

Install went fine, customer was happy.

A few days later we received a call from the customer stating we owe his dealership $3000 for evaluation time and repair because we damaged his power seat. He claimed that after we installed the changer, the seat would no longer slide back. We talked with the mechanic who said the $3000 was for evaluation time which so far took 9 hours and they still have not found the problem. We offered to send an installer over to inspect the changer install. It was agreed and withing 5 minutes, our installer found a cloth belt from the customer's coat stuck in the power seat slider track. He pulled it out and the seat worked fine.

The customer was still charged for over 9 hours of evaluation time.

i just peed