Jump-start BMW 520 (E60)

BraveDonut

Woke up this morning to a flat battery - must have left something on overnight, at least I hope that is all it is.
Anyway...zero electrics

I will try to jump-start it off the wife's car, but I am not 100% sure how to connect on the BMW.

There is a red (+) terminal in the engine bay which is pretty obvious, but the (-) terminal (nor the battery itself) are all that obvious.

Where should I connect the (-) terminal? Does it just need to be connected to a metal part of the body? (earth/ground)

thanks

Nissan doctor

Any metal part of the engine is best. Any exposed parts of the chassis/frame will be painted so won't give a great connection.

Make sure the ignition is off when you connect the cables though..

toe_knee

Is the battery not under the back seat?

BraveDonut

Don't know - I'll check

(....hoping that you are not winding me up....)

Nissan doctor

Any car that doesn't have the batter in the engine bay will have connections in the engine bay for charging/jumping.

robbie99

When your battery is discharged, you can use two jumper cables to start your BMW with power from the battery in a second vehicle. You can also use the same method to help start another vehicle. Use only jumper cables with fully-insulated clamp handles.

To avoid the risk of potentially fatal injury, always avoid all contact with electrical components while the engine is running. Carefully adhere to the following sequence, both to prevent damage to one or both vehicles, and to guard against possible personal injuries.

Preparation

1. Check whether the battery of the other vehicle has a voltage of 12 Volts and approximately the same capacitance in Ah. This information can be found on the battery.
2. Switch off the engine of the assisting vehicle.
3. Switch off any electrical accessories in both vehicles.

There must not be any contact between the bodies of the two vehicles, otherwise there is a danger of shorting.

Connecting jumper cables

To avoid personal injury from sparks, always observe this sequence when connecting jumper cables.

On your BMW the so-called starting-aid terminal in the engine compartment acts as the battery positive terminal, also refer to the engine compartment overview on page 197. The cover cap is marked with +.

1. Fold open the cover of the BMW starting-aid terminal. To do so, pull the tab.
   
2. Attach one end of the jumper cable plus/+ to the positive terminal of the battery or a starting-aid terminal of the vehicle providing assistance.
3. Attach the second end of the cable to the positive terminal of the battery or to a starting-aid terminal of the vehicle to be started.
4. Attach one end of the jumper cable minus/– to the negative terminal of the battery or to an engine or body ground of the assisting vehicle. Your BMW has a special nut as body ground or negative pole.
   
5. Attach the second end of the cable to the negative terminal of the battery or to the engine or body ground of the vehicle to be started.

Starting Engine

1. Start the engine on the assisting vehicle and allow it to run at idle for several minutes at slightly increased speed.
2. Start the engine on the other vehicle in the usual way. If the first start attempt is not successful, wait a few minutes before another attempt in order to allow the discharged battery to recharge.
3. Let the engines run for a few minutes.
4. Disconnect the jumper cables by reversing the connection sequence.

Check the battery and recharge if necessary.

Never use spray fluids to start the engine.

toe_knee

I borrwoed my friends car a number of years ago for a few days. Not sure if it was an E60, but the battery died and could'nt open the car as I did not have the original master key. I had access to the engine and the boot only. Couldnt find the battery anywhere and after a bit of googling I found out it was in the car under the back seat. After 2 days of a bit more googling I found that if I opened the boot and pulled back the wiring lume to the back lights and hook up a 12v battery to it that I would have enough power to open the car with the ecntral locking. I did htis operned the car hand charged the battery which was under the back seat.

I am sure though there are connections in the engine bay but I couldnt find them

BraveDonut

Robbie - that's brilliant. thanks.

What is the source of that information please? really helpful.

robbie99

It's from a BMW user manual. I closed it down so don't have the link anymore but googling BMW user manual E60 should do it. Lots of US ones on the net.

BraveDonut

Thanks all - got it sorted.