E46 320 - BATTERY LIGHT PROBLEM

[Prev]

Can somebody help to diagnose this problem.

Whilst driving home from work the other day, I noticed that the battery light came on after a few km's and then at the traffic light near home it went off. I went home and parked the car.

Today, when I got home, I started it and all seemed fine. So I let it idle for a while and then revv'd it a bit and noticed the battery light came on for a second and then went off. Every time I revv'd past 3000 it came on and then went off as the revv's dropped. I also notice that the car has a bit off a vacuum noise when pressing the accelerator. I made a video with my BB which shows the battery light problem but you cant really hear the engine noise



Any ideas?

 

[moranor@axis]

i think its the alternator or a slipping belt...

 

[moranor@axis]

quick search reveals:

Could be alternator, could be voltage regulator, could be battery, could be a grounding cable

found a DIY on how to change the regulator:
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=583423

maybe read though that tread there should be others commenting on what symptoms they had and if the regulator fixed their problem

 

[Prev]

Will try to see if I can notice any belt slippage tomorrow morning

 

[ntuthuko]

i think its the alternator or a slipping belt...

+1. A had a belt slipping but and you could actually hear it especially when the engine was cold

 

[plabise]

Had the same issue but I was told its the alternator going, then decided to check my battery found out my battery had some dead cells, then replaced the battery and the battery light went off.

 

[Prev]

Hope its just a belt slipping or even the battery and not the alternator

 

[moranor@axis]

well from the vid i dont think its the belt you would surly hear it quite easily if it was slipping

Coisman had a vacuum cleaner noise that turned out to be the alternator maybe ask him about it maybe he just changed the regulator and that fixed it... think the regulator is under R500 if i remember right so that would be way cheaper than a new alternator :rollsmile:

 

[Prev]

:thumbs: will wait for Cois to comment

quiet a mission to get to the alternator

 

[moranor@axis]

its a mission to get to anything on a bmw they like to fill the whole engine bay :rollsmile:

 

[Coisman]

:thumbs: will wait for Cois to comment

quiet a mission to get to the alternator

Go read here what happened with my car, and how much it cost to fix. :thumb:
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=24257&page=5

 

[SP33DYV]

well from the vid i dont think its the belt you would surly hear it quite easily if it was slipping

Coisman had a vacuum cleaner noise that turned out to be the alternator maybe ask him about it maybe he just changed the regulator and that fixed it... think the regulator is under R500 if i remember right so that would be way cheaper than a new alternator :rollsmile:

Regulator is over a grand and you can only get from the dealerships and certain auto-electricians.

 

[moranor@axis]

well from the vid i dont think its the belt you would surly hear it quite easily if it was slipping

Coisman had a vacuum cleaner noise that turned out to be the alternator maybe ask him about it maybe he just changed the regulator and that fixed it... think the regulator is under R500 if i remember right so that would be way cheaper than a new alternator :rollsmile:

Regulator is over a grand and you can only get from the dealerships and certain auto-electricians.

dont think you right about the price but i dont have any proof ether... it goes for less than $50 online though for the oem Bosch product... have you tried Bosch diesel electric?

 

[Prev]

Took the regulator out on Saturday but could not get a replacement at any of the local spares outlets. Checked with BMW this morning at it is R1857 incl VAT in Durban My car has a Valeo alternator so I need to find out who the Valeo agents are

 

[Prev]

Could not wait any longer so I ordered one from BMW. They gave me a small discount and I ended up paying R1670 incl VAT. This is what the bugger looks like (old part).....new one will be here on Thursday

Inner




Outer

---

Its also fairly simple to remove.

1) Disconnect the battery
2) Take off the airbox & MAF
3) Disconnet main cable from alternator - 17 socket
4) 2 bolts holding alternator cover - 7mm socket - requires short extension due to space around bolts
5) undo alternator cooling vent pipe connected to the cover - simply pull loose
6) another 3 bolts - 7mm socket - to undo the regulator and she is out

Space is a small issue though as it is quiet cramped in that engine bay

 

[Prev]

Well now I am pissed off and stumped......changed the regulator but the alternator is still not charging the battery.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[moranor@axis]

is the light and the noise gone now or still the same?

 

[Prev]

Battery light staying on but cant hear any noise :argh:

 

[moranor@axis]

talk to one of the durban fanatics with an e46 and swap batteries... if the problem goes away you know what it is

 

[Prev]

Doubt it is the battery......while the car was idling I took off the negative terminal and the car immediately switched off.

I put the battery on charge now and will let it charge for a few hours then check the voltage in the morn to see if it his holding its charge.