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Thread: Red battery light on the dash. Anyone had this happen?

  1. #26
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Half Moon Bay California
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    1997 z3
    First of all how do you post a new thread to this forum?
    second, my battery light came on and when I tried to remove the positive battery clamp it snapped.
    Can I replace this myself and where do I find this special battery clamp?
    I will be checking the battery and if I can replace the clamp myself checking the alternator.
    Any ideas?
    Thanks.

    ~Michelle '97 Z3

  2. #27
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Osnabrock, ND
    Posts
    961
    My Cars
    2004 325xi,2004 545i SMG
    agreed the symptoms you described are a failed alternator which led to a discharged battery. Battery is old and everytime you discharge a battery you take some of its usefull life away from it. This is not exact.... but for instance if you take a new battery charge it to 100 percent, completely discharge it and try to charge it again it will only reach a state of about 90-95 percent. and so on and so on... add some heat to the mix (phoenix comes to mind) and it is worse.

    When you light came on there was a problem, but since you drove the car and had voltage to run the engine, computer, fuel injection and what ever the battery was holding a charge. till the draw on battery deminished the battery and at that point you get the bogging and stumbling then nothing car is dead.

    There are 4 different alternators fitted to e46 Valeo or Bosch 100 or 120 amp. with and without cooler duct. typically you can tell if you have a 120 by the accessories like heated seats. ect there should be a sticker on back of alternator but name will be moulded into back cover. Like previously stated its a good time to check all the pulleys belts and oil filter housing. fix what is needed. its simple to replace but be sure you remove the battery neg cable from battery to prevent any sort of misshap you might come accross like accidently touching the B+ cable to something grounded....

    Before you first start the new alternator be sure to fully charge or replace the battery or you will damage the new alternator brushes.
    Level 1 Certified BMW tech.

  3. #28
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Osnabrock, ND
    Posts
    961
    My Cars
    2004 325xi,2004 545i SMG
    you said the positive battery clamp snapped? the 8mm nut snapped off?? is that what happened. if this is the case you have to replace the battery cable to get the t bolt and nut. the positive side has the BST built in and is a pain........ but the negative side is the same so go to a dealer and ask for a new negative side battery cable. take the t bolt and nut off and put on positive side. fixed. and they only get tightned to 10Nm.
    Level 1 Certified BMW tech.

  4. #29
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    CT
    Posts
    1,494
    My Cars
    E28, E32, E39, E53, E90
    Just had the same problem with my 2005 X5 3.0i and I went through the steps to diagnose it like others have posted here. My six year old battery had low-ish voltage 11.6 volts, and as this is my pregnant wife's car, I opted to start there and just replace the battery. No success!

    Next, I looked to the alternator (as so many suggest) and found the power steering reservoir leaking pretty badly from the swollen rubber lines and dripping down into the alternator. Though the voltage while running was around 13.5-13.9 according to my scan tool through the OBDII port, I know I've seen alternators fail intermittently in the past so I opted to just replace it. Again, did I mention my pregnant wife? As it turns out, this also did not solve the flickering battery light issue.

    Finally, having searched late into the night on the forums all threads relating to this issue, I found several other stories that go like this: "New battery, new alternator, battery light STILL flickering". Bingo. I read several cases where a faulty ignition switch resolved the issue.

    We last replaced our ignition switch in November 2015 at around 120k (X5 has 178k now) with a genuine BMW part. I assumed it couldn't possibly fail again so soon (under 4 years). I decided to throw in a $59 Febi switch (still made in Germany) and that has totally resolved the issue.

    Made a video of my fun week so far:



    link: https://youtu.be/Rdo-IeK9HzY

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