Anyone know about E46?

V

vectramat

Member
Hi all

Some of you may remember I asked on behalf of a family friend to price up a 325ci convertible.

Well ive actually decided to buy it, and keep the Z4 in the garage over winter and not ruin my hard details work by getting the thing coated in salt, and then sell the 325ci in spring.

So the questions I have is about a strange problem I am having with the car. Driving the other night, in rain with the lights and wipers on, heated seat and rear de-mister. Suddenly the battery light starts flickering, onec every 30 seconds, then once every 15 seconds, and then stayed on, got the car home and just as I pulled into the drive, the DSC, ABS, and battery light all together came on.

The battery is good, ive checked it and charged it up over night. My guess is the alternator is not charging the battery, however just need to know from you guys if there is anything else I should check before I drop some notes on a new alternator?

Any help greatly appriciated.

Thanks
Matt
 
this sounds EXACTLY like the issue I just experienced with my Zed..

The advice given to me was to check the voltage across the battery with it both turned off, then running.
Off should give 12.4 to 12.6 volts - if so, battery is fine.
On should give about 14 volts - if so, alternator is fine.
 
Matt,

One of the probs you can get on the E46 same as the Z3 is the wiring loom that passes from the rear wing into the bootlid, normally you know thats is failing because the certral locking normally goes intermittant or fails along with the boot light, the wires in the loom tend to fracture with it flexing when the boot is opened and closed. Worth checking just in case its causing any electrical gremlins. BMW knew it was a problem and brought out a replacement loom. Had to get the Z3 done last year as all the wires had snapped :cry:

Could also be a bad earth.

Tim.
 
I had this exact problem with my E46 320d and it was the alternator not rectifying the AC properly when under extreme load. It finally cooked an otherwise perfect battery before I found out what it was. :headbang:
 
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