Intermittent Battery Light - Earth Locations?

EViS

EViS

Member
Our 2003 Z4 e85 has had a very intermittent orange battery light coming on the dash for the past year. It's never caused an issue, but is something I've wanted to solve.

The Bosch alternator (and belt) is new and shows a 13.7v reading at the battery terminals with all accessories running. The Varta Silver battery is only two years old. Halfords ran a battery test and the readings seemingly came back good, but are these completely fool-proof to ascertain that the battery definitely wouldn't be the culprit of an intermittent battery light?

Battery: Good
Rating: 780 EN1
Measured: 688 EN1
Volts: 12.60 V
Int R: 3.60 mOhm
Life: 83%

The next step is probably to check the earth contacts. Is there a detailed diagram somewhere which shows ALL of the earth points on the e85? I couldn't find anything obvious in TIS.

Is there anything else which could be causing an intermittent battery light which could help with the diagnosis?
 
bigwinn said:
Worth talking to Martin Enuff-Zed he had a similar issue on his 3.0
Click to expand...
PM replied to. :thumbsup:

Edit: For the benefit of everyone else, this is what it said:
Hi there, yes I did have a battery light. Think it was red actually. Popped up but made no difference to the car and would go away the next day. Certainly wasn't a charging issue.
I had a code which alluded to the fact that the alternator wasn't talking to the DME? Who knew they did?
Anyway, I replaced the diode pack and the light went away. not been back for 4-5 months now.
As you have a new alternator I doubt this is your issue, but it is possible that the one you have is still not on speaking terms with the DME.
I was told that a software update would sort this and was all teed up for a visit to Stuart (bigwinn) to do this. But for now mine seems fixed.
I would suggest you get the codes checked and see if you have a similar issue.
The code I had was: 281D (BSD generator signal)
 
enuff_zed said:
bigwinn said:
Worth talking to Martin Enuff-Zed he had a similar issue on his 3.0
Click to expand...
PM replied to. :thumbsup:

Edit: For the benefit of everyone else, this is what it said:
Hi there, yes I did have a battery light. Think it was red actually. Popped up but made no difference to the car and would go away the next day. Certainly wasn't a charging issue.
I had a code which alluded to the fact that the alternator wasn't talking to the DME? Who knew they did?
Anyway, I replaced the diode pack and the light went away. not been back for 4-5 months now.
As you have a new alternator I doubt this is your issue, but it is possible that the one you have is still not on speaking terms with the DME.
I was told that a software update would sort this and was all teed up for a visit to Stuart (bigwinn) to do this. But for now mine seems fixed.
I would suggest you get the codes checked and see if you have a similar issue.
The code I had was: 281D (BSD generator signal)
Click to expand...

I have the very same issue on the 2.5- BSD

I’m going to try inpa on it imminently
 
I'd always start with the basics, your plan to check earth's and connections would be the best starting point. If there is a poor connection this will show misleading codes.
Worth a read also, let us know how you get on.
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=110594
 
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