When the lights go out (Battery & Engine dying)
- Thread starter davidmudley12
- Start date
I wonder why someone would remove that? I’m guessing it’s linked to the alarm system, does it do anything else as far as you know?ph001 said:
Zedebee said:
Thanks for the picture, it’s literally given me a thousand words of disbelief as to why someone would remove it....
Fairly common for the bonnet switch to play up, and randomly set the alarm off in the middle of the night. Sure you can replace the switch, but far easier to just remove it.
Okay then I’ll probably just leave it. Thanks for solving the mystery for me.brillomaster said:
Because they were too tight to spend a tenner to fix a broken one :lol:davidmudley12 said:
You will need a six point E-Torx male to use on the top with a breaker bar or longish ratchet to take the tension off to get the belt off then the centre and outer retaining screws for the tensioner itself to take it out. It lists the screws a alloy and one use only so replace and do not overtighten when fitting new tensioner.
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=BU52-EUR-06-2006-E85-BMW-Z4_30si&diagId=11_3740
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=BU52-EUR-06-2006-E85-BMW-Z4_30si&diagId=11_3740
colb said:
T60 by the look of it, frustratingly I only have torx heads up to T55 so I’ve got a T60 on order. I’ve ordered a Gates tensioner from eBay which looks like it comes with the screw (i have messaged the seller to double check).
Do you know if the retaining bolt for the tensioner are single use? Or is it just the centre bolt?
Thanks for the help.
French Connection
Member
ph001 said:
Borrowed a code reader, cleared historical codes and one persistent one remains - 281C. Any ideas? Googling gives a variety of could be's so I'm going hunting on alternator connection, battery connections........... if there are any other ideas/experience out there I'm all ears. Thanks all
281c relates to a bad alternator or the battery is not receiving a full voltage from the alternator due to a wiring issue between the alternator and the battery. Found one example of this fault on Youtube, it relates to the pyro connection + on the battery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzNXtdP7NkQ
The connection is fired apart in the event of an accident to disconnect the main battery connection to prevent a fire starting in the event of fuel leaks, a seconday feed remains intact to maintain power to door locks so you can get out. Carry out the tests as seen in the video to see if thats the cause of your problem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzNXtdP7NkQ
The connection is fired apart in the event of an accident to disconnect the main battery connection to prevent a fire starting in the event of fuel leaks, a seconday feed remains intact to maintain power to door locks so you can get out. Carry out the tests as seen in the video to see if thats the cause of your problem.
I've just taken off my alternator, with it off I've noticed a good bit of oil all behind where it was (mostly old dry oil), it might be running down from the rocker cover gasket or the oil filter gasket based on what I can see. I'm guessing it makes sense to change the oil filter gasket while I have the alternator off (remembering to loosen the oil filter and let the oil drain out first! :-D ). I'm not sure if I'm just making work for myself as most of the oil I can see is old dry oil and it could just be spillage from someone removing the filter (I bought the car a few months ago with an oil change so unsure of when the gasket might have been replaced).
Assuming I should replace the oil filter and oil cooler gasket can someone tell me how to get the oil cooler plastic cover off? I can’t find a way with the clearance (or lack of) on the 3.0si E85.
My other question relating to oil leaks is down at the bottom of the engine by the engine oil sump, there is also oil residue around there (may have come from further up the engine), the thing that is confusing me is that I can feel part of the oil sump gasket around the edge of the sump i.e. it is protruding about 2-3mm out of the engine / sump (enough to wiggle with your finger). Does this seem right?
The options I'm considering are:
1. Clean the engine bay up, leave the gaskets as they are and put the new alternator & belt in, watch it over time and see where any fresh oil leaks are coming from
2. Replace the oil filter gasket while I have the alternator off
3. Replace the oil filter & rocker cover gaskets
4. Replace oil filter, rocker cover & oil sump gaskets
I am not sure I want to sign up to the level of DIY needed for option 4 (the car isn't used other than for fun so I can live with it being out of action for a while but the replacement of the alternator job is spiralling.....).
How would others approach this?
Assuming I should replace the oil filter and oil cooler gasket can someone tell me how to get the oil cooler plastic cover off? I can’t find a way with the clearance (or lack of) on the 3.0si E85.
My other question relating to oil leaks is down at the bottom of the engine by the engine oil sump, there is also oil residue around there (may have come from further up the engine), the thing that is confusing me is that I can feel part of the oil sump gasket around the edge of the sump i.e. it is protruding about 2-3mm out of the engine / sump (enough to wiggle with your finger). Does this seem right?
The options I'm considering are:
1. Clean the engine bay up, leave the gaskets as they are and put the new alternator & belt in, watch it over time and see where any fresh oil leaks are coming from
2. Replace the oil filter gasket while I have the alternator off
3. Replace the oil filter & rocker cover gaskets
4. Replace oil filter, rocker cover & oil sump gaskets
I am not sure I want to sign up to the level of DIY needed for option 4 (the car isn't used other than for fun so I can live with it being out of action for a while but the replacement of the alternator job is spiralling.....).
How would others approach this?
are you actually using/losing any oil now? as you say, could be old oil residue.
if its a weekend car only you might get away with just topping up the oil every 6 months, a small leak isnt a major problem IMO as long as you know what the leak is and keep the oil topped up.
but you're way past what id actually do - when my alternator packed in i just got it to a garage and let them deal with it, i have no interest on actually working on cars!
if its a weekend car only you might get away with just topping up the oil every 6 months, a small leak isnt a major problem IMO as long as you know what the leak is and keep the oil topped up.
but you're way past what id actually do - when my alternator packed in i just got it to a garage and let them deal with it, i have no interest on actually working on cars!
David, it doesn’t look all that oily to me; it doesn’t seem as though you have a significant “live” oil leak. Do you have oil leaking on your drive? Best not to mess with your gaskets if they’re not leaking but keep an eye on the oil sump which may have been over tightened or badly fitted.
I’m sure there will be some members advocating preventative maintenance (i.e. replace everything). It really depends on how much DIY experience you want.
I’m sure there will be some members advocating preventative maintenance (i.e. replace everything). It really depends on how much DIY experience you want.
enuff_zed said:
Very true, it is pretty easy to do now that I know what to do, so will focus on giving it a good clean up, drive it for a few months and see what fresh oil comes through. Nice to know I have the gaskets sat in a box for me to forget about, sorry I mean use later in the year!
Zedebee said:
I see what you mean, though I had already given it a bit of clean by the time I took a photo, but even then the alternator area wasn't too bad (compared to what it could have been). It doesn't appear to be losing oil over time, though I've only had the car 3 months so may be too early to tell not to mention I'm not sure how accurate or trustworthy the digital dipstick is on the N52 engine.
I'm all for the easy option......I'll put the car back together and then focus on the where I should have put the left over bolts at the end, sorry I mean driving it a bit!
Good advice from the guys, clean it off with some degreaser/engine cleaner rinse it down then monitor for any leaks, if it aint broke dont mess with it. If after cleaning a leak is discovered then by all means strip and renew gaskets. Cam cover gaskets usually develop leaks on the exhaust side or the rear, sure sign its leaking is the smell of burnt oil when running, when it gets particulaly bad it will produce smoke as it burns on the hot exhaust. The age of our cars it is enevitable that these gaskets give up with the heat cycles they go through over the years, hard and brittle, the centre internal plug well gaskets when they leak will fill the spark plug wells and drown the plug often causing misfires. Only way of checking its condition is to take the cover off. When replacing the cover gasket also replace the round rubber seals under the cover retaining bolts, they go hard and dont compress enough to maintain the reccomended pressure to seal when the bolts are tightened. Any of these gaskets and seals if not perfect will produce vaccum leaks bringing on more running problems to solve.
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