Battery or Alternator????
12-15-2009, 01:39 PM
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My Ride: 2004 545, Sport Package, Steptronic, NAV, L7, PDC, Sunshades, Titanium Gray over Black, Bluetooth
Two weeks ago I replaced my 5 year old, 48K battery with an exact spec Rayovac (made in Germany) from BatteriesPlus. Everything was fine for two days until I parked my car outside at LAX for 5 days during which we had torrential rain/wind in Southern CA. I replaced the battery because I received a couple "High Discharge" messages or something like that and I didn't want to get stranded. Soon after the problems have begun. 1. "Dynamic Drive Failure" every time I drive the car. 2. Vent/Heater blows erratically while the engine is under load when driving (it's fine at idle). 3. Stereo clips in and out 4. NAV data was completely lost and had to be reset by ejecting the DVD and re-inserting. I had the battery tested and it's fine. I reconnected the battery cables and they are secure. I checked under the spare tire and did not find any water from the high rains. It sounds like the alternator to me but it is a little to coincidental that it occurred right after battery replacement. Any thoughts??? - Thanks
12-15-2009, 02:20 PM
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I'm currently having my alternator replaced at the dealership, today!
Covered by CPO warranty with deductible of $50. With no coverage, it may be around $800 at the dealership..
GL
Covered by CPO warranty with deductible of $50. With no coverage, it may be around $800 at the dealership..
GL
12-15-2009, 03:22 PM
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My Ride: 2006 525XI, Jet black on Dakota beige. Premium and winter packages. I consider myself a purist and intend to keep my car absolutely stock and shiny.
2008 328I Convertible, Sapphire black on beige interior. Premium package, NAV, iPod adapter.
Retired: 2002 325I, Titanium silver on black leather. Premium package. Absolutely stock and proud of it.
Originally Posted by powers545' post='1074176' date='Dec 15 2009, 05:39 PM
Two weeks ago I replaced my 5 year old, 48K battery with an exact spec Rayovac (made in Germany) from BatteriesPlus. Everything was fine for two days until I parked my car outside at LAX for 5 days during which we had torrential rain/wind in Southern CA. I replaced the battery because I received a couple "High Discharge" messages or something like that and I didn't want to get stranded. Soon after the problems have begun. 1. "Dynamic Drive Failure" every time I drive the car. 2. Vent/Heater blows erratically while the engine is under load when driving (it's fine at idle). 3. Stereo clips in and out 4. NAV data was completely lost and had to be reset by ejecting the DVD and re-inserting. I had the battery tested and it's fine. I reconnected the battery cables and they are secure. I checked under the spare tire and did not find any water from the high rains. It sounds like the alternator to me but it is a little to coincidental that it occurred right after battery replacement. Any thoughts??? - Thanks
12-15-2009, 04:09 PM
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When you install a new battery, BMW needs to "notify" your idrive, or the onboard cpu, that you have a new battery installed so as to recognize it, or so I was told by my SA on Saturday, 12-12-09. Even if you buy your own battery, they will charge about $150 for the "work" they do with your car. 
There have been threads about this where a bad alternator kills a new battery in a few days due to the improper charge from the alternator.
There have been threads about this where a bad alternator kills a new battery in a few days due to the improper charge from the alternator.
12-15-2009, 06:21 PM
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My Ride: 2005 545i Sport 6MT
Originally Posted by redEYEjedi' post='1074266' date='Dec 15 2009, 08:09 PM
When you install a new battery, BMW needs to "notify" your idrive, or the onboard cpu, that you have a new battery installed so as to recognize it, or so I was told by my SA on Saturday, 12-12-09. Even if you buy your own battery, they will charge about $150 for the "work" they do with your car.
There have been threads about this where a bad alternator kills a new battery in a few days due to the improper charge from the alternator.
There have been threads about this where a bad alternator kills a new battery in a few days due to the improper charge from the alternator.
12-15-2009, 09:28 PM
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Originally Posted by DKNewYork' post='1074181' date='Dec 15 2009, 06:45 PM
Alternator. Had the same issues. Replaced it. All good. Knock on wood. 
thanks for your help.
12-16-2009, 04:58 AM
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Same here, replaced the battery, few days later I get a load of errors on the idrive again.
First check of the alternator was fine, the second time the alternator had no output, appears to have been an intermittent fault with the alternator.
First check of the alternator was fine, the second time the alternator had no output, appears to have been an intermittent fault with the alternator.
12-16-2009, 06:40 AM
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My Ride: (USA) 645Ci, Silver Gray, Chateau, Cold Weather PKG, Premium Sound PKG, Sport PKG, Step, NAV [Std Equip in 645], HUD, Satellite (SIRIUS) Radio, Aux Input, Bluetooth enabled using iPhone 3GS w/ adapter cradle - Build date - 01/05, Baby delivered 2/24/05
Registering battery is only needed if it is a different spec then previosly registered battery. Needed to tell system how to much to charge battery. If same spec then no need to change anything.
Some alternator faults seen in BMWs include voltage spikes which cause CCC and other electronic modules to shut down to preserve themselves. This is momentary but usually leaves some fault code evidence. This a different fault mode than the more typical alternator fault of not charging the battery sufficiently.
Some alternator faults seen in BMWs include voltage spikes which cause CCC and other electronic modules to shut down to preserve themselves. This is momentary but usually leaves some fault code evidence. This a different fault mode than the more typical alternator fault of not charging the battery sufficiently.