Kinda stumped. Any advice would be great. (electrical)
08-08-2013, 04:34 PM
#1
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Kinda stumped. Any advice would be great. (electrical)
So I replaced my battery after it went to poop and all was well for about a month. Just recently I've been getting 2 errors pretty much on the regular. After about 5-10 miles of driving moderately first my DTC is triggered. (Yellow triangle with circle arrow) after another 10 or 15 miles my active steering also goes off.
my battery is an after market AGM battery with the same specs as OEM. I purchased from my Local Indy shop and at first didn't register it. Prior to registering it I dropped by my shop and had them check my alternator since the car is in fact nearing 10 years old. They said of course my battery as well as the alternator were perfectly fine. I then had Simon register the battery and thought that would fix the issue but again nothing. Hmmm?
So now I'm kinda in the dark as to how to approach the matter. I don't really want to start replacing parts that don't need to, but if thats the only solution I guess I have to go down that road.
The car drives absolutely perfect and I'm obviously not experiencing a loss of power steering. The errors HAVE to be caused by electrical issues, but I'm just kinda stumped where to go from here.
I've read some other posts about people's dynamic drive modules crapping out on them with a slew of other issues such as radio cutting out and power surges accompanied by the car intermittently losing power , but thats not my case. I know this is kinda case specific, but just throwing it out there in hopes that someone else might have come across these same symptoms as me.
My next course of action is to have these items replaced
1. alternator
2. dynamic drive module
3. (whatever that "intelligent charge cable is called")
BTW the errors erase after shutdown.
Thanks folks for whatever knowledge you can break me off.
my battery is an after market AGM battery with the same specs as OEM. I purchased from my Local Indy shop and at first didn't register it. Prior to registering it I dropped by my shop and had them check my alternator since the car is in fact nearing 10 years old. They said of course my battery as well as the alternator were perfectly fine. I then had Simon register the battery and thought that would fix the issue but again nothing. Hmmm?
So now I'm kinda in the dark as to how to approach the matter. I don't really want to start replacing parts that don't need to, but if thats the only solution I guess I have to go down that road.
The car drives absolutely perfect and I'm obviously not experiencing a loss of power steering. The errors HAVE to be caused by electrical issues, but I'm just kinda stumped where to go from here.
I've read some other posts about people's dynamic drive modules crapping out on them with a slew of other issues such as radio cutting out and power surges accompanied by the car intermittently losing power , but thats not my case. I know this is kinda case specific, but just throwing it out there in hopes that someone else might have come across these same symptoms as me.
My next course of action is to have these items replaced
1. alternator
2. dynamic drive module
3. (whatever that "intelligent charge cable is called")
BTW the errors erase after shutdown.
Thanks folks for whatever knowledge you can break me off.
08-08-2013, 05:58 PM
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Have you have starting the car issues and transmission gear malfunction also? i had similar issues, you may still want to just try replacing the "integrated supply module" it's under the passenger cabin filter which is under the hood. I was about to sale my car thinking it was a major issue. Luckily it ended up being a $120 fix. Give this a shot, good luck buddy
08-08-2013, 06:03 PM
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Have you have starting the car issues and transmission gear malfunction also? i had similar issues, you may still want to just try replacing the "integrated supply module" it's under the passenger cabin filter which is under the hood. I was about to sale my car thinking it was a major issue. Luckily it ended up being a $120 fix. Give this a shot, good luck buddy
08-08-2013, 07:00 PM
#6
I would buy one of those little volt meters you plug into the cig lighter and monitor voltage as you drive. Something tells me its your alternator getting ready to crap out. I think someone mentioned in another post that its usually a bad voltage regulator in the alt that wreaks havoc on the electrics and throws odd warnings.
If its okay,could be a steering angle sensor thats gone bad. Google DTC/Active steering warning lights.
If its okay,could be a steering angle sensor thats gone bad. Google DTC/Active steering warning lights.
Last edited by Jim165; 08-08-2013 at 07:10 PM.
08-08-2013, 07:30 PM
#7
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You seem to think it is the electrical system. I would agree that it is a very good place to start.
BMWs are electrical hogs when it comes to power. They demand accurate voltage in huge amounts to run all of the computers and sensors the car is packed with. Each electrical component that demands power receives it as a combination of voltage and current. If the system voltage begins to sag then any power demand component will attempt to maintain the same power by increasing current. This can lead to dangerous over currents in cables and junction boxes.
As system voltage sags the ECM will begin to purposely shed load by shutting down certain non-critical systems in order to lower currents and give you time to correct the system voltage. The DSC and active steering are among the first to be shutdown.
This generally points to an alternator problem (voltage regulator). To either identify this as the cause or set it aside and move on to other possibilities you need to accurately measure the voltage 1. before starting, 2. the first 30 seconds after starting and 3. throughout your drive.
Last year my alternator failed. When I measured it I learned that during the first minute or two the voltage would be fine. Then it would spike to 17V (the dash would become a Christmas tree of lights). Then after another 30 seconds it would sag to 11.5V and then slowly rise during the drive. Without measuring it continuously I wouldn't have known.
The easiest way I know of to measure voltage is to use a cigarette voltmeter to measure the voltage from the comfort of your seat.
Look for 12.5-12.6V before starting on a battery that has sat idle for three hours or more (no driving and no battery charger). On start up you should see 14.2-14.8V and during driving 14.0-14.6V.
If your voltage matches these rough numbers then move on to another possible cause.
BMWs are electrical hogs when it comes to power. They demand accurate voltage in huge amounts to run all of the computers and sensors the car is packed with. Each electrical component that demands power receives it as a combination of voltage and current. If the system voltage begins to sag then any power demand component will attempt to maintain the same power by increasing current. This can lead to dangerous over currents in cables and junction boxes.
As system voltage sags the ECM will begin to purposely shed load by shutting down certain non-critical systems in order to lower currents and give you time to correct the system voltage. The DSC and active steering are among the first to be shutdown.
This generally points to an alternator problem (voltage regulator). To either identify this as the cause or set it aside and move on to other possibilities you need to accurately measure the voltage 1. before starting, 2. the first 30 seconds after starting and 3. throughout your drive.
Last year my alternator failed. When I measured it I learned that during the first minute or two the voltage would be fine. Then it would spike to 17V (the dash would become a Christmas tree of lights). Then after another 30 seconds it would sag to 11.5V and then slowly rise during the drive. Without measuring it continuously I wouldn't have known.
The easiest way I know of to measure voltage is to use a cigarette voltmeter to measure the voltage from the comfort of your seat.
Look for 12.5-12.6V before starting on a battery that has sat idle for three hours or more (no driving and no battery charger). On start up you should see 14.2-14.8V and during driving 14.0-14.6V.
If your voltage matches these rough numbers then move on to another possible cause.
08-08-2013, 09:48 PM
#8
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I would buy one of those little volt meters you plug into the cig lighter and monitor voltage as you drive. Something tells me its your alternator getting ready to crap out. I think someone mentioned in another post that its usually a bad voltage regulator in the alt that wreaks havoc on the electrics and throws odd warnings.
If its okay,could be a steering angle sensor thats gone bad. Google DTC/Active steering warning lights.
If its okay,could be a steering angle sensor thats gone bad. Google DTC/Active steering warning lights.
You seem to think it is the electrical system. I would agree that it is a very good place to start.
BMWs are electrical hogs when it comes to power. They demand accurate voltage in huge amounts to run all of the computers and sensors the car is packed with. Each electrical component that demands power receives it as a combination of voltage and current. If the system voltage begins to sag then any power demand component will attempt to maintain the same power by increasing current. This can lead to dangerous over currents in cables and junction boxes.
As system voltage sags the ECM will begin to purposely shed load by shutting down certain non-critical systems in order to lower currents and give you time to correct the system voltage. The DSC and active steering are among the first to be shutdown.
This generally points to an alternator problem (voltage regulator). To either identify this as the cause or set it aside and move on to other possibilities you need to accurately measure the voltage 1. before starting, 2. the first 30 seconds after starting and 3. throughout your drive.
Last year my alternator failed. When I measured it I learned that during the first minute or two the voltage would be fine. Then it would spike to 17V (the dash would become a Christmas tree of lights). Then after another 30 seconds it would sag to 11.5V and then slowly rise during the drive. Without measuring it continuously I wouldn't have known.
The easiest way I know of to measure voltage is to use a cigarette voltmeter to measure the voltage from the comfort of your seat.
Equus 3721 Battery and Charging System Monitor : Amazon.com : Automotive
Look for 12.5-12.6V before starting on a battery that has sat idle for three hours or more (no driving and no battery charger). On start up you should see 14.2-14.8V and during driving 14.0-14.6V.
If your voltage matches these rough numbers then move on to another possible cause.
BMWs are electrical hogs when it comes to power. They demand accurate voltage in huge amounts to run all of the computers and sensors the car is packed with. Each electrical component that demands power receives it as a combination of voltage and current. If the system voltage begins to sag then any power demand component will attempt to maintain the same power by increasing current. This can lead to dangerous over currents in cables and junction boxes.
As system voltage sags the ECM will begin to purposely shed load by shutting down certain non-critical systems in order to lower currents and give you time to correct the system voltage. The DSC and active steering are among the first to be shutdown.
This generally points to an alternator problem (voltage regulator). To either identify this as the cause or set it aside and move on to other possibilities you need to accurately measure the voltage 1. before starting, 2. the first 30 seconds after starting and 3. throughout your drive.
Last year my alternator failed. When I measured it I learned that during the first minute or two the voltage would be fine. Then it would spike to 17V (the dash would become a Christmas tree of lights). Then after another 30 seconds it would sag to 11.5V and then slowly rise during the drive. Without measuring it continuously I wouldn't have known.
The easiest way I know of to measure voltage is to use a cigarette voltmeter to measure the voltage from the comfort of your seat.
Equus 3721 Battery and Charging System Monitor : Amazon.com : Automotive
Look for 12.5-12.6V before starting on a battery that has sat idle for three hours or more (no driving and no battery charger). On start up you should see 14.2-14.8V and during driving 14.0-14.6V.
If your voltage matches these rough numbers then move on to another possible cause.
:two up:Now to amazon
08-09-2013, 12:43 AM
#9
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Just get one locally man.
There are less than $10 usually.
The more I think about it, the more I am leaning towards alternator too. That would explain why it keeps blowing diode per BimmerFan's info as well.
There are less than $10 usually.
The more I think about it, the more I am leaning towards alternator too. That would explain why it keeps blowing diode per BimmerFan's info as well.
08-09-2013, 12:56 AM
#10
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Just a warning......... if that voltage runs(spikes ) over 14.8 during running the car your regulator needs to be replaced as any voltage exceeding the 14.8 figure will damage your new AGM battery as well.
Mine was spiking over 15 volts especially in cold weather and caused all kinds of sh%t even screwed up the software over time and had to reprogram whole car.
Mine was spiking over 15 volts especially in cold weather and caused all kinds of sh%t even screwed up the software over time and had to reprogram whole car.