BMW E90 Christmas tree dash lights

AndyBoBandy

Wondering if anyone can offer some advice,

For the last few weeks my 2006 E90 320d has been randomly going mental on the dash with every and any error code showing up, although it usually always features the battery symbol (orange) & the ABS light (red), and then pretty much everything lights up, including the speedo constantly losing power, so it dances from zero up to the current speed and on and on and on. The error only seems to show up after a long drive of 40+ minutes. Also when these errors are showing up in the extreme, the car goes into a sort of limp mode (not the regular limp mode I experienced before the fuel filter was replaced), its very slow off the lights (but revs high), then appears to have normal power, yet seems to go no higher than 5th gear on the motorway!! Stopping and restarting the engine appears to temporarily clear all these errors and brings the engine back to normal.

This leads me to 3 possible scenarios for the christmas tree dash display;

1. The battery is on its way out (I've had the car 7 years and have not yet changed the battery. I also run 2 dash cams, a phone charger, and always drive with dipped beam headlights on). I've just been out again now and started the engine, and the only warning light is the battery light. I don't even know if the battery was ever changed! (the one in it now is a Varta).

2. the ABS/Reluctor rings are damaged/dirty (this would explain the ABS warning light being a regular feature of the christmas tree display), however I only had these replaced about 3 years ago (by Valdas), and since then only driven about 50,000 km (car has a total of 300,350 km on it now), and outside of the christmas display, cruise control works fine ( I use CC probably about 80% of my driving time).

3. the steering alignment sensor is damaged or mis aligned. Back at the very start of all these issues, I recall driving down to the pigeon house in ringsend, and just after Poolbeg power station, when going over one of those 'hard as fcuk' speed bumps (car is M-Sport so has harder suspension as well as run flats, so you feel the bumps), that was when the christmas tree display first reared its ugly head.

Anyone have any advice, or experienced similar issues?

I think step 1 is a new battery anyway, its probably high time the car had a new one. Can I register the new battery to the car with one of those £30 OBD tools from Amazon? If not can anyone recommend a basic enough one that will register a new battery to the car? Are the Bluetooth ones with an iOS app any good? If I paid Halfords the €18 to replace the battery would they have OBD tool to register the new battery (although I'm fully capable of changing it myself, and have all the tools to do so (only really a 10mm socket & ratchet)).

SmartinMartin

Maybe it knows it's Christmas?

biko

As you said OP - start by changing the battery.
Cold weather will cause battery problems, and at 7 years old it doesn't owe you anything anyway.
Ask local motorfactors or Halfords and they may be able to sort it for you, incl coding.

ba_barabus

biko wrote: »

As you said OP - start by changing the battery.

+1 for this

Might also be worth a quick look around the car to check of water leaks which are affecting the electrics and that the current battery connections are secure.

I'm willing to bet it's a duff battery however.

AndyBoBandy

Update;:

Went down to Halfords and picked up a new battery, put in in the boot to bring home and fit myself, and upon leaving Airside, the issue came back again with a vengeance (the OH had the same issue driving home from the office yesterday). A lot worse than before, the engine seemed to struggle in idle, dipping about 100-200 rpm every second or so, like it wanted to cut out altogether, and then when driving it wouldn't go higher than maybe 3rd/4th gear. I had no indicators, and lost all control of the wipers (they were on when leaving Airside, and I couldn't adjust them or turn them off). I didn't want to risk stopping it completely to try and reset it in case it wouldn't start again and leave me stranded.

I managed to get home and stopped it for a few seconds, and when re-started, the christmas tree error's issue was gone (as expected, though usually temporarily), and the only warning was the battery icon.

I swapped out the battery, and discovered the battery in the car must have still been the original (13 years & 300,000 km old), as it was held in place with that clear rubber like paint on coating that you see on new machine tools or big drill bits. The same with the hold down clamp, I had to break the seal of the painted on rubber like coating to remove it.

Once fitted, I started her up and she ran with no issues at all, and I went for a quick test drive, and she feels like a new car, steering feels firmer and tight, and just in general, feels very different to the car I was driving 20 minutes previously. The acid test will be tomorrow when we go for a drive over to Blanchardstown and back, as that'd usually be long enough of a drive for the issue to re-appear in the last 2-3 weeks.

So fingers crossed.

AndyBoBandy

ba_barabus wrote: »

Might also be worth a quick look around the car to check of water leaks which are affecting the electrics and that the current battery connections are secure.

Well for anyone that follows the dashcam thread, they'll have seen me (stupidly) doing this a few weeks ago (skip to 4:35) ,and the issues only started showing up a few weeks afterwards!!

So my fear is there could still be an electrical issue (self inflicted), but we'll see how the new battery fares for now (clearly needed a new battery anyway).

TheW1zard

Thats mad that a new battery could make the car feel different, except for starting, but there ya go!

AndyBoBandy

TheW1zard wrote: »

Thats mad that a new battery could make the car feel different, except for starting, but there ya go!

now that could be in my head, but when driving home from Halfords, there were definitely big issues with how the car was driving, and the steering felt odd as part of this.

James Bond Junior

Great that you got it sorted but you will need to get the battery coded to the car or you will have problems later. Any indy BMW specialist will be able to do it for you.

Reati

What problems?

lawred2

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1338302

AndyBoBandy

It doesn’t look like mine has the IBS on the negative terminal.

It’s just a thick black cable with the terminal clamp on it, and no other cables connected to the negative terminal.

It’s a first gen e90 with M47 engine.

bazz26

IBS would only be on your car if it has the iDrive system as iDrive wasn't standard on the e9x models.

AndyBoBandy

I don't have iDrive,

So does that mean I don't need to register the battery? (Valdas didn't seem to think it needed registering)

lintdrummer

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

I don't have iDrive,

So does that mean I don't need to register the battery? (Valdas didn't seem to think it needed registering)

I have an '06 e92 with iDrive and one of the first things I did when I bought it was replace the battery as it was on the way out. Did it myself with a battery I bought in Halfords. Didn't need to code it. Didn't even know that was a thing until it was mentioned in this thread.

bazz26

IBS or Intelligent Battery Sensor manages the way the car's various electronic components use the load on the battery and how it charges. If the battery is not registered or coded to the car then the system doesn't manage it properly and this shortens the lifespan of the battery. If your car doesn't have iDrive/IBS then it shouldn't need coding.

AndyBoBandy

Update:

This issue has not gone away, and is getting worse lately.

A new (Halfords) battery installed in the car solved the issue for about 2 weeks, but then it came back again over Christmas...

There was a separate BMW recall on the car for the fan blower so I brought it to a BMW main dealer in early January and figured they could run a diagnostics test on it to see if they could figure it out (but deep down I knew they wouldn’t figure it out as they are fairly useless). Of course they found nothing but being a main dealer, they said their first advice would be to install a genuine BMW battery and have it coded to the car.

Reluctantly agreed to the new (expensive) battery and 2/3 days later the issue returned, and has been getting worse ever since.

Had mobile mechanic come out about 3 weeks ago and run a diagnostics on it, and came back with an IBS fault, but the car doesn’t have IBS on it!! (See negative terminal on battery, which is where the IBS would be mounted). He said the alternator tested fine, but it would do when the error is not actively happening, and I’ve never had an issue with the batteries going flat, so when not happening, the battery is charging.

Having a google around and looking on YouTube, I’m now left with the conclusion that it’s either the voltage regulator or the alternator giving the trouble.
When the issue is not happening, it probably shows the alternator/regulator working as normal, and would probably only be measurable when the fault is active! Again this could tie in with the time I drove through a deep flooded road. I’m thinking some water ingress into the alternator could cause it issues

Things got a bit hairy on Saturday afternoon driving across the M50 in the absolute pi55ing rain, with the wipers intermittently working, and the engine not going into a gear higher that probably 3rd (doing about 80 km/h with the engine screaming up around 4,000 rpm).

Ireland is not exactly the place to be driving around where you can’t guarantee the wipers are going to work.....

marcos_94

bazz26 wrote: »

IBS would only be on your car if it has the iDrive system as iDrive wasn't standard on the e9x models.

Thats not entirely true. Mine doesnt have iDrive but has the IBS. I think the best thing to do is that when changing your battery you check for the IBS on the battery.

When I bought my e92, it had been parked up for about a year beforehand so battery wasnt in the best state. I had one drive down to cork where I had the dipped beams on, heated seats on, cruise control on, and the auto wipers, and about halfway down the cruise control disengaged, auto wipers turned off, and the battery light, abs, airbag, and traction control light came on for about 10 seconds then disappeared. Car still drove find and I turned on all the bits again and about 10 minutes later it happened again. This was all as a result of the battery being in poor health and not having been coded when it was changed about a year before being left sitting.

AndyBoBandy

My question now is where's the best place to pick up a 2nd hand alternator? Scrap yard?

I'm reluctant to buy a new one (BMW quoted €1,500 & I see one on MicksGarage for about €330), and would prefer to try a 2nd hand one from a scrap yard first before splashing out on a new one. Or does anyone know anywhere cheaper to pick up a new one?

How does buying parts from scrap yards work? (I've zero experience of buying parts like this). Do you just ring around with a part number, or a car type? (e90 320d M47)

Also, anyone know anywhere around Swords/Fingal area that would swap the alternator for me? I usually go to Valdas but it's a pain in the ar$e getting over and back to him from where I am...

edit: I'd actually give installing a new one a go myself, as I'm fairly mechanicaly minded (served time as mechanical fitter). I found a youtube video in German, and it's not a difficult job

marcos_94

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

My question now is where's the best place to pick up a 2nd hand alternator? Scrap yard?

I'm reluctant to buy a new one (BMW quoted €1,500 & I see one on MicksGarage for about €330), and would prefer to try a 2nd hand one from a scrap yard first before splashing out on a new one. Or does anyone know anywhere cheaper to pick up a new one?

How does buying parts from scrap yards work? (I've zero experience of buying parts like this). Do you just ring around with a part number, or a car type? (e90 320d M47)

Also, anyone know anywhere around Swords/Fingal area that would swap the alternator for me? I usually go to Valdas but it's a pain in the ar$e getting over and back to him from where I am...

edit: I'd actually give installing a new one a go myself, as I'm fairly mechanicaly minded (served time as mechanical fitter). I found a youtube video in German, and it's not a difficult job

I normally use eBay for car parts and have found it very handy. https://www.ebay.ie/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=bmw+e90+320d+m47+alternator&rt=nc

Theres used alternators there from scrapyards, and also new alternators too. For part numbers and diagrams, cheak out https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select

Bunkernumber1

That engine is simple to fit a alternator on you couldn't find a easier one if u tried. I do alot of bmws and I haven't seen this problem caused by a alternator going now I'm open to correction but I haven't came across it. Sounds more like to me that you might have water getting into the electronics box and or you have a bad earth. You should be able to see tho if your alternator is bad fairly simple if your that mechanically minded. If your stuck tho just ask

AndyBoBandy

I've ordered an alternator on eBay, and will do the swap myself. It actually does look handy enough to do.

Fould a good video showing it, even though its in German, its self explanatory really;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64N7qxhbTjI

I did pick up a cheap battery/alternator monitor in Lidl last week, and when checking while the issue is happening (happening a lot more lately), it shows up as an alternator issue (little light for excess voltage was lighting up on and off).

Also to note that now just before the issue occurs, the engine seems to go under load on and off, like as if the alternator is pulling load on and off, enough to show on the rev counter.

Where would the electronics box be located? as going back to my original fear is that water did indeed get in.

Bunkernumber1

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

I've ordered an alternator on eBay, and will do the swap myself. It actually does look handy enough to do.

Fould a good video showing it, even though its in German, its self explanatory really;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64N7qxhbTjI

I did pick up a cheap battery/alternator monitor in Lidl last week, and when checking while the issue is happening (happening a lot more lately), it shows up as an alternator issue (little light for excess voltage was lighting up on and off).

Also to note that now just before the issue occurs, the engine seems to go under load on and off, like as if the alternator is pulling load on and off, enough to show on the rev counter.

Where would the electronics box be located? as going back to my original fear is that water did indeed get in.

There are two electronics boxs under the bonnet in the top left corner and top right corner. There is abit of stripping to get to it all the panels under the bonnet have to be stripped. Couple of 8 screws holding it in.

No offence but I wouldn't be changing anything on a bmw going off a tool you got in lidl. It could be right but who knows. You need a multimeter and you will see litterly in two seconds. I have seen them alternators over charging but once again you will need to get it checked to see or if you get a multimeter you will see straight away. If ur stuck and need any other advice just ask

AndyBoBandy

Cheers,

I've another alternator coming that cost about €45, so will swap it out anyway and see if it solves the issue. If not I'd say that'll be the last thing I'll try as I don't want it to become a money pit as it's just not worth putting anymore money into it, which is a shame as other than this issue, it's perfect.

I'll keep it until at least September, get it NCT's again, and most likely end up in the Bangernomics thread..

AndyBoBandy

Alternator arrived today, and I installed it in about 30 minutes, and a quick test drive showed up no issues with it.

Fingers crossed!!

As the issue is so random, but appearing more and more often lately, I'll still want at least a week of issue free driving to even begin to think the problem is solved!!

AndyBoBandy

Well,

It appears the replacement alternator (bought on eBay for €44 from Lithuania) has finally solved this issue!!

Since I installed it, I've been out enough times that it would have definitely occurred at some stage (as it was happening almost every drive before the swap), and theres not been a peep out of her, driving like a dream again.

*It could have been the voltage regulator, as the battery always still did charge, but it was easier to just replace the whole unit.

GREAT SUCCESS!!

Just changed the oil in her and suddenly she's not for the scrap heap just yet.

If I couldn't solve this, she was getting scrapped in September when the tax ran out..