Zane Hanson 0 Report post Posted April 8, 2022 (edited) I have a 1996 E39 523i, the battery keeps draining and I'm not sure why. It has a new alternator and a new battery, when the car is running the old battery was reading 14V so that rules out the battery and the alternator. It was fine for the last few weeks but now it drains very fast, last night it was fully charged then today I drove it to school then to work and then home which are all only 5 minute drives from each other, when I pulled into my driveway and parked everything started dieing including the dash lights turning off and the engine trying to stall but then the engine kicked up revs to keep running with the alternator. When it has died and I try to use any power there is a clicking sound from behind the dash, I'm not sure if this is normal or not. It was already doing it with the old battery which was 6 years old so I got a new battery yesterday and it is still doing it but now the battery dash light is also on which it wasn't with the old battery, I may be able to run it on a diagnostic tool tomorrow. Any thoughts/help on what it could be would be much appreciated *SOLVED* Turns out my new alternator had a faulty regulator but it is all fixed now Edited April 14, 2022 by Zane Hanson Solved the issue Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirtydoogle 383 Report post Posted April 8, 2022 Sounds like a broken solder joint on the rectifier pack in the alternator, would cause intermittent charge issues. Try checking voltage after driving it for a bit, or carry a meter with you and check voltage when it plays up Diagnostic tool can be potentially difficult on that era e39 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zane Hanson 0 Report post Posted April 8, 2022 49 minutes ago, dirtydoogle said: Sounds like a broken solder joint on the rectifier pack in the alternator, would cause intermittent charge issues. Try checking voltage after driving it for a bit, or carry a meter with you and check voltage when it plays up Diagnostic tool can be potentially difficult on that era e39 Thanks I'll try that, I just came back out to the car after it died 3 hours ago, I havnt charged it again or anything and it started no problem at all, yet 3 hours ago it didn't have enough power to start it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NZ00Z3 187 Report post Posted April 8, 2022 The Foxwell NT530 scanner with BMW software list the E39 as being in it's coverage. http://blog.foxwellstore.com/foxwell-nt530-bmw-obd2-scanner-vehicle-coverage-faqs/ 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jon dee 500 Report post Posted April 9, 2022 (edited) I can't speak for BMW's but as far as I know most cars use the battery light to indicate if the battery is being charged while the engine is running. So turn the car on and the light is on... start the car and once the engine is running the light goes off. If you have your multimeter handy, check the voltage between the battery terminals when the engine is running. 12V or near and the battery is not charging... 13.5V or above and it is charging. Second thing... does your alternator have an internal regulator or an external regulator ? If it is external, did the new alternator come with a new regulator or did you reuse the old regulator ? Cheers... Edited April 9, 2022 by jon dee Typho.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirtydoogle 383 Report post Posted April 9, 2022 16 hours ago, NZ00Z3 said: The Foxwell NT530 scanner with BMW software list the E39 as being in it's coverage. http://blog.foxwellstore.com/foxwell-nt530-bmw-obd2-scanner-vehicle-coverage-faqs/ Most pre-lci e39s outside of the euro and US markets are not OBD2 compliant May not be alternator is that is the case, Ignition switch issues (common) or a loose plate in the battery (not that uncommon these days either) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NZ00Z3 187 Report post Posted April 9, 2022 23 minutes ago, dirtydoogle said: Most pre-lci e39s outside of the euro and US markets are not OBD2 compliant Agreed. 1/2 of the Z3 fleet is the same. DME and EGS are OBD2 with the rest of the car being OBD1/ADS. That's why I have the Foxwell NT530 with BMW software. It will talk OBD1/ADS to the older cars. Better than carting my XP computer around in the Boot. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirtydoogle 383 Report post Posted April 9, 2022 1 hour ago, NZ00Z3 said: Agreed. 1/2 of the Z3 fleet is the same. DME and EGS are OBD2 with the rest of the car being OBD1/ADS. That's why I have the Foxwell NT530 with BMW software. It will talk OBD1/ADS to the older cars. Better than carting my XP computer around in the Boot. XP PC is a total PITA to carry around 🤦♂️ How early are we talking? If it talks early e36 I'll grab one Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zane Hanson 0 Report post Posted April 9, 2022 (edited) 6 hours ago, jon dee said: I can't speak for BMW's but as far as I know most cars use the battery light to indicate if the battery is being charged while the engine is running. So turn the car on and the light is on... start the car and once the engine is running the light goes off. If you have your multimeter handy, check the voltage between the battery terminals when the engine is running. 12V or near and the battery is not charging... 13.5V or above and it is charging. Second thing... does your alternator have an internal regulator or an external regulator ? If it is external, did the new alternator come with a new regulator or did you reuse the old regulator ? Cheers... Thanks, today I checked the battery with a multimeter and it was not charging when the car was running so I got a light and tested the alternator, the red cable from the battery is fine but the other cable has 2 contacts and one of them isn't working. so I am going to pull out the alternator and give it to someone to test it properly, should be able to either fix it or get another one depending on what they say. I didn't put the alternator in myself, I havnt had the car very long but I can tell that the alternator is very new. So I'm not sure about the regulator. Edited April 9, 2022 by Zane Hanson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NZ00Z3 187 Report post Posted April 9, 2022 5 hours ago, dirtydoogle said: How early are we talking? If it talks early e36 I'll grab one Hi I haven't had to scan an OBD1/ADS module yet. The earliest car I've scanned is an 8/98 E36/7 (Z3), which is totally OBD2 compliant. The scanner coverage list I posted in the link says it covers the 3 series right down to the E30. They only had the 20 pin PacMan plug under the bonnet. The TradeMe Advert below lists it as a OBD1 and OBD2 compliant. I've played with the scanner and looked at the E36 section. Right at the beginning, it asks you if your car is made before or after 03/98. After and it's OBD2. Before and its OBD1/ADS. This section lists the cars and all the normal ABS, etc OBD 1/ADS modules. Scanner is relatively expensive at $395 new https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-parts-accessories/tools-repair-kits/meters-testers/listing/3546347938?bof=41KQbi62 https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-parts-accessories/tools-repair-kits/meters-testers/listing/3546345245?bof=41KQbi62 Hope this helps. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jom 98 Report post Posted April 10, 2022 11 hours ago, NZ00Z3 said: I've played with the scanner and looked at the E36 section. Right at the beginning, it asks you if your car is made before or after 03/98. After and it's OBD2. Before and its OBD1/ADS. This section lists the cars and all the normal ABS, etc OBD 1/ADS modules. My E36 is 11/97 and it's OBD2. I have seen an early 328 that's OBD1, but that's pretty unusual. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NZ00Z3 187 Report post Posted April 10, 2022 40 minutes ago, jom said: My E36 is 11/97 and it's OBD2. I have seen an early 328 that's OBD1, but that's pretty unusual. Yes your DME will be OBD2, but the rest of your modules will be OBD1/ADS. Have a go are reading the codes in your ABS or ZKE4 (GM4) module. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
