UNREAL!! a and Richard thank you!! (archive)

This problem was driving me CRAZY! 15 mins. Problem gone! I had done the alternator and battery. It would be good for a while. The light must have been intermittent. It went again last night. Sure as @#$%, the battery light was out this morning after I read you post.

Thanks a ton!

Dean

what do i do the battery was not charging so i had taken it out and taken it to a electrical shop and they reconditioned it and it still is the same but the electrican
has looked at the car and he says it's an open circuit in between the alternator and the ignition or near that so is there anywhere in particular i sould look around? and check to see if there is a fault cause the basterd charges too much and i don't fully trust him yet.

Carlos,

You don't state what model year BMW you have, but if your E28 is between '83 through '86 model your problem could be nothing more than a bad bulb.

Here's what to check.
1) Make sure the heavy ground wire is connected from the alternator body to the engine. If this is missing or bad due to corrosion in the crimps your battery will not charge properly. I would suggest tha you change this cable assembly with a new one. Also check that the ground strap on the right rear side of the engine is in place and connected.

2Turn the ignition key to the normal run position, however do not start the car. Look at your insrument cluster and verify that the Alternator Warning Lamp is illuminated. If it is not the first thing to do is pull the instrument cluster and check the bulb.

If the bulb is bad your battery will not charge. On the early E28's the field winding of the alternator gets it's power through the warning lamp in your gauge cluster. If you have a Bentley Manual, look at Fig. 6-1 on page 10 in Chapter 9. The illustration clearly shows the charging circuit.

If bulb is good, then there is another loose connection or a broken / open wire somewhere in the circuit.

Good Luck,

Richard

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