E46 330D Not Starting. Red battery light

[SantaMuerte]

Howdy gents

So got my first ever problem with my E46 330D today. Tried starting my car after work today and nothing. All the lights come on but the battery light stays red and the car doesn't start. Tried jump starting and disconnecting and reconnecting the battery but nothing.

Is there anyone here that might have some insight into what the issue could be?

If it is the alternator, what am I in for to fix it?

@Skalabala as far as I know you are our resident mechanic. Any advice perhaps?

 

[DannyBoyOPC]

Could be lose connections somewhere, bad battery, alternator not charging.

Let me know where about you at and i can assist you with this. I have the BMW diagnostics tools available also

 

[SantaMuerte]

Could be lose connections somewhere, bad battery, alternator not charging.

Let me know where about you at and i can assist you with this. I have the BMW diagnostics tools available also

Hey bud

My car is stranded at my office in Kempton Park

 

[DannyBoyOPC]

Will send you a PM

 

[Gurshick]

99.9% your battery is done.

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

 

[SILTECH786]

Bru your network is terrible if you need any assistance or need me to make calls for you please dont hesistate cool

 

[Dr Evil]

Howdy gents

So got my first ever problem with my E46 330D today. Tried starting my car after work today and nothing. All the lights come on but the battery light stays red and the car doesn't start. Tried jump starting and disconnecting and reconnecting the battery but nothing.

Is there anyone here that might have some insight into what the issue could be?

If it is the alternator, what am I in for to fix it?

@Skalabala as far as I know you are our resident mechanic. Any advice perhaps?

Best place to ask is bmwfanatics.co.za
I had an e46 320i and when the macky fixed it i paid roughly 2.5k. this was a few years ago.
What you can do is go onto realoem.com and put in your vin. Check the part number and call goldwagen or masterparts just to check what the price of the alternator is to give you a rough idea.
If it's your battery you looking at about 2k from battery centre.


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[SantaMuerte]

Best place to ask is bmwfanatics.co.za
I had an e46 320i and when the macky fixed it i paid roughly 2.5k. this was a few years ago.
What you can do is go onto realoem.com and put in your vin. Check the part number and call goldwagen or masterparts just to check what the price of the alternator is to give you a rough idea.
If it's your battery you looking at about 2k from battery centre.


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The battery is good. I replaced it around 2 months ago after that cold front because my car was standing outside and the battery was very old.

@DannyBoyOPC came and checked it out now as well. It looks like the starter is dead. Problem with the auto is the starter sits under the manifold so there's no easy way to get to it and test it. Big job ahead.

 

[DannyBoyOPC]

Checked voltage on the car is currently at 12.58 V and all the lights and door locks work
Checked the connection to the battery and they are all good and no lose/dodgy connections
Checked fuses in glovebox and they all seemed to be ok..
Checked another box in the engine bay which contains like 5/6 fuses in a enclosure, they are all good

Would like to try another key as its possible that the key has gone faulty, or will try to resync the current key with the car and see if there is any difference.
Alternatively, try a spare key
Also want to check out the starter before replacement as its possible it could not be receiving signal from the Key/EWS system.

 

[KiLLRoY]

Had some starter issues with my E90 as well, but I was making lots of very short trips and well the car had 200k on the clocks already by that time.

Couple of options. For the E90s there were plenty of second hand parts around and a new one from Goldwagen was R2200 about 4 years ago

Try Bemows and Majestic Auto Spares for parts

 

[SantaMuerte]

So it turned out to be the key that went bad. Put the chip in a spare key and all seems good now

 

[Skalabala]

They do have starter motor problems, did one the other day.
@DannyBoyOPC Your diagnostic will tell you if the key has a problem
The starter signal comes from Pin 51 from the ECU. But I am sure you know how to do a quick test on the starter while its on the car
Wire seems to be Black/Green.

 

[Skalabala]

Ah awesome Glad it was an easy fix.

 

[DannyBoyOPC]

They do have starter motor problems, did one the other day.
@DannyBoyOPC Your diagnostic will tell you if the key has a problem
The starter signal comes from Pin 51 from the ECU. But I am sure you know how to do a quick test on the starter while its on the car
Wire seems to be Black/Green.

Yeah unfortunately like a clever child that i am, i dont have that 16 to 20 pin adapter for the older cars. The cable i have only reads the 2007 onwards models.

But also what @LaidtoRest_ZA forgot to tell me was that he threw the original key on the floor in a rage fit at the office 🤣 🤣

 

[SantaMuerte]

But also what @LaidtoRest_ZA forgot to tell me was that he threw the original key on the floor in a rage fit at the office 🤣 🤣

Hau I did no such thing 🤣 It did fall though because I'm clumsy like that 🤣