Topic: BMW E9x - all things maintenance and repairs

[Dante]

One other piece of trivia I remembered - if you want to upgrade the interior lighting to LED, only the dome lights are on the CANBus and need bulbs with resistor (I ended up buying BMW bulbs which are very nicely made but $$$). For the other lights - glove box, footwell, doors, trunk you can buy normal LED bulbs. I bought Philips (nicely made too) from Rockauto for around $5 a pop.

[Dante]

Did anyone put a Bluetooth audio streaming device in their car and use it with Android?

Looking at this one but while it seems to be working OK, it's mostly with iOS:

https://www.viseeousa.com/products/viseeo-tune2air-wma3000b-wireless-bluetooth-music-interface-adaptor-for-in-car-ipod-integration-bmw-usb-aux-in-connector

[pi314]

There are a lot of options for that, do you just want it for music?

In this case it's usb powered which is nice from a ground loop isolation perspective.

I have used a couple cheaper models with mic embedded which would let you have phone calls too... just need the ground loop isolator or you'll have a humming noise.

[Gurgie]

Alright E90 experts... here's one for you... the battery is going on Bella's 323i, its still starting the car, but slowly and last Tuesday I was fueling it up for her while I left the key in & radio on (Bella was in the car as well) and she said the battery sign lit up on the display, so she shut the power down and removed the key. She said it has done it before as well. This morning I went out & started the car for her while she was getting ready for work to get the frost off for her and I noticed from inside the house that the rear defroster wasn't working, so a Google search revealed that a low battery can cause it not to work, apparently it draws a lot of current & the ECU will shut the power down to it if it detects a low battery. Once you start driving and the alternator is charging the battery, it will kick the defrost in... apparently.

Anyways, all that to say I would like to change the battery but I'm getting conflicting information online (what a surprise) about replacing it, some folks are saying it's not a problem to just replace it with a new one, while others are saying you can replace it, but need to code the new battery to the car... thoughts? I'm thinking maybe I change it & then take it to the indy to code?

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

[blur911]

Alright E90 experts... here's one for you... the battery is going on Bella's 323i, its still starting the car, but slowly and last Tuesday I was fueling it up for her while I left the key in & radio on (Bella was in the car as well) and she said the battery sign lit up on the display, so she shut the power down and removed the key. She said it has done it before as well. This morning I went out & started the car for her while she was getting ready for work to get the frost off for her and I noticed from inside the house that the rear defroster wasn't working, so a Google search revealed that a low battery can cause it not to work, apparently it draws a lot of current & the ECU will shut the power down to it if it detects a low battery. Once you start driving and the alternator is charging the battery, it will kick the defrost in... apparently.

Anyways, all that to say I would like to change the battery but I'm getting conflicting information online (what a surprise) about replacing it, some folks are saying it's not a problem to just replace it with a new one, while others are saying you can replace it, but need to code the new battery to the car... thoughts? I'm thinking maybe I change it & then take it to the indy to code?

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

Could be battery, could also be a symptom of a bad alternator.   Do you have a meter? 

[Gurgie]

Alright E90 experts... here's one for you... the battery is going on Bella's 323i, its still starting the car, but slowly and last Tuesday I was fueling it up for her while I left the key in & radio on (Bella was in the car as well) and she said the battery sign lit up on the display, so she shut the power down and removed the key. She said it has done it before as well. This morning I went out & started the car for her while she was getting ready for work to get the frost off for her and I noticed from inside the house that the rear defroster wasn't working, so a Google search revealed that a low battery can cause it not to work, apparently it draws a lot of current & the ECU will shut the power down to it if it detects a low battery. Once you start driving and the alternator is charging the battery, it will kick the defrost in... apparently.

Anyways, all that to say I would like to change the battery but I'm getting conflicting information online (what a surprise) about replacing it, some folks are saying it's not a problem to just replace it with a new one, while others are saying you can replace it, but need to code the new battery to the car... thoughts? I'm thinking maybe I change it & then take it to the indy to code?

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

Could be battery, could also be a symptom of a bad alternator.   Do you have a meter?

Yeah, I do. Battery is original though, so over 10yrs old. Car is 2011. But I can check the voltage I suppose.

Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

[OliverD]

At that age I'd be shocked if it wasn't the battery.

[PJungnitsch]

You could charge it up and test it with a load tester to be sure, but at that age I'd tend to replace the battery just as maintenance

Unless, the alternator isn't charging enough or the battery cables/connections are bad, in which case you'll just undercharge and ruin a new battery too

[blur911]

You could charge it up and test it with a load tester to be sure, but at that age I'd tend to replace the battery just as maintenance

Unless, the alternator isn't charging enough or the battery cables/connections are bad, in which case you'll just undercharge and ruin a new battery too

Yup, exactly

[sailor723]

At that age I'd be shocked if it wasn't the battery.

Yep, We put a new one in our 2011 a couple of years ago. We'd been getting the same low battery warning occasionally for awhile.
Not sure about the coding thing as we had our indi handle the replacement.

[tortoise]

Yeah, I do. Battery is original though, so over 10yrs old. Car is 2011. But I can check the voltage I suppose.

A dying battery works the alternator pretty hard.  It's definitely worth checking the alternator, otherwise you run the risk of killing your new battery.  Ask me how I know (costco warranty for the win).

In my VW you need to code the new battery because the charging protocol changes as the battery ages.  Kinda dumb because dealers charge a fortune for what is a beep-boop process.

[Gurgie]

Small update... Bella went out & started her car for a bit this morning before she left & the defroster worked. My logical guess... because the car hadn't been driven for a couple of days & sat outside the already weak battery didn't allow the defroster to work yesterday. Since she drove it to work yesterday & it sat in a heated parking garage all day the battery didn't lose as much charge. Even though her commute is only 10 - 15mins with some of it on the highway I guess it was enough to bring back some life to it. Will check it Friday when she's working from home to see the voltage of the battery before it starts... just prolonging the delay of buying a new battery 

[blur911]

Small update... Bella went out & started her car for a bit this morning before she left & the defroster worked. My logical guess... because the car hadn't been driven for a couple of days & sat outside the already weak battery didn't allow the defroster to work yesterday. Since she drove it to work yesterday & it sat in a heated parking garage all day the battery didn't lose as much charge. Even though her commute is only 10 - 15mins with some of it on the highway I guess it was enough to bring back some life to it. Will check it Friday when she's working from home to see the voltage of the battery before it starts... just prolonging the delay of buying a new battery 

I'm going to pick up an alternator for a friend's E9X xi, ix, whatever, later.   Told him not to drive his E46 M3 in the snow, I'd get it for him.

[Dante]

Small update... Bella went out & started her car for a bit this morning before she left & the defroster worked. My logical guess... because the car hadn't been driven for a couple of days & sat outside the already weak battery didn't allow the defroster to work yesterday. Since she drove it to work yesterday & it sat in a heated parking garage all day the battery didn't lose as much charge. Even though her commute is only 10 - 15mins with some of it on the highway I guess it was enough to bring back some life to it. Will check it Friday when she's working from home to see the voltage of the battery before it starts... just prolonging the delay of buying a new battery 

I'm going to pick up an alternator for a friend's E9X xi, ix, whatever, later.   Told him not to drive his E46 M3 in the snow, I'd get it for him.

What alternator are you getting? Just curious as I'm shopping for one too. Partsavatar has the Bosh reman (OEM) at a decent price. Of course the cheapest is Rockauto even if you don't ship back the core.

[Dante]

There are a lot of options for that, do you just want it for music?

In this case it's usb powered which is nice from a ground loop isolation perspective.

I have used a couple cheaper models with mic embedded which would let you have phone calls too... just need the ground loop isolator or you'll have a humming noise.

Yes for music and of course if a call comes in while listening to music to stop and switch to the call.
Also, what this one specific does vs the cheap ones is integrate with  steering wheel controls - volume and skip back and forth.
Just got it the other day and it works well with Android too.

[Dante]

Yeah, I do. Battery is original though, so over 10yrs old. Car is 2011. But I can check the voltage I suppose.

A dying battery works the alternator pretty hard.  It's definitely worth checking the alternator, otherwise you run the risk of killing your new battery.  Ask me how I know (costco warranty for the win).

In my VW you need to code the new battery because the charging protocol changes as the battery ages.  Kinda dumb because dealers charge a fortune for what is a beep-boop process.

From what I read, the same apply to BMW (E9x at least).

[Gurgie]

Small update,; checked the voltage Friday morning, 12.04 after sitting for 12hrs or more. Started the car & it went up to 14.9, thinking the alternator is fine. Battery is original from 2011 & getting tired.

Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

[tortoise]

Ten years is a solid run for a battery!

[Ex-airbalancer]

Ten years is a solid run for s battery!

Any thing over 5 years is a bonus
Change the truck battery at 9 years , the RX at 8

[blur911]

Small update... Bella went out & started her car for a bit this morning before she left & the defroster worked. My logical guess... because the car hadn't been driven for a couple of days & sat outside the already weak battery didn't allow the defroster to work yesterday. Since she drove it to work yesterday & it sat in a heated parking garage all day the battery didn't lose as much charge. Even though her commute is only 10 - 15mins with some of it on the highway I guess it was enough to bring back some life to it. Will check it Friday when she's working from home to see the voltage of the battery before it starts... just prolonging the delay of buying a new battery 

I'm going to pick up an alternator for a friend's E9X xi, ix, whatever, later.   Told him not to drive his E46 M3 in the snow, I'd get it for him.

What alternator are you getting? Just curious as I'm shopping for one too. Partsavatar has the Bosh reman (OEM) at a decent price. Of course the cheapest is Rockauto even if you don't ship back the core.

He picked it up himself.  It was his original alternator that he had rebuilt.  $300, looks like new.