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Battery charging red warning light came on
- ph001
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Battery charging red warning light came on
I’m not quite sure why everyone here was diagnosing battery??? Usually, the red light is alternator charging voltage that is low. You need to put a voltmeter on the battery with the engine running. Anything under 13.5V is an alternator issue.
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Battery charging red warning light came on
Exactly right... if it were the battery your car would not start! I had red battery light on my old E46 and it was alternator, the battery was fine!
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- cj10jeeper
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Battery charging red warning light came on
This is a resurrection of a dead thread. Most recent post is observing a good voltage from the alternator, so that's not the fault
The battery is dead if it shows 11.5v and not holding a correct charge and needs replacing immediately. Only caveat is this is assuming the voltage is back to 11.5 a short time after parking and your not talking about left standing for a week or so.
Left overnight it should be at least 12.x, ideally 12.4 - 12.6v on a healthy battery
Although a very low voltage might start a car, pretty soon it won’t and you'll start to get all sorts of electronic errors...
The battery is dead if it shows 11.5v and not holding a correct charge and needs replacing immediately. Only caveat is this is assuming the voltage is back to 11.5 a short time after parking and your not talking about left standing for a week or so.
Left overnight it should be at least 12.x, ideally 12.4 - 12.6v on a healthy battery
Although a very low voltage might start a car, pretty soon it won’t and you'll start to get all sorts of electronic errors...
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Battery charging red warning light came on
Interesting post, describes what mine is doing perfectly!
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Battery charging red warning light came on
Just to add another element for interest, my son had the charge light on on his E46 330D, battery volts 12.6 engine off after charging, running about 12.3. Changed alternator still the same?? Got old alternator checked on test rig and was fine. Much head scratching, then noticed the auxiliary belt did not seem to speed up when rev’d, paint mark on belt confirmed. Turned out the rubber torsional damping element in crankshaft pulley had failed. Not sure whether the Z has a damped pulley, but it’s an interesting story.
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