Battery??Alternator???? HELP ASAP!!!!!

TexasZed4MC · 09-30-2012, 04:59 PM

Stupid me let the valet park my car yesterday in a parking garage. The genius that he was left the lights on from 4pm yesterday till noon today. Needless to say the battery was COMPLETELY DEAD. Said Valent Company boosted off the car, I think from the hatch, not sure if there or on the post from under the hood. Now you hear a sound like the door locking sound around the center comsole. There are no warning lights showing, the car run perfectly. The valet Company had me run the car down to a AutoZone next door to have the battery checked. Autozone said the battery showed 100%, the alternator showed 100%, yet they said it showed a diode going out on the alternator. Sounds strange to me. The clicking never stopped for the 2 hour drive home and the interval of about 1 minute between clicks.
I don't mind replacing the battery or alternator but I'd rellay prefer to replace the correct one and NOT both! Anyone have some advice and or help?

TexasZed4MC · 10-01-2012, 06:55 AM

No ideas from anyone??????

Finnegan · 10-01-2012, 11:38 AM

Diode on the alternator is unlike to cause an ongoing clicking sound IMO. IIRC there were several threads on testing the alternator, but this is the only one I can find. Hopefully it helps a bit.

Clarifying question: center console? The dash area around the radio, or the area just behind the ebrake, or where the Nav disk goes (rear cubbyhole area).

Sounds more like they might have caused a fault in a module with jumping it. I hope not, but just because there are no codes on the dash doesn't mean there isn't a module fault. Do you have BMW scanner (like P.A. Soft or equivalent)? I'd check for faults. Autozone will be able to check for basic ODBII faults, but not the extended BMW set of codes.

Another option is to reboot the entire system. Disconnect the battery for 20 minutes, reconnect, and see if the problem persists.

TexasZed4MC · 10-01-2012, 12:42 PM

update, is after the car sat all night, as I drove 10 minutes to work this morning with AC & lights on there was not a sound of any clicking from the car. The sound was more beside the e-brake. I will have it checked by a shop in Dallas this weekend. Maybe coincidence but I also noticed the wife had the passenger seat pushed back putting a great deal of pressure on the bulkhead behind the seat. I also moved the seat forward. I assume the seat could have been where the noise was from?

Finnegan · 10-01-2012, 01:14 PM

Yeah, seat too far back could easily do that.

TexasZed4MC · 10-01-2012, 01:45 PM

Ok, splain please!

Finnegan · 10-01-2012, 02:00 PM

Sorry about that, might vague post there by me.

If the seat is really tight against the rear bulkhead it pushes on the plastic. The plastic in the rear is somewhat connected to the piece running on the transmission tunnel. It could have pushed enough that just running over imperfections in the road caused a clicking.

Now I'm talking about a rattle type noise here, not a electro-mechanical sound. An electro-mechanical sound would be more indicative of a module fault, specifically one that opens/closes air vents or one that locks/unlocks the doors. That might have cleared by cycling the ignition (and letting the car go into sleep mode, which it did when you had if off over night).

Only way to know is to run an extended code scan and look for current faults, as well as faults that are not active but were registered. For example, you'll have a battery fault stored, even though it's no longer present.

TexasZed4MC · 10-01-2012, 03:33 PM

thanks sir! I have driven it twice nowand nothing, so I will get a reading on it this weekend.

Blind32 · 10-02-2012, 09:24 AM

Hey just saw this thread. Sorry to hear you're having problems. Hope it got resolved!

09-30-2012, 04:59 PM	#1
TexasZed4MC Captain 150 Rep 688 Posts Drives: 2006 Interlagos Z4 M Coupe Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Texas iTrader: (1)	Battery??Alternator???? HELP ASAP!!!!! Stupid me let the valet park my car yesterday in a parking garage. The genius that he was left the lights on from 4pm yesterday till noon today. Needless to say the battery was COMPLETELY DEAD. Said Valent Company boosted off the car, I think from the hatch, not sure if there or on the post from under the hood. Now you hear a sound like the door locking sound around the center comsole. There are no warning lights showing, the car run perfectly. The valet Company had me run the car down to a AutoZone next door to have the battery checked. Autozone said the battery showed 100%, the alternator showed 100%, yet they said it showed a diode going out on the alternator. Sounds strange to me. The clicking never stopped for the 2 hour drive home and the interval of about 1 minute between clicks. I don't mind replacing the battery or alternator but I'd rellay prefer to replace the correct one and NOT both! Anyone have some advice and or help? __________________ Lone Star Chapter BMWCCA HPDE Event Chair, Texas Trifecta Event Chair, & BMWCCA driving Instructor Last edited by TexasZed4MC; 09-30-2012 at 07:33 PM..
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10-01-2012, 06:55 AM	#2
TexasZed4MC Captain 150 Rep 688 Posts Drives: 2006 Interlagos Z4 M Coupe Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Texas iTrader: (1)	No ideas from anyone?????? __________________ Lone Star Chapter BMWCCA HPDE Event Chair, Texas Trifecta Event Chair, & BMWCCA driving Instructor
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10-01-2012, 11:38 AM	#3
Finnegan Dog Listener 707 Rep 7,850 Posts Drives: Z4M/. Z3M, E36/46 M3 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Teaching the dog to slalom iTrader: (22)	Diode on the alternator is unlike to cause an ongoing clicking sound IMO. IIRC there were several threads on testing the alternator, but this is the only one I can find. Hopefully it helps a bit. Clarifying question: center console? The dash area around the radio, or the area just behind the ebrake, or where the Nav disk goes (rear cubbyhole area). Sounds more like they might have caused a fault in a module with jumping it. I hope not, but just because there are no codes on the dash doesn't mean there isn't a module fault. Do you have BMW scanner (like P.A. Soft or equivalent)? I'd check for faults. Autozone will be able to check for basic ODBII faults, but not the extended BMW set of codes. Another option is to reboot the entire system. Disconnect the battery for 20 minutes, reconnect, and see if the problem persists.
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10-01-2012, 12:42 PM	#4
TexasZed4MC Captain 150 Rep 688 Posts Drives: 2006 Interlagos Z4 M Coupe Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Texas iTrader: (1)	update, is after the car sat all night, as I drove 10 minutes to work this morning with AC & lights on there was not a sound of any clicking from the car. The sound was more beside the e-brake. I will have it checked by a shop in Dallas this weekend. Maybe coincidence but I also noticed the wife had the passenger seat pushed back putting a great deal of pressure on the bulkhead behind the seat. I also moved the seat forward. I assume the seat could have been where the noise was from? __________________ Lone Star Chapter BMWCCA HPDE Event Chair, Texas Trifecta Event Chair, & BMWCCA driving Instructor
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10-01-2012, 01:14 PM	#5
Finnegan Dog Listener 707 Rep 7,850 Posts Drives: Z4M/. Z3M, E36/46 M3 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Teaching the dog to slalom iTrader: (22)	Yeah, seat too far back could easily do that.
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10-01-2012, 01:45 PM	#6
TexasZed4MC Captain 150 Rep 688 Posts Drives: 2006 Interlagos Z4 M Coupe Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Texas iTrader: (1)	Ok, splain please! __________________ Lone Star Chapter BMWCCA HPDE Event Chair, Texas Trifecta Event Chair, & BMWCCA driving Instructor
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10-01-2012, 02:00 PM	#7
Finnegan Dog Listener 707 Rep 7,850 Posts Drives: Z4M/. Z3M, E36/46 M3 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Teaching the dog to slalom iTrader: (22)	Sorry about that, might vague post there by me. If the seat is really tight against the rear bulkhead it pushes on the plastic. The plastic in the rear is somewhat connected to the piece running on the transmission tunnel. It could have pushed enough that just running over imperfections in the road caused a clicking. Now I'm talking about a rattle type noise here, not a electro-mechanical sound. An electro-mechanical sound would be more indicative of a module fault, specifically one that opens/closes air vents or one that locks/unlocks the doors. That might have cleared by cycling the ignition (and letting the car go into sleep mode, which it did when you had if off over night). Only way to know is to run an extended code scan and look for current faults, as well as faults that are not active but were registered. For example, you'll have a battery fault stored, even though it's no longer present.
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10-01-2012, 03:33 PM	#8
TexasZed4MC Captain 150 Rep 688 Posts Drives: 2006 Interlagos Z4 M Coupe Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Texas iTrader: (1)	thanks sir! I have driven it twice nowand nothing, so I will get a reading on it this weekend. __________________ Lone Star Chapter BMWCCA HPDE Event Chair, Texas Trifecta Event Chair, & BMWCCA driving Instructor
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10-02-2012, 09:24 AM	#9
Blind32 Certified Adrenaline Junkie 43 Rep 1,325 Posts Drives: '07 Z4MC Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Dallas TX iTrader: (2)	Hey just saw this thread. Sorry to hear you're having problems. Hope it got resolved!
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