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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Powertrain and Drivetrain Discussions > N54 Turbo Engine / Drivetrain / Exhaust Modifications - 335i > 335 Alternator Belt problems anyone



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      08-29-2007, 06:42 PM   #1
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335 Alternator Belt problems anyone

So,
I'm driving home on this hot day in Toronto, and the air conditioner starts blowing out hot air, i thought nothing of it at first, then the red battery light came on, then the steering became very stiff, almost impossible to control the vehicle effectivley. Then it stalled. Didn't seem like a HPFP, as the temp was low, and it didn't slow down.

Used BMW assist, and they called a company who put the car on a flat bed and took it to the dealership.

When I got to the dealership they, opened the hood and the alternator belt had completely been ripped apart, with only a small part of the belt still in the pullies.

Anyone else out there with a ripped up belt?

Beuller?
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      08-29-2007, 06:44 PM   #2
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I thought the steering was electric on these cars
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      08-29-2007, 06:48 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by discoboy1 View Post
I thought the steering was electric on these cars
It is, the OP said that the alternator belt was hanging on by a shred, remember that the alternator is what generates electrical power for the vehicle.

Edit: Hold on... is it electric on the E9x? I know Mini's have electric steering...
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      08-29-2007, 07:05 PM   #4
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this seems to be fairly common with the 335's now.. search for power steering or something along those lines. it's been discussed before.
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      08-29-2007, 07:16 PM   #5
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Man, are you still driving that Auto Show E93???

Quote:
Originally Posted by kalch View Post
So,
I'm driving home on this hot day in Toronto, and the air conditioner starts blowing out hot air, i thought nothing of it at first, then the red battery light came on, then the steering became very stiff, almost impossible to control the vehicle effectivley. Then it stalled. Didn't seem like a HPFP, as the temp was low, and it didn't slow down.

Used BMW assist, and they called a company who put the car on a flat bed and took it to the dealership.

When I got to the dealership they, opened the hood and the alternator belt had completely been ripped apart, with only a small part of the belt still in the pullies.

Anyone else out there with a ripped up belt?

Beuller?
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      08-29-2007, 07:43 PM   #6
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AC, the longer I drive this car (and stay alive) the more they're going to pony up. Is this a result of it being at the Auto Show? The car has 7K (km) on it. Oh ya, you still can't sit in the back of my car with a coffee cup yet, no where to put it.

I am in touch with the right people and they are responsive, to a degree.

Can you imagine what would have happened if the belt blew on the Gardiner Express way at 3:15 instead of on Dupont at 3:30?

I'm not sure if I'll be held to a non-disclosure when we negotiate the final deal. If not, i'll spill the beans, if i am, then I'll gently say what was negotiated without saying what transpired in too much detail.
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      08-29-2007, 07:53 PM   #7
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May be someone spilt Tim Horton's coffee on the belt during the Auto Show or something like that. Or maybe they've tried too hard to dress up that engine bay for show and sprayed the wrong stuff on it. Just a thought.
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      08-29-2007, 07:57 PM   #8
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would they have put something on the engine to make it look nice?
Funny hypothesis about the Tim Hortons. The main panel car lighter stopped working again.

HalB, does your engineering degree suggest when they put the external power supply on the vehicle to disable some of the other electronics, could that have done anything?
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      08-29-2007, 08:00 PM   #9
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Serpentine belt also blew on my 335 three days ago

I was driving in Pasadena on the freeway on Sunday and heard what sounded like a nail in the tire, and then the AC went out, powersteering went out, nav showed "charging error" and the headlights turned off (it was still relatively light outside, but still a little unnerving). I took it to the dealer in Glendale and dropped it at sales because service was closed. They were very good about it, but immediately asked if I ran over something. I did not. I also have about 7k on my car (mar. delivery 335i 6mt) Service stated on the phone the next day that they had never heard of this happening before.

Service called yesterday and said that it was a cracked pulley on the water pump and that parts will take a few more days to show up. Still, the 328 loaner is just not the same.:mad::mad:

any other similar problems like this?
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      08-29-2007, 08:03 PM   #10
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serpentine belt

Forgot to mention, it completely shredded the belt and service is having to go into every corner of engine compartment to get the fuzzy remainders.

By the way, what did they negotiate with you. At first I was basically blamed for running over debris, but seeing as this has happended elsewhere I may need to make more of an issue about it.
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      08-29-2007, 08:12 PM   #11
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If I remember correctly the external power supply they used was a battery charger. They used that because they had to disconnect the battery for safety reasons, but they want some of the electricals (such as radio) to function. As for disabling some of the functions I am not sure how they did it - may be they just pulled some fuses. None of that could have cause any issue with the car's electrical system.

As for the cigarette lighter it is possible that showgoers might have been poking at the empty socket and caused the damage (the lighter itself would have been removed before the show). Did they replace it the last time or did they just "fixed" it by whatever means?

Back to the belt: A serpentine belt should last 100,000km. If it breaks like that there gotta be:

1) A defect
2) Something else causes it - such as a cracked or binding pulley, or something else had weaken, nicked, or rubbed against the belt.
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      08-29-2007, 08:27 PM   #12
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cracked pulley cause by belt problem

Right. Thanks for the reply. Apparently the pulley on the water pump cased the problem on my e-92. Any thoughts on what may have caused craked pulley? Too much tension on the belt, or just manufacturing defect?

By the way, you can feel all 3,300+ pounds of this car trying to make a U-turn from dead stop with no power steering.
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      08-29-2007, 08:28 PM   #13
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I should have been more clear about why I am negotiating something. They sold me the car from the Canadian International Auto Show, without disclsoing that information to me. I have had nothing but trouble with the car since I got it. This is just another issue in a long list of crap that's gone on.

I hear ya on the 328 loaner. It looks nice and all, but....
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      08-29-2007, 08:35 PM   #14
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blong, you must have been scared? Was it difficult to control the vehicle to a safe place? Without power steering, etc., it is a hard car to control.

I also have to admit, all the problems I've had with the vehicle, have, at least, forced me to be an extremely active participant on E90/bimmerfest/bimmerforums.

Learning lots everyday.
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      08-29-2007, 08:42 PM   #15
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no power steering

Not so bad. I was going, well, freeway speed (65 mph+). My experience with power streeing, which held true here is that it is not much of an issue as long as the car is moving, the momemtum helps. The more distrubing/scary part was the the headlights kicked off and interior lighting on the instrument cluster kicked off, the nav still had power, and I noticed that the breaks were not nearly as responsive. I was about 3 miles from the dealer, just downshifted and got there.

Don't mean to brag, but when the dealer sent an employee to move the car to the back after I parked it, he could not turn the wheel and had to have another employee sit in the front pasenger seat to help him.

I think i would have used the assist button, but in my great wisdom I did not get that option, actually, I guess I do have assist for one year without paying. I think I will extend it.
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      08-30-2007, 10:58 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kalch View Post
So,
I'm driving home on this hot day in Toronto, and the air conditioner starts blowing out hot air, i thought nothing of it at first, then the red battery light came on, then the steering became very stiff, almost impossible to control the vehicle effectivley. Then it stalled. Didn't seem like a HPFP, as the temp was low, and it didn't slow down.

Used BMW assist, and they called a company who put the car on a flat bed and took it to the dealership.

When I got to the dealership they, opened the hood and the alternator belt had completely been ripped apart, with only a small part of the belt still in the pullies.

Anyone else out there with a ripped up belt?

Beuller?

It's a known problem on the 335 - although not nearly as common as the fuel pump issue. its casued by a defective power steering pump pulley most of the time. the pulley simply falls apart

I have seen a few already.
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      08-30-2007, 11:47 AM   #17
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The power steering on the e90's is hydraulic, and there is no pulley on the water pump since the pump IS electric. Belts don't just come off for no reason although I've never seen one do this on an E90. There was some reason the belt came off, either one of the belt driven accessories locked up, the tensioner pulley failed, or a drive pulley on one of the accessories failed.
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      08-30-2007, 01:44 PM   #18
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okay, the power steering thing makes sense, but why the blowing hot air, and alternator belt completely fall apart, is that because of the pully?
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      08-30-2007, 04:19 PM   #19
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Dx:
Power Steering Pulley cracked, along with Idler Pully cracked.

What the hell?

I asked the SA what causes this on a "new" car.

No response.
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      08-30-2007, 04:29 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cars4lyfe View Post
I wonder if all of this stuff should be "normal" on a 40-50K car? Comon bmw open up your eyes!
its the first year of production for the 335's and the N54 engine... most every 1st year production vehicle has its glitches
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      08-30-2007, 05:18 PM   #21
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kinda like vioxx
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      08-31-2007, 05:14 PM   #22
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just heard back from the dealership today. The power steering pulley is on back order for 5-10 business days.

This is crazy.
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