a little help for my father in law please

pritch21 · 01-12-2013, 04:25 PM

Hi all ,

My father in law has a 130i on a 55 plate

Has asked me to have a look at his car because every now and then the battery symbol comes up on the dash.

The car is fitted with a genuine bmw battery and has the “health indicator” on the top

Green = healthy and charging
Black = not charging
Yellow = replace battery

The battery is the original one from new and is showing green so I though it could be the alternator giving out slowly so I tested the batter with a volt meter with the car running and it was fluttering between 13 and 14 volts which shows the battery is charging
Does anyone have any ideas as to what is causing the battery light to come on its happened 4 times in the last month

kind regards owen

NotNormal · 01-12-2013, 04:38 PM

Possibly a faulty IBS (intellegent battery sensor)

Or the battery, even though the indicator says what it says, it doesn't nessesarly mean its ok !

But my first port of call would be a faulty IBS

pritch21 · 01-12-2013, 04:49 PM

how would i go about checking that?

davyk31 · 01-13-2013, 03:26 AM

It could just be on a slightly low charge especially if he does a lot of short runs using heater etc. give it an overnight charge up and see if that helps.

Red_Bean_Bun · 01-13-2013, 09:14 AM

Alternator issues ? Check the output on that as well ....

Greg330 · 01-13-2013, 10:31 AM

My independant said it's not an issue, it's just the car warning if it stays in its current status (ignition on / engine off) it will run the battery down...

pritch21 · 01-13-2013, 07:24 PM

Its not as if he does short journeys because he can do anything from 50 to 100 miles a day depending on where he is lecturing his students.

I might give it a proper charge overnight and see how he gets on

The only thing he said that was strange was the battery symbol only came up if it was cold outside (colder than usual lol)

01-12-2013, 04:25 PM	#1
pritch21 Banned 1 Rep 78 Posts Drives: e90 320d (177) Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: wales iTrader: (0)	a little help for my father in law please Hi all , My father in law has a 130i on a 55 plate Has asked me to have a look at his car because every now and then the battery symbol comes up on the dash. The car is fitted with a genuine bmw battery and has the “health indicator” on the top Green = healthy and charging Black = not charging Yellow = replace battery The battery is the original one from new and is showing green so I though it could be the alternator giving out slowly so I tested the batter with a volt meter with the car running and it was fluttering between 13 and 14 volts which shows the battery is charging Does anyone have any ideas as to what is causing the battery light to come on its happened 4 times in the last month kind regards owen
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

01-12-2013, 04:38 PM	#2
NotNormal Lieutenant 33 Rep 573 Posts Drives: Audi A6 Avant 3.0TDi Quattro Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Lincolnshire iTrader: (3)	Possibly a faulty IBS (intellegent battery sensor) Or the battery, even though the indicator says what it says, it doesn't nessesarly mean its ok ! But my first port of call would be a faulty IBS __________________ Always a pallbearer never a corpse....
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-12-2013, 04:49 PM	#3
pritch21 Banned 1 Rep 78 Posts Drives: e90 320d (177) Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: wales iTrader: (0)	how would i go about checking that?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-13-2013, 03:26 AM	#4
davyk31 Major General 1036 Rep 6,944 Posts Drives: Macan GTS :-) & F40 M135i Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Northern Ireland iTrader: (0)	It could just be on a slightly low charge especially if he does a lot of short runs using heater etc. give it an overnight charge up and see if that helps.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-13-2013, 09:14 AM	#5
Red_Bean_Bun Captain 62 Rep 944 Posts Drives: E92 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Montreal iTrader: (4)	Alternator issues ? Check the output on that as well ....
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-13-2013, 10:31 AM	#6
Greg330 Major 67 Rep 1,273 Posts Drives: E91 335i Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: South Coast iTrader: (0)	My independant said it's not an issue, it's just the car warning if it stays in its current status (ignition on / engine off) it will run the battery down...
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-13-2013, 07:24 PM	#7
pritch21 Banned 1 Rep 78 Posts Drives: e90 320d (177) Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: wales iTrader: (0)	Its not as if he does short journeys because he can do anything from 50 to 100 miles a day depending on where he is lecturing his students. I might give it a proper charge overnight and see how he gets on The only thing he said that was strange was the battery symbol only came up if it was cold outside (colder than usual lol)
	Appreciate 0 Quote