1999 BMW 540i alternator

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Battery, Starter, ~lternatorl
@ TO fuse & relay panel Battery Safety Terminal
A Battery Safety Terminal (BST) controlled by the Multiple
Restraint System (MRS) control unit was introduced for mod-
el year 1998
vehicles. The system will disconnect electrical
power to the engine compartment
in the event of a significant
impact. The MRS system fires an encapsulated pyrotechnic
device
in the positive (+) battery terminal that disconnects
power to the engine compartment, but maintains power to
the exterior lights and interior of the vehicle.
point
002125~1
Table a. Battery, alternator and starter troubleshooting
1-
/Starter motor or solenoid faulty. l~est starter.
Symptom
Engine does not crank
Engine cranks slowly or
not at all, solenoid
clicits
when starter is operated.
I I
Battery will not stay IShort circuit draining battery. l~est for excessive current drain with everything
Probable cause
Fault
in immobilizer system (EWS)
-Clean Battery cables loose, dirty or corroded.
Battery discharged.
Battery to body ground cable in trunk
loose,
dirty or corroded
Poor connection at starter motor terminal
30.
Corrective action
Try another ignition key. If problem persists, contact
your authorized BMW dealer.
or replace cables. See 020
~aintenance.
Charge battery and test. Replace if necessary.
inspect ground cable. Clean, tighten or replace if
necessary.
Checlc connections, test for voltage at starter. Test for
voltage at neutral safety or clutch
interloclc switch.
charged more than a few
days.
I~atter~ faulty. /Test battery and replace if necessary.
Short driving trips and high electrical drain
on
charging system does not allow battery to
recharge.
. I
I Battery cables loose, dirty or corroded. Iclean or replace cables. See 020 Maintenance.
Evaluate driving
style. Where possible, reduce
electrical
consumption when malting short trips.
Drive
belt@) loose, worn or damaged.
IAlternator or voltage regulator faulty. /Test alternator and voltage regulator.
Inspect
or replace ribbed
belt@). See 020
Maintenance.

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.-. .
Battery, Starter, Alternator
Warnings and cautions
WARNING -
Wear goggles, rubber gloves, and a rubber apron when
working around the battery or battery acid (electrolyte).
Battery acid contains sulfuric acid and can cause skin
irritation and burning.
If acid is spilled on your skin or
clothing, flush the area at once with large quantities of
water. If electrolyte gets into your eyes, flush them with
large quantities of clean water for several minutes and
call a physician.
Batteries that are being charged or are fully charged
give off explosive hydrogen gas. Keep sparks and open
flames away. Do not
smoke.
CA UTIOI\C
Only use a digital multimeter when testing automotive elec-
trical components.
. If a repair procedure specifies disconnecting the bat-
tery, follow the instruction for safety reasons.
Prior to disconnecting the battery, read the battery dis-
connection cautions in
001 General Cautions and
Warnings.
Models with MS43 engine management: Allow at least
3 minutes to elapse after turning ignition ley to OFFpo-
sition before disconnecting battery. This willallow sum-
cient tinie to complete the DMJL (fuel tank pressure)
test
* Disconnecting the battery cables may erase fault codes
stored in ECM memory.
Always disconnect the negative
(-) battery cable first
and reconnect it last. Cover the battery post with an in-
sulating material whenever the cable is removed.
Do not disconnect battery, alternator or starter wires
while the engine is running.
0 Never reverse the battery cables. Even a momentary
wrong connection can damage the alternator or other
electrical components.
Do not depend on the color of insulation to tell battery
positive and negative cables apart. Label cables before
removing.
The slide-tilt sunroof may fail to function properly
after
disconnecting and reconnecting the battery. Reinitial-
ize sunroof as described in 540 Sunroof.

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.
Battery, Starter, Alternator
Table b. Specific gravity of battery electrolyte at 27°C (80°F)
Specific gravity State of charge
1.265 Fully charged
1.225 75% charged
1.190 50% charged
1.155 25% charged
1.120 Fully discharged
if the specific gravity is at
orabove 1.225, butthe battery lacks
Dower for
startinq, determine the battew's service condition
with a load volta& test. if the average specific gravity of the
six cells is below 1.225, remove the battery from the luggage
compartment and recharge.
Battery open-circuit voltage test
Before testing, load battery with 15 amperes for one minute
with battery load-tester or turn on headlights for about one
minute without engine running. Connect digital voltmeter
across battery terminals. Open-circuit voltage levels are giv-
en in Table
c. Open-circuit voltage and battery charge.
If open-circuit voltage is
OK but battery still lacks power for
starting, perform a load voltage test.
If open-circuit voltage is
below 12.4 volts, recharge battery
and retest.
Table c. Open-circuit voltage and battery charge
Open-circuit voltage State of charge
12.6 V or more
12.4 V
12.2v
12.0 v
Fully charged
75% charged
50% charged
25% charged
11.7Vorless Fully discharged
Battery load voltage test
A battery load tester is required for a load voltage test. The
test is made by applying a high resistive load to the battery
terminals and then measuring battery voltage. The battery
should be
fully charged forthe most accurate results. The bat-
tery cables must be disconnected before
malting the test. Re-
place the battery if the voltage is below that listed in Table d.
Battery load test
- minimum voltage.

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121-8
/Battery, Starter, Alternator
NOTE-
Automatic transmission cars: ambershifier LED willgo out at
consumer cut-off.
4 Attach closed-circuit current measurement adaptor
(BMW special tool
61 2 300):
Connect red clamp (marked A -BATT (+)) to positive bat-
tery terminal.
Connect
black clamp (marked B -CHASSIS) to chassis
ground point.
NOTE-
Green LED will light up to indicate correct installation of
closed-circuit current measurement
adaotor.
< Connect blaclc clamp (marked B - BATT (-)) to negative bat-
tery terminal. Green
LED light will go out.
NOTE-
Any electrical overloading will be indicated at this point by
lighting the red
LED. If the red LED lights up, check the adap-
tor connections.
< Set multimeter (A) to 10 amp measuring range and connect
it to adaptor.
NOTE -
Set multimeter to record average readings.
Ifpossible, turn offpowersaving features of multimeter
which prevent a long term (overnight) test by automatically
powering down
meter.
- Disconnect battery ground strap (B) at chassis mounting
point.
- Measure closed-circuit current using multimeter.
- Typical average closed-circuit current for E39 vehicles is
40 mA. Readings over 50 mA must be further investigated.

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121-10
I Battery, Starter, Alternator
- Strip approximately 15 rnm (0.6 in) of insulation from cable
end.
terminal harness
Shrink insulation
Terminal connector
4 Push terminal connector of new cable over stripped end of
old cable. Tighten clamp.
- Slip shrink-fit insulation over positive cable. Attach new safe-
ty harness to end of positive cable. Shrink insulation with hot
air blower.
- Reinstall cable in cable bracket and attach to battery.
- Reattach negative battery cable. Reinstall luggage cornpart-
rnent trim pieces.
- Use BMW scan tool DlSplus or equivalent to read out airbag
control module fault memory. Correct faults, then clear mem-
ory.
1 1 4 Various versions of alternators have been used in E39
vehicles. See Table e.
Table e. Alternator application chart
Model Alternator type
Air cooled, 90 amp or 120 amp
Air cooled, with multi-function control
(MFR), 120 amp or 140 amp
Air cooled with multi-function control
(MFR), 120 amp or 140 amp
540i 1997 Air
cooled. 120
amp or 140amp sazrz~orsl 1998 ~~~ ~ .~ . ...~ ~ ~-~~~~ Air cooled; with integrated mu~ii-
function control (MFR). 120 amp 140
amp 1999-2002 Water
cooled, with integrated multi-
function control (MFR), 90-150 amp
(variable output)

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121-11
Battery, Starter, ~lternatorl
Alternator 1997 - 98 5281 1997 540i
/-- -----,
I'
-----------
F15 / 7.5A/ :
&.. .... , 30 1 Xi0015
Battery
Hol in run 61 E (D+) Alternator
and stsrt
lBL
(Generator)
1 .--------,charge , . I , indicator I xGoli i
I <"9,7,a,T
Alternator, basic
On 1997-1 998 6-cylinderand 1997 V-8 models, the charging
system indicator light is supplied voltage
(+) to one side of the
light bulb, and the other side of the bulb is connected to the
voltage regulator.
With the engine off and the key in the run position, voltage
from the ignition switch flows through the regulator to ground,
completing the circuit and illuminating the charge indicator
bulb.
When the vehicle is started and the alternator begins to pro-
duce voltage, the output of the diode trio increases and the
light is turned off.
Alternator with multi-function control
(MFR)
Alternator with multi-function control
(MFR)
The multi-function controlled alternator is used on:
* 1999-2002 6-cylinder models
* 1998-2002 V-8 models
4 On cars with multi-function control alternator, the charge in-
dicator lamp is activated by means of an electronic switch in-
tegrated in the alternator controller. This switch receives its
voltage supply from terminal
15 on the 3-pin connector at the
rear of the alternator. The controller measures internally the
voltage difference between terminal 30 and terminal
15 and
signals the DME ECM to turn the charge indicator lamp on.
The controller features integrated fault detection. The battery
charge indicator lamp will come on in the event of:
* Failure of belt drive
No charge due to an
electrical/electronic fault
Interruption in excitation circuit
Over-voltage due to a defective controller output stage Fault or break in charge line
No charge due to alternator fault

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Battery, Starter, Alternator
Water-cooled alternator
The water-cooled alternator, used on 1999 and later M62 TU
engines, is a sealed unit housed inside the engine block wa-
ter jacket. It is cooled via the engine cooling system. It is a
"brushless" sealed unit that cannot be serviced. Maintaining
consistent alternator temperatures increases the life span of
the alternator, and elimination of the alternator cooling fan re-
duces alternator noise
significantly.
The M62 TU water-cooled alternator incorporates load start
reduction. This function is intended to shorten the duration of
engine starting, particularly at low ambienttemperatures. The
current load is limited to
20 amps during starting in order to re-
duce alternator braking torque on the engine. Following the
current limiting phase, full power output is then progressively
reached.
Charging system diagnostics requires special test equip-
ment. If the test equipment is not available, charging system
fault diagnosis can be performed by an authorized
BMW
dealer or other qualified repair shop. See Table a. Battery,
alternator and starter troubleshooting for general electri-
cal component troubleshooting.
Before checking the alternator, make sure the battery is fully
charged and capable of holding a charge. Check that the bat-
tery terminals are clean and tight and the alternator drive belt
is properly tensioned and not severely worn.
NOTE-
Some model require up to 15 second to reacli full alternator
output.
CA UTIOG
If the charge indicator light in the instrument cluster remains
on, the charge warning circuit in the instrument cluster may
be faulty. Check that the ground lead is securely
affached to
the grounding stud on the cylinder head
(A). Replacing the
instrument cluster before repairing the ground lead will both
damage the instrument cluster and cause the failure to
reoccur.

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Battery, Starter, ~lternatorl
Charging system quick-check
Use a digital multimeter to measure voltage across the bat-
tery terminals with key off and then again with engine running.
Battery voltage should be about 12.6 volts with key off and be-
tween 13.5 and 14.5 volts with engine running.
NOTE-
The regulated voltage (engine running) should be between
13.2 and 14.5, depending on temperature andoperating con-
ditions.
If the voltage is higher than 14.8, the voltage regula-
tor or
mulitfunction controller is most likely faulty
Check for clean and tight battery cables. Check ground cable
running from negative
(-) battery terminal to chassis and
ground cable running from engine to chassis. Check alterna-
tor drive belt condition and tension.
Charging system, checking
CAUTIOI\C
* Do not disconnect the battery while the engine is running.
Damage to the alternator and/or engine electronic systems
may result.
Only use a digital multimeter when testing charging
system components.
--7
4 Turn ignition key on. Check that battery warning light comes
on.
NOTE-
If the warning light does not come on, repair bulb or wiring
faults before continuing to checlc the charging system.
/ Charge indicator
502820805
4 6-cylinder engines only, remove complete air filter housing:
Loosen
intake duct hose clamp (A) at throttle assembly.
Loosen clamp and remove idle control hose from intake
duct
(B) and disconnect idle speed control valve electrical
harness connector.
Disconnect electrical harness connector
(C) from mass air
flow sensor.
Remove air filter housing mounting screw
(D).
Disconnect vent tube (E).
Loosen air intake duct clamp (F).
Carefully lift air filter housing out of engine bay.