E82 135i N55 electrical issues driving me crazy

[Nicolas_B]

Hello fellow BMW owners

I am new to the forum, and apologize if I posted this in the wrong section. My name is Nicolas and i'm from Brussels, Belgium.

I am having serious issues with the car as of late. It's a N55 135i, E82 with the DCT box. Driving from Amsterdam to Brussels, (a 200km drive), about halfway I accelerate out of a turn and get the red battery warning on the dash. Error is intermittent, I keep driving. Car eventually stalls due to flat battery, got it towed home. The next day the car just starts up fine without me charging the battery or doing anything to it. Monitoring the voltage via the OBD port with Bimmerlink, the alternator pushes out between 14,4-15v, as expected. When driving the car hard again it keeps throwing the battery light, when shutting off the car and starting it again it disappears and alternator charges again.
All codes I got at this point were UNDER voltage codes, and all kind of BSD errors. Generator missing, waterpump engine speed out of tolerance, IBS missing, etc. I thought this was because of the alternator taking down the BSD line.


Obviously I suspected the voltage regulator. It being a denso alternator with integrated VR, I can't just swap the VR like most other models can with the Bosch or Valeo alternators. I decide to buy a secondhand alternator (same part #). It has 100.000km, and I took it apart before installing it. Brushes are nice, not worn at all, sliprings look ok etc. Pulley is disengaging as it should, belt is nice and tight (no chirping etc). After installing I go for a test drive, and everything is fine, car runs great! Except no, driving it hard again in sport mode, DCT in manual mode etc, I get a new problem.
Car goes absolutely crazy, all kinds of warning lights (ABS, DSC, etc). Wipers come on, and waterpump keeps going at full power even with the ignition off. I check the codes, this time I get OVER voltage codes!

Now one could say the 'new' secondhand alternator has a bad VR, but the seller is a professional offering a 24 month warranty, and states the alternator was load tested and tested fine. I'm inclined to believe him seeing how good the alternator looked, inside and out. And 100.000km on an Alternator is no high mileage to me.

These are the codes I pulled with the new alternator in:

32D5: 0x32D5 Vehicle speed, wheel speed sensor front / left, electric: malfunction
32D7: 0x32D7 Vehicle speed, wheel speed sensor front / right, electric: malfunction
32D6: 0x32D6 Vehicle speed, rear / right wheel speed sensor, electrical: malfunction
32D3: 0x32D3 Vehicle speed, rear / left wheel speed sensor, electrical: malfunction
3886: 0x3886 vehicle electrical system voltage, working range: voltage too high
32D9: 0x32D9 vehicle speed, plausibility: minimum speed in thrust implausible
3792: 0x3792 Engine Cooling System: Speed of coolant pump out of tolerance
3847: 0x3847 generator, communication: bus error
5DF7: 5DF7 - vehicle electrical system voltage> 18 volts.
38A4: 0x38A4 Advanced communication, Intelligent battery sensor: malfunction

Multiple BSD faults again, and the last one I highlighted is an IBS fault. I'm now suspecting the IBS might be at fault. But have any of you ever heard of an IBS going bad causing HIGH voltage? I always hear bad IBS symptoms resulting in a crank no start type scenario. That's not at all what i'm experiencing.

Important info:
I have a new Bosch battery in the vehicle (8 months old), which was registered correctly, and is of the same capacity. I rule out the battery in this case.
I have access to ISTA/INPA, all standard tools + Bimmercode/Bimmerlink.

I'd appreciate the help if anyone has ever had similar issues or if anyone has more experience than me and wants to give their opinion.

Thank you!

[Nicolas_B]

Bump

[Ricky318i]

Nick, did you find a solution to this?
We're having the same issue.

Also N55 135i E82 with same Alternator communication bus fault.

[tracer bullet]

Crappy problems! I don't even remember seeing the first post. You'd have to tag them ( Nicolas_B ) to have much chance of a response. Or try to send them a message directly.

Off the top I'd say "battery", and if not that I'd start looking at all the cables, especially the grounding cables, and their connections.

These cars light up like Christmas trees when the battery goes (or a cable goes, making it seem like the battery). To a point where you can't really even trust your error codes until you resolve the underlying issue.

[Nicolas_B]

Originally Posted by Ricky318i

Nick, did you find a solution to this?
We're having the same issue.

Also N55 135i E82 with same Alternator communication bus fault.

Hi Ricky, I did end up finding a permanent fix, and a simple free one at that.
I posted the solution to another forum, i’ll quote myself;

Hello everyone. I've got an update for anyone following this thread.
Tried the new Hella IBS, went for a drive, got the car warmed up and headed for a private road. On this private road i launched the car back to back for a few times, upon the 5th launch, i got a voltage spike again (>18v), and all BSD communication was corrupted again. Same fault codes ensued and i was left scratching my head again.
The new IBS was not the fix.

I did some more reading, (covered all 12 pages of google searching 'BMW IBS faults'). I found an older thread of someone with an N63 having the same issues as me, and it came from the wiring loom of the ignition coils, that is located on the valve cover. Linked to that thread was a service bulletin of BMW, stating that if the grounds of these looms (plastic wire cover with a metal roundel that serves as a ground) are not properly fastened, it could trigger BSD issues. They are grounded by small bolts that are screwed into the ground roundels of this wire loom cover.

Took my engine covers apart (quite a lot of plastic covering the N55), and inspected this ground bolt. The (E-series anyways) N55 only has a single ground bolt for this loom. Upon inspecting this ground bolt, I saw that this ground was not properly fastened, the plastic screw thread was completely gone. The screw was sitting loosely in this hole, not making proper contact. What do you figure, I just had my gaskets (all of them!) changed by a local shop.

I inserted a ziptie in this hole and screwed in the screw, got it fastened properly and hoped for the best. I was skeptical at first, but the problem seems to have gone away! I went for an hour long drive, gunning it like a mad man, while checking voltages with Bimmerlink. Voltage stayed between 13,6v - 14,8v, as it should. No more BSD faults and everything went great! It seems like my issues are solved.

I will keep you updated if it comes back, but i've got good faith that my issues were caused by this bad ground. Funny how a single small bolt can cause so much issues!

This is the loom i'm talking about; on the right side you can see the attachment hole has a metal roundel in it. This is the single ground point of the coil loom. Verify if this is properly fastened down if you experience the same issues, especially when the valve cover has been taken off recently!

This is the link to the service bulletin; https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2012/SB-10049679-2750.pdf

I hope the problem stays away, and if not i'll update the thread.
Hopefully I helped some of you people looking for answers, because it wasn't easy to diagnose and took me upwards of three weeks to get it fixed!

This solution did end up being a permanent fix by the way. Haven’t gotten any issues in months.

I’ll provide the link to the original post on the other forum aswell, so you can see the pictures:

https://www.babybmw.net/threads/e82-135i-n55-electrical-issues-driving-me-crazy.149725/#post-1765792

[Ricky318i]

Originally Posted by Nicolas_B

Hi Ricky, I did end up finding a permanent fix, and a simple free one at that.
I posted the solution to another forum, i’ll quote myself;

Hello everyone. I've got an update for anyone following this thread.
Tried the new Hella IBS, went for a drive, got the car warmed up and headed for a private road. On this private road i launched the car back to back for a few times, upon the 5th launch, i got a voltage spike again (>18v), and all BSD communication was corrupted again. Same fault codes ensued and i was left scratching my head again.
The new IBS was not the fix.

I did some more reading, (covered all 12 pages of google searching 'BMW IBS faults'). I found an older thread of someone with an N63 having the same issues as me, and it came from the wiring loom of the ignition coils, that is located on the valve cover. Linked to that thread was a service bulletin of BMW, stating that if the grounds of these looms (plastic wire cover with a metal roundel that serves as a ground) are not properly fastened, it could trigger BSD issues. They are grounded by small bolts that are screwed into the ground roundels of this wire loom cover.

Took my engine covers apart (quite a lot of plastic covering the N55), and inspected this ground bolt. The (E-series anyways) N55 only has a single ground bolt for this loom. Upon inspecting this ground bolt, I saw that this ground was not properly fastened, the plastic screw thread was completely gone. The screw was sitting loosely in this hole, not making proper contact. What do you figure, I just had my gaskets (all of them!) changed by a local shop.

I inserted a ziptie in this hole and screwed in the screw, got it fastened properly and hoped for the best. I was skeptical at first, but the problem seems to have gone away! I went for an hour long drive, gunning it like a mad man, while checking voltages with Bimmerlink. Voltage stayed between 13,6v - 14,8v, as it should. No more BSD faults and everything went great! It seems like my issues are solved.

I will keep you updated if it comes back, but i've got good faith that my issues were caused by this bad ground. Funny how a single small bolt can cause so much issues!

This is the loom i'm talking about; on the right side you can see the attachment hole has a metal roundel in it. This is the single ground point of the coil loom. Verify if this is properly fastened down if you experience the same issues, especially when the valve cover has been taken off recently!

This is the link to the service bulletin; https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...49679-2750.pdf

I hope the problem stays away, and if not i'll update the thread.
Hopefully I helped some of you people looking for answers, because it wasn't easy to diagnose and took me upwards of three weeks to get it fixed!

This solution did end up being a permanent fix by the way. Haven’t gotten any issues in months.

I’ll provide the link to the original post on the other forum aswell, so you can see the pictures:

https://www.babybmw.net/threads/e82-.../#post-1765792

Thanks Nicolas!

I'll give it a try. I'll take pictures of what we find and then post it here for posterity and future reference.

[Ricky318i]

Hi Nicolas, I had a look at this point you described on the wiring loom on the engine and found it to be tightened, and it looked ordinary. I also can't see how this is a earth, because it is not electrically connected to metal as can be seen by the picture below.

I tightened it anyways and hope for the best. I will check the codes again next week and advise.

Attachment 3270737

Attachment 3270738

Attachment 3270739

Attachment 3270740

[TURBO8]

I'm chasing some battery charging issues and came across this thread. Can you verify you get conductivity to that point, are you sure that is a ground?

I always thought the other circled points were the grounds?