Red battery light

[dunk1]

I noticed last night that the red battery light flickered on very briefly on two separate occasions.

Having replaced the battery in July last year for another Bosch unit I guess its time for a new alternator 

Looks like i need  (120A BOSCH) (12317501690) taken from BMW's online parts site 

£581 inc vat is a tad expensive though lol 

£135 inc vat at online car parts 

Edited January 3, 2022 by dunk1

[momo]

More than likely.. It's worth testing the battery anyway as it should be in warranty but yes, the last time this happened to me it was because of the alternator.

I got a pattern part the first time which lasted all of 13months (conveniently out of warranty by that point) so got a Bosch one. Been fine since.

[dunk1]

4 minutes ago, momo said:

More than likely.. It's worth testing the battery anyway as it should be in warranty but yes, the last time this happened to me it was because of the alternator.

I got a pattern part the first time which lasted all of 13months (conveniently out of warranty by that point) so got a Bosch one. Been fine since.

I shall just get Bosch but will check the battery hasn't thrown the towel in first 

[dunk1]

Hmmmm £26 surcharge at online carparts 

[momo]

Wow! The Bosch one is only £170 on online car parts. I'm sure I paid £300+ when I got mine last time from ECP! Aren't onlinecarparts based in Germany? They're the same company as Autodoc, I ordered a parking sensor from them last year and it took forever to get it. Admittedly it was around the time Brexit went through so we had the long lorry tailbacks.

I'd be tempted to pay the extra £30 and get it from CarParts4Less. My 150A is £194 and it means I can just drop off the old one at the local Euros (pretty sure you can).

EDIT: There IS a £120 surcharge from ECP/CP4L, though.. lol.

Edited January 3, 2022 by momo

[dunk1]

I've just found a place that's 5 mins away so will give them a call in the morning and see 

what their prices etc are like 

http://www.autoelectricsredditch.co.uk/index.html

[dunk1]

5 hours ago, momo said:

Wow! The Bosch one is only £170 on online car parts. I'm sure I paid £300+ when I got mine last time from ECP! Aren't onlinecarparts based in Germany? They're the same company as Autodoc, I ordered a parking sensor from them last year and it took forever to get it. Admittedly it was around the time Brexit went through so we had the long lorry tailbacks.

I'd be tempted to pay the extra £30 and get it from CarParts4Less. My 150A is £194 and it means I can just drop off the old one at the local Euros (pretty sure you can).

EDIT: There IS a £120 surcharge from ECP/CP4L, though.. lol.

The cheap prices with a surcharge I think are for refurbished alternators and not brand new 

[momo]

2 hours ago, dunk1 said:

The cheap prices with a surcharge I think are for refurbished alternators and not brand new 

As far as i'm aware Bosch will only do refurb alternators now hence the surcharge.. You can still buy new from BMW but I think they're something ridiculous like £500+ and have to be shipped over from Germany.

https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/product/1975911-new?product=12-31-7-797-661

Be weary of the local place you linked to - that's what I did and got bitten when it failed after 13 months. So long as they have good reviews and a good local reputation you should be OK but for £170 i'd be tempted to just get the refurb Bosch ones. I've had this one for over 5yrs now without an issue (touch wood).

[dunk1]

1 hour ago, momo said:

As far as i'm aware Bosch will only do refurb alternators now hence the surcharge.. You can still buy new from BMW but I think they're something ridiculous like £500+ and have to be shipped over from Germany.

https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/product/1975911-new?product=12-31-7-797-661

Be weary of the local place you linked to - that's what I did and got bitten when it failed after 13 months. So long as they have good reviews and a good local reputation you should be OK but for £170 i'd be tempted to just get the refurb Bosch ones. I've had this one for over 5yrs now without an issue (touch wood).

BMW is £580 inc vat then if your core exchange is ok £150 back.

Having just checked that's a remanufactured unit hence the core exchange

I'll see what the score is when I call the local place tomorrow 

Places in the USA are listing new Bosch units way cheaper than here but are they new ? 

Edited January 3, 2022 by dunk1

[dunk1]

My local village garage who I use for a lot of my car stuff inc MOT's, waiting on a call back with price and fitting availability

Next the guys that sorted my ABS master cylinder sensor, supplied fitted 2 rear calipers and fitted the Eibach springs last year, they just quoted me £381 inc vat and fitting for Bosch but cant do it till Monday at the earliest. Think this is tad expensive if the Bosch alternator is around £200 and from what I can see around 1 hr to swap 

The local Auto electrics workshop will refurbish my alternator £204 inc vat and fitting, most reviews are good but a few not so good which has put me off a tad.   http://www.autoelectricsredditch.co.uk/index.html

Edited January 4, 2022 by dunk1

[dunk1]

Got the Bosch 120a from my local ECP in the end and my village garage will fit it for £60 

Easier to take the old core back to get the surcharge refund 

[momo]

Aren't they 150a on the 330i?

I thought the 150a was on all 6cyl..

[dunk1]

34 minutes ago, momo said:

Aren't they 150a on the 330i?

I thought the 150a was on all 6cyl..

When I pop my VIN onto BMW's online parts site I got 2 options. 90 amp and 120 amp   https://www.online-parts.co.uk/bmw-spare-parts/Catalog_14000.html?fztyp=BW52&fztyp_mospid=47605&catalog_cat=12&bildtaf_btnr=12_1082&bildtaf_hg=12&year=2004&month=05#sub

Edited January 7, 2022 by dunk1

[dunk1]

Great !!!!!

New alternator doesn't work.

Garage put my old one back on and it works all be it a tad tired so that's £120 of labour to 

get nowhere 

Time to see how ECP respond 

[dunk1]

ECP sent one for the M52 engine, i just spoke to the store manager who's sending me 

the correct one for the M54 engine 

I wonder how much hard work it'll be getting them to cover the labour charge i'll be getting 

for the 2 hours of wasted time 

[dunk1]

No sign of the replacement alternator but guess Monday morning means anytime 

 

Just written a long reply to ECP's warranty dept trying to explain that the alternator

isn't faulty but the wrong one, I've now told 4 people at ECP this and guess I'm not going to get 

anywhere fast 

[momo]

Wow.. Great ownership there by the store manager! He should be seeing it through ensuring you get the right one, not handing it off to someone else then you have to explain yourself multiple times..

[dunk1]

59 minutes ago, momo said:

Wow.. Great ownership there by the store manager! He should be seeing it through ensuring you get the right one, not handing it off to someone else then you have to explain yourself multiple times..

Really have had it with ECP, the manager said they had sent the wrong one and confirmed he would send a replacement but guess what no alternator. I chased it up at 3pm and the alternator arrived 1 hour later, sadly its the same as the one they're swapping it for.

The manager won't speak to me now and left me holding for 18 minutes yesterday trying to sort this out with one of his staff.

To say I'm a tad unimpressed is an understatement lol and shan't be using ECP ever again

I shall be going there shortly and taking back the second incorrect alternator and getting a refund and hopefully bumping

into the manager 

Just in discussion with their warranty dept to try to get the two hours wasted labour paid for but i shan't hold 

my breath 

Just bought brand new from BMW with a bit of discount 

[dunk1]

Manager stayed in his office.

Sent a nice lady out who sorted my refund and couldn't believe why he did what he did 

The customer service and warranty at ECP is a joke