# battery light



## steel540i (Feb 7, 2005)

hello need help,

i started my car a little while ago and noticed the battery light on . my car is a 99 540i sport. i continued to drive and then noticed other lights go on like the dsc.airbag, etc.
the radio reception went bad then the tranny went to fail safe , and it wouldnt shift and rolled idle to the front of my house. after parking it and turning it off, it would not start, and the power windows went up real slow.

is this just a dead battery?
does the battery need water?
should i jump start it?
should i buy another battery?
is it the battery?
or is it another problem?


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## 540 M-Sport (Apr 23, 2004)

steel540i said:


> hello need help,
> 
> i started my car a little while ago and noticed the battery light on . my car is a 99 540i sport. i continued to drive and then noticed other lights go on like the dsc.airbag, etc.
> the radio reception went bad then the tranny went to fail safe , and it wouldnt shift and rolled idle to the front of my house. after parking it and turning it off, it would not start, and the power windows went up real slow.
> ...


I would install a new battery, then have your alternator tested to be sure it is okay. You need to know why your battery failed...from old age, or because your alternator is not charging sufficiently.

You can jump start the car to get it to the shop. The instructions for jumping are in the owner's manual.


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## RakNaks (Feb 1, 2005)

Yikes go to sears and grab a battery. Drive in another car! Look to see if your belts broke. Check under the hood and check the trunk at the battery terminals to make sure they are on. I would not recommend driving the car. Way to many electronics to damage. Take the old battery out to test etc etc. Keep us posted!


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## MatWiz (Jul 14, 2004)

You need one of these batteries:
Douglas, model: 49-675, model number: 574, CCA 875 Link to Douglas 
Die Hard: Group 49, 805 CCA
Interstate Batteries: BCI 93, 850 CCA Link to Interstate

Dougles is the original BMW.
Interstate is a popular replacement.
Die Hard is really a last option... (its CCA of 805 is less then BMW's 850).
All are cheaper then dealer's price...

But I would not just replace the battery because you might just drain it like the current one you have. Good advices in the posts above.

Post here and tell us what you found out.

Good luck.


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## steel540i (Feb 7, 2005)

*battery*

i just got my car fixed everybody, and thank u for your advice. i got my battery tested and it was fine. i brought it to my mechanic and it was the alternater. wow it a big alternater and water cooled. never seen one like that. my mechanic got me the exact same one a bosch, for 380 bucks, where bmw 580 bucks. alot of labor though. also changed a belt from the alternater. running great right now, and hope to not have a ny problems for a while.


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## 540 M-Sport (Apr 23, 2004)

Just as a preventive measure, I would go ahead and top up the water in your battery:

http://www.bmwdiy.info/battery-maint/index.html

Glad to hear you are back on the road.


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