Everyone Should Change This Before it's Too LATE! | BMW E90 Voltage Regulator DIY
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- Опубликовано: 24 сен 2019
- In this video I show you how to replace the voltage regulator on your BMW. This process is going to be very similar for a number of models. I'm working on my 2008 BMW 335i with the N54 motor in this video.
The alternator does not need to be removed from the car to perform this task.
It's a good maintenance item in my opinion. It could save you from needing a tow or being stranded. In my opinion the voltage regulator is more likely go fail than your entire alternator.
They tend to fail where they allow too much voltage and that can cause a bunch of errors on your dash and could potentially fry one of your electronics modules.
If you have over 100K and you don't know if anyone has addressed the alternator on your car I'd do this as it's not expensive and won't take you more than 30 minutes.
If you'd like to purchase an genuine OEM voltage regulator like I have shown in this video you can purchase it here (affiliate):
amzn.to/2mYwIqw
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I want to really thank you for doing this maintenance. I swear my car started acting crazy when this part went bad. My cluster started going crazy, my transmission was acting crazy, power steering was acting up, every codes in my dash came up and started and gave me a issue. Even the code reader said my battery was at 20 volts which is way to high. My mechanic wanted to replace the entire alternator and battery but I had this exact part in my car and convinced him to replace it and it worked perfectly. My car went back to normal and drove perfectly fine . This $40 part saved me at least $1700. Thank you so much. I highly appreciate your content and information you give to the N54 community
Yes I had some crazy codes then trans started bucking then got fault and then felt terrible
Just started getting crazy dashboard messages this week. Will order the part today.
Getting this part now I’ve had no boost codes that would mess with my tranny and keep me in whatever gear I was in. I got a new alternator and started having these issues hopefully I can put this in the new one and it work or should I put it in my old one?
Does voltage regulator going out cause the rpm’s to bounce and then go down 12v?
Before changing the part did it cause the battery to drain?
My battery was completely dead a few days after all the dash lights and wipers went off on its own. Charg battery and it dropped while running
Very nice. It can protect you from having a lot of costs indeed. By changing the regulator I never had a broken alternator as long as I drive cars! We have a local shop in town which overhauls alternators for only $150. New bearings, new regulator and new copper brush rings. They do a fantastic job!
Really appreciate your videos! I have been able to save so much money following your DIYs. Great focus on the subject matter & you cover a lot of the "real" details most DIY channels don't what so ever. They are just filled with unnecessary edits and talks about irrelevant matters lol. I am looking forward to doing my Vargas Turbo upgrade because of you DIY. Your my #1 source for my N54 project. keep up the great work bro!!
One of the best diy chanel for 335i!!
Thank you once more for making our lives easier and keep our machines at best performance and safe levels
Thank you for DYI. Mine just failed last night. Ordered a new one to replace. Thanks for the info it makes it so much easier
Man I absolutely luv this guy & his simple & informative vids, keep doing it bro
Thanks for the video. This saved me 800.00 on having someone replace an alternator. My battery was shot and the voltage regulator was not charging the battery, so I replaced both and things are working/charging fine now.
You didn’t have to change alternator? My battery keeps draining so I was thinking voltage regulator as well
Thank you for the info and the new alternator regulator is working great. My 135i is still showing Battery Discharge Rate High but battery life is much better and will give me the time to get all needed to code new battery.
Saved me $200! Thank you. My voltage regulator looked just like yours. No more flashing and clicking.
What do you mean flashing and clicking im asking because i am currently having a issue w my 2007 bmw 328i the headlights and back lights and sum dash lights are flickering idk whats wrong i replaced the battery for a new one and still same issue headlights turn on but flickering .. ?
This channel is one of the greatest resources for this chassis I swear.
Had mine fail on me and ended up replacing it to what a thought was an easy first attempt
Alternator started to smoke and it smelled like burning after starting
It turned out to be that I installed the regulator weirdly which didn't allow for the brushes to retract? Which caused it to be in contact too much which started burning it (there was a red glow when I had the back alternator cover off yikes!) but a remove and reinstall fixed it.
Also anyone else find that the overvolting took out their battery as well? Mine got shot and after 4 days of sitting it was flat dead.
This DIY saved my @ss. I pulled mine out & holy crap. There the brushes were under 25% left. I sort of thought something was a little off the other day. I was looking at the voltage on a longer trip on the Hwy and it read 13.7 or so.
Now at idol, it reads 14.4 😄
I had 167,000 miles on the original
Wow, thank you very much VDIY. My cars fine but with 200k miles i should have done this way earlier. Ordered it.
Worked for me in 2021. Thanks for your work 😁😁. Saved me
Thanks again from San Antonio. Did my install without any issues.
Thanks so much
Great video. I ordered the part and will put it in once I get and hope to fix my battery draining issue
Great Video!! I have 165000 miles on my E60 535. Going to do this ASAP! Thanks!!!!!!!!
Great video and info as always. FCP Euro has the same part for $20 less than amazon right now. Just replaced mine.
I absolutely love your method of replacing the voltage regulator instead of replacing the entire alternator. My 335i is randomly exhibiting over-voltage and I surmise the brushes are too worn out that it is likely floating on the slip rings. Perhaps just replacing the brushes would work but I'm not going to cheap out on this car cause it could come to bite me. One thing that still has me thinking is whether the carbon buildup of the slip rings can be inspected and cleaned. A new alternator would not have the buildup but the original one would likely have some. Thanks for posting your video. Subscribed to your channel and liked it!
did your 335i's battery also die, over was it just the over-voltage
great video, didn't know you could replace these, replacing mine now
Need to replace this on my old e46 SULEV again. They use the 155amp alternator from the e60 525. Thanks for the timely vid.
Thanks for posting up. I appreciate it. Just had my 2008 E60 light up like a Christmas tree with errors after starting the vehicle and waiting 60 seconds.. Replaced the battery with no luck. Voltage on the battery before starting is 12.7V. Upon starting the voltage ramps up to 18V then ramps down to 14.5v then the christmas lights.
Waited the next day and everything seems to be fine now. Strange.
Instead of making a trip to the shop for the alternator swap, I just placed an order for a voltage regulator to try this out. Wish me luck.
Just replaced the voltage regulator on the E60. So far no issues. Thanks for posting this up. For those doing this on a E60, a 1/4 in rachet will have some interference with the intake manifold while take off the cover. It was a pain in the ass. I used a open end 1/4 wrench to turn a T20 socket due to clearance issues. Took me about 45 mins. After the regulator install I needed to jump start the car. So far no issues. Need to reset the battery and then call it a day. 🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽
I just wanted to come back to this video to say thank you! I just did this on my car yesterday and it saved me about $1000 from shops saying I needed the whole alternator replaced. I was freaking out bc I had about every error pop up I could imagine. And scary ones too, like the 4x4, transmission, dsc, airbag errors and more. I was able to limp it to advanced auto so they could test the battery and alternator. They had me rev to 2500 rpm and then told me the alternator was overcharging. Thanks again!
Did your car lock in park when this popped up for you? I got code 2DEB and CD95
Did your battery drain bcus of this?
@@pewpew90 What ended up being the issue with yours? I’m having the same issues. Bought a brand battery which fixed it for a day, but now it’s dead lol.
@@n54kv bought alternator from fcp euro issue resolved
Man I wish you did this diy 2-3 years ago! My old one killed bunch of stuff. Still have 3 error codes popping up all the time ever since then. This has to be done before it start frying bunch of electrical parts.
finally a job on a N54 that is ''simple'' . GJ
Very nice, I will have to check mine
This works great if your voltage regulator is bad! I had to remove the alternator to get access, but it was easy. Plan on ordering 4 new alternator bolts, as BMW wants you to replace them.
Why did you have to remove the alternator on yours? Different model?
Doing this today! Finally got around to it
Good job
They do fail. Oh and I lived your hypothetical at least four times. Thousand-dollar alternator $200 tow and then a couple of days without my car.
I'm so happy that my current Escort Radar detector monitors the voltage
Very good suggestion. I changed E90 328i voltage regulator. It resolved the strange CAN bus no communication problem due to voltage level stability.
I have 08 E90 328i. With odd code that pops up like start assist inactive, DSC fail, Drive Malfunction, Dynamic Brake Control Assist fail. Sometimes it will spike rpm or stall, other times run rough. I just ordered the Bosch Volt Reg. Do you think it will fix my car? I need it to run right very badly!
Did it also cause your battery to drain?
@@chrishatton4098did buying the Voltage Regulator fix your problems ?? I’m having the same issue and I just ordered one, I hope it’s just that and not the alternator
I have the same car but had an opposite experience where the regulator was either limiting the voltage out or preventing it altogether. Luckily I was never far from home for my wife to rescue me with jumps so I didn't need a tow.
A new alternator from BMW in Canada is $975 CAD ($800 USD) and doesn't come with a new regulator.
A new BMW-branded regulator is $280 CAD ($230 USD) and would take a month to come from Germany.
So I ordered a new Bosch-branded (exactly the same part as the one I took out as far as I can tell) from a US retailer and paid for 2-day shipping plus tax, all for about $110 CAD ($90 USD).
It now consistently charges while I'm driving between 13.8 and 14.1 volts with no more battery drain!
Going through the same experience currently 2011 335is thought is was a battery put a new one in lasted about 2 weeks now needs jumps to start and cruises at 11v. Looking into replacing now
thanks for the tip!
Much appreciated and helpful. #newbie 335i
One of my voltage regulator brush pins are way shorter than the other. Should I replace it since they are uneven in height?
I changed out my alternator with a Ultima one from oreilys when it failed. That one lasted 3 months. Returned it for a new Ultima now I’m having bsd fault line errors with not being able to read my oil levels, so instead of buying a $300 bosh alternator. I heard the aftermarket voltage regulators don’t communicate with the computer so going to see if this mounts to my Ultima alternator and save some bucks 🤞🏽
This is doable in n51 and n52 engines, there will just be very limited space as the alternator is halfway behind the intake manifold. Was a pain but can be done. My 328i is 12 years old and had about 50% of the brushes left as well
years mean nothing, how many miles?
My dashboard time blanks out everytime I turn the car off and I have to set it all over again. Do you know if doing this fix could fix that issue or is it already too late given that there is already an issue?
Do you recommend this for the same type of intermittent communication problems on a 2008 X5 i8 or is this just an issue for this type BMW?
Great easy to understand video. Can i ask about alternator charging volts on these? I've regently replaced battery in my 2011 1M, like for like 70aH 760A AGM. My original BMW batttery wouldn't start car without warning (only 3yrs old, but used infrequently) even though volts were above 12.
The new battery seems to get no higher than 12.4v if left, car locked for a few days. I wanted to see how my car is charging so plugged in an OBD2 scanner. As i started it volts jumped down to 10 someone volts, then back up to over 14v. Once on the move & engine warming up, they tailed off to around 12.7v, & only going up over 14v when i coasted or under braking.
Is this normal the way these alternator charges with this IBS battery system?
Thanks
Thank you so much my car is running like new
P.s last bolt in the. Ack can be accessed with a 6 mm and small extension
i have the red battery light on, on my e92 n52 is that bc of this or because of the battery?
Thanks! Do you think that my low Volt inductor fault is the cause of the my Abs light going on and off , My 2008 335i has only 49K miles.? Charging the car when running at 14.5 volts with devise in the cigarette lighter. But getting a fault 931D under voltage and 5DF4 system voltage too low.
Hi I am planning to do an alternator replacement this week..I got a “charging malfunction” code due to a blown coolant transfer pipe right above it. Would this fix a shortage to the alternator?
Thanks for the great content! What are the symptoms for this part? Is it only giving over voltage? What if the voltage is no more than 12.85 while driving? Although battery was replaced last month?
Hi, my mpg pointer is dancing around from 50mpg to 0 and then back again - A diagnostic shows an alternator fault and its putting out 14.9volts even with everything on... would an alternator putting out too much cause this problem? Hope you can help
By two bottom bolts, so you mean the ones on the right (ie passenger side) when bolting down?
So I was attempting to change my regulator it look like it was never changed before and one of the bolts stripped what would you do to get that free?
Got 7 of the t20 screws out and one last one that holds the regulator to the alternator is stripped and I was using a hand tool to take them off …. Any advice ??
This is a handy little diy. Had “Christmas tree dash” due to over voltage and I’m happy to announce that all is well with a new regulator. Beats doing the alternator!
i’m having this same issue. Can’t even roll down my windows and even says the car started to over heat. Can’t put it in gear or even turn on the a/c. I drive screen won’t turn on ect. We’re these the same or similar symptoms ?
@@AlexLopez-jg8tc sounds about right.
@@acarpenter1332 Third this. I have an e90 with 160k on it and first symptom leading up to the Christmas tree dash was the electronic door locks disabled every time I came out to the car. Eventually turned the car on and was greeted with 4x4 disabled, ABS disabled, Air bags disabled, Engine temp high and no switches functioning in the cabin. This cheap fixed saved me so much money
hey I have an issue with my 06 e90 325i. I got battery tested and it shows an excessive ripple do u think this could fix the issue
Hello again. I had an issue where my car will starts and a few seconds later it'll stall. DIYed 450 lpfp referencing your video but car still stalls. Could it be the alternator?
Codes are 2ACA:Terminal 15-3, line from CAS, electric (can't find any 2aca related post online) and 2F4A: Interface EWS-DME
Great, that's what I need to know? Can I replace the regulator on my e90 320D M47 engine without having to remove the alternator from its mountings!
I put a new aftermarket alternator in 1 year ago on my N54 and my idle drops and surges randomly live data shows 13v then dips down to 12v will be replacing voltage regulator.
I’m getting Ibs sensor missing alternator missing and water pump plausibility . Going to change this and hopefully it fixes my issues
I have the ibs code on my car u think this would fix the problem?
On my opinion not just enough to change regulator with copper brush, but if they are heavy used probably then need to replace and copper + graphite bushing.
For a jumping power can cause and anchor or a windings if i correct know these names of these parts. If brushes gets fragile and of some parts get over heated like anchor or windings thats means some of bushings are heavy used. Lots of the cars have a problem with them if you are using start stop function.
I just got a problem with mine 328i and I don't know if I had same lucky that you guys. A electronic burning smell comes out and I'm a bit worried about what happened after I put a new regulator...
Thank you for the info 😂😂😂👍👍👍😉
Could this cause the bi relay switch to burn out? I keep getting a A731, it drains my battery and also burns out every JBE module I put in
@VEHICULAR DIY I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR VIDEOS ILL DEFINITELY LOOK INTO VOLTAGE REGULATOR BUT ALSO ON THE ALTERNATOR TOPIC I HAVE A QUESTION BECUASE ONE THING THATS REALLY UNFORTUNATE IS THAT I actually litterly barely replaced my alternator pretty recently like 4months ago and a month prior to the alternator I put in a 🆕 battery and now this under charging is happening with my car sometimes flashing yellow battery light and even showing me "Charging Malfunction"
****But what's more of a problem to me that I haven't been able to figure out exactly and may need your expertise in figuring out because I believe it maybe indeed is definitely related to alternator or voltage regulator is that my 08 335i has a contestant embarrassing and annoying SOUND!!!! that's wierd I can say it's 100% RPM related it's a whine COMPLETELY 100% IDENTICAL TO THE SOUND YOU WOULD HERE FROM THE POWER STEERING WHEN ITS LOW! ITS WHEN MY CAR TURNS ON IT STARTS EVEN @ IDLE AND IT RISES IN SOUND ACCELERATING AND STEPPING ON THE GAS IN NEUTRAL AND IN DRIVE, IT WONT GO AWAY it doesn't have anything to do with the AC being on and off as some people have asked me I HAVE NARROWED THE SOUND TO EITHER MY ALTERNATOR, PULLYS AROUND IT MAYBE ALTERNATOR BEARING , JUST CURIOUS IF YOU EXPIERIENCED A SIMILIAR SOUND WHEN YOURS WAS SHOT!??
Wow thank you good to know
I have the N51 motor with the three stage manifold. There is much less room for this job in my engine bay, so I have to remove the alternator to get to the voltage regulator.
Ordered one and it says 14V, will this work?
I've got to try this my e90 has been eating batterys to the point of, I have to jump it off every time I shut the car off and once its running it's fine, just be ready when you turn it off
Hey I get no power to fiber optic and get no sound could it be this ?
I'm having an issue related to this where all the warning lights in my dash came up and my battery was reading 18 volts.
- I replaced the voltage regulator with a used one I had lying around and it read 8 volts.. turned off the car and the next day it was completely dead no power could not even jump it
- I tried swapping out the battery with a new one and when I connected the negative terminal it shot a very big spark (still no power at all)
Anyone know of a solution? Thinking of getting a brand new voltage regulator and swapping out the alternator.
I have central electronic failure on cluster , I changed JBM module and coded to car , my alternator is reading from 13 to 15 volt
Thank Your!
Just ordered mine, hope it fixes my issue. I randomly got a ton of electrical problems because of it(wipers, radio, nav screen, speedometer, etc.. all working erratically 🙄). Cheers bros
lahamburgesa81 did that fix your problem?
This just happend to me got stranded on the highway did this fix it or was it the battery or altenator
good video, how many Km/miles had been done on your car in this vidoe? I am assuming +200,000km?
I'm at a loss. I changed my voltage regulator on the altinator. It pretty much had no brushes left. It now has a low voltage fault and the battery is mot charging.
Does anyone know the part number for the cable connecting to the voltage regulator? The purple wire
What was the cause of the missfire?
This just may save me. I sold my N54 E93 convertible in great condition and an hour later the buyer came back and the dash was lit up like a Christmas tree. Faults everywhere. I took the car back and plugged my computers up and found a lot of over voltage codes. P1891 was the main code. Battery was hot. DSC, DBC, Start off assistance, Trans malfunction, wipers on constantly, check controls light, brake light. A reman Bosch alternator is over $500. So I'll try this out.
Did it work? Having same issues on my 08 328i. Need help badly!
will this part fit on a 2009 bmw 335xi twin turbo?
I have E90 330i 2006. My issue was that whenever I would start driving or hit small bumps on road, my radio would turn off and on continuously and I would get abs light on dash and needles would go all the way to the left and back to normal. One day my car didn't start and no lights came on. I did some research and replaced alternator with valeo alternator as it comes with voltage regulator as well which was the problem. My alternator was still good but regulator gave out at 200k miles mark. Make sure you guys replace these with valeo only as I tried few others and they wouldn't work with oil level sensor and you get a shadow code. If car is 150k+ miles, I would say change the alternator as a whole.
Abs lights and radio turning off and on while driving is usually an indicator of a bad voltage regulator on these cars.
FCP Euro sells a Bosch regulator, you think that would work?
@@MrHavingfun68 I returned the one I bought from them and ended up just replacing the alternator but if it is the correct part, it should work.
I have the same symptoms as you, I could go over a bump, roll my window down, apply the brakes during cruise control and others that would turn on my ABS. Did replacing the alternator (which should contain an regulator) work for you?
@@MrHavingfun68 yep. The issue never came back after replacing it with valeo alternator which came with the regulator. The main culprit is the voltage regulator here though. Car is sitting at 222k miles atm.
Hello, is it the same for 2011 E90?
Is this an issue across all chassis? E90,91,92,93?
Another great video! I would love to see an oil liter housing gasket replacement video?
Mike Zorayan you mean the gasket on the bottom side of the engine? I get my mech to do it for around 300-400
@@fedism No not the oil pan gasket, the oil filter housing gasket. They are prone to leak on these motors.
Think you very much sir
Hello everyone, my valve gasket broke and leaked oil around my alternator, car turned off permanently only crank after a jump charge. I cleaned it up. You guys think the regulator messed up the battery for not functioning right?
Can this be done on the m57 engine
I was doing this maintenance and found out my alternator post is broken so I guess I have to replace the whole thing now🤣🤣🤣
Help, I put the new regulator on now I keep getting code for battery not being recharged despite my mhd scanner saying it's at 12 v
When I drive the v stays around 12 but when I park or idle it goes to 10
Replaced voltage regulator on my 09 335i and now it won’t start, tried jumping it and nothing its completely dead and key fob doesn’t work either
Mine e90 328xi just stepped over 210k km and this part went out, seems like a lower brush gives up faster than the top one. So if you getting weird voltages like 11 -13v, it's most likely that the top brush trying to compensate for the lower one.. :/ after replacing battery i'm getting 14+v. I've noticed overcharging error and 15v coming from alternator, but not each time. So you have to track for couple of days or best is to use a secret menu and track voltage while driving :)
A can cause miss fare ? If that is bad?
thank you ,save me with 200 euro,bmw garage said i need to change alternator,actually i have sometimes more voltage,so thank you
Didn’t realize that was the alternator. Thought it was the supercharged dipstick turbo capacitor.
Flux cap.
Blinker fluid reservoir.
Lmaooo you hell 🤣
Im traveling throug europe , i have left 1k mile and Baterry stop getting charged, tomorrow i try to Replace it i will update if it worked ,🤞🏼
How many miles did it have on it?
Are you going to make a video regarding owning a 200k mile n54 when you hit that mark? As an owner over a 100k+ mile n54, it would be incredibly useful to know what you've had to replace and deal with.
Thats a good idea, I'll plan on it.
F00M346088 shown in video may not be the correct part number for some n54 cars. It has been shown to cause a Generator error code depending on your alternator! You want to get the F00M346089 if you have a 180amp alternator on an n54. FCP lists the 088 under cars with 150amp alts.
Valuable info, I'm updating my link to be safe.
I did a diode test on my alternator and found that they were bad. Should be reading between .500 and .800 on diode test mode with the COM probe on the alternator charging cable and the red probe grounded on the alternator casting. When you reverse them it should show OL on the multimeter. Mine showed .407 The bad diodes were causing parasitic draw from the battery. The alternator charges fine it just leaks power out when the car isn't running. Thanks for your video. I'll be changing the part out when it comes in the mail.
BMW= Bottom of My Wallet
Boss, do you have an E60 ??? As i'm having problems with a parasitic draw as well which drains the battery and no-one can tell me why my battery is dead after fully being charged and sitting for two weeks without driving the car. 185K miles 05 545i
Someone repaired my alternator, probably he changed this regulator but i have this error 4A07 -alternator communication , before the car was stopping ,the alternator stopped charging but was communicating with computer now he doesn't 🤦♂️ ...i can't find the issue
I cant count on my hand as to how many of these I have changed on e60s and e9xs. I've changed it 2 times on my personal vehicle
No part is too small to fail prematurely on a BMW, I am saying this as a BMW owner ;) It's a wonderful car when it works, but DAMN all the small parts that prematurely fail on them.
I've got a 2010 N52.
I consistently get 13.5-ish live data "battery voltage" (slightly lower than what I often hear is normal 14+ volts).
Have you ever heard of engine pinging/detonation because of such a low voltage?
I've thrown a lot of parts at it with no success. The engine was even re-timed with a new timing chain and vanos actuators. It runs good but it lightly pings under light and moderate acceleration at slower speeds. Moderate to hard acceleration will usually clear it up. It's got new plugs/coils/valve cover/solenoids/Map sensor/MAF sensor/fuel Injectors/no obvious vacuum leaks/countless fuel additives and highway road trips to clean out carbon.
Any guesses?
Salut esti roman? Si eu am problema asta cu un 535i
Great video. Can I ask you? I’m replacing my faulty alternator. Will the voltage regulator come with the new alternator?
It should come with a brand new alternator
My e90 not starting, it seems there is not enough power to starter motor