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49K views 19 replies 12 participants last post by  ijtuck99 
#1 ·
Walked out to my 2006 330ci after 4 days of not driving it and the battery was dead. Replaced the battery, and as soon as the car started the ABS DSC and BRAKE lights came on. All yellow. I've driven it around and they lights will not go away. ATM I do not have the battery information but will once I get off of work. I replaced the original battery with a battery from Autozone. I was wondering if this would be part of the battery registration I've read about. I've read about e46's having battery registration systems as early as 2002. Then I've read that only e9x's and newer only have the battery registration. If this is a REAL ABS issue, what is a reliable reader/scanner I can buy? Also, I could take the car to the dealer and get the codes ran, but I am in the military and the closest BMW dealer, which is still over an hour away, only runs their service dept. during the week. Being in my particular MOS in the military, I don't have a schedule that allows me to really go anywhere during the day during the work week. Thank y'all for your time and help!
 
#4 ·
None of the E46 require any battery programming/registration.

The battery for the car is not that important, so do not worry about what you ended up with from AutoZone.

There may have a charging system problem, this may be why the car did not start, possibly the other battery was low and then avalanched?

I had a bad cell in the battery in my 2006 330cic (Vert) and it caused the ABS, Brake, DSC lights to come on. Charging system was fine.

Make sure the battery you installed was fully charged and large enough. Too much of a Voltage drop on starting http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S7ONHH4?psc=1can cause the modules in the car to fail to communicate and will cause crazy things.

As for OBDII/Software options, these are my recommendations.

http://www.amazon.com/iSaddle-Scann...=1422040605&sr=8-1&keywords=BMW+scanner+1.4.0

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S7ONHH4?psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/Original-Laun...ie=UTF8&qid=1422040704&sr=1-2&keywords=crp123
 
#5 ·
Thank y'all for confirming the battery registration ordeal. Also jfoj, I am pretty positive the alternator and driving the car everyday was keeping the battery alive as long as it did and, as you mentioned, avalanched once I didn't drive for 4 days. My initial theory was the charging system as well, possibly the alternator itself. I've also heard the the computer keeps the alternator working in a "good" state even when it's getting weak by over working it to keep up with normal charging. And then eventually it'll go out. If that is true, could that be the issue perhaps? Still feel my best bet to know for sure is to get the scanner though. Thanks again for the help!
 
#6 ·
The alternator is not computer controlled in the E46.

Suggest you head to the parts store for a battery/alternator test.

You can also use the Hidden OBC Menu to display the charging Voltage on the dash.

Read the 4th link below in my signature.
 
#9 ·
DO NOT BUY A SCAN TOOL AT AUTOZONE or ADVANCE!!!!

Trust me.
 
#12 ·
The Launch tools area actually very good IMHO. They do in fact pick up and display things beyond typical OBDII things. The CRP123 actually showed a lot of things on my E39 M5 I did not expect to see like the VANOS cam angles and the VANOS commanded angle as well as many other things.

You do need to be careful where you purchase the Launch tools because of shipping time from Asia and tools that are not for the North American market are not typically supported by Launch.

I believe that Matco and MAC carry the Launch products on their trucks as well.

I have a CReaderVI, CRP123 and a CRecorder.

My CReaderVI is my first tool I usually reach for, quick, simple and efficient.
 
#13 ·
Any time you disconnect power from the battery and reconnect, those lights will come on. Simply turn the steering wheel all the way left and then all the way right to recalibrate the steering angle sensor. All lights should go off once you've done that. The DCS and ABS rely on information from that sensor, so they flip out if it's not calibrated.
 
#14 ·
*Update* Ordered a CRP123 tool and received it today. Ran it and the 5FD0 - Return Pump code came up from the ABS/ACS/DSC section. So started from ground zero in troubleshooting the ABS pump, fuse #61 was blown :). Switched it out with the extra 30A fuse. Drove it for 5 ft. and the lights went off. Spent $230 for the scan tool. "expensive fix" for just being a fuse. But got a badass tool to add to my garage, and I am almost positive I saved quiet a bit of money buying the tool than taking it to a BMW dealership and paying for labor/diag. costs/mistaken parts costs/etc. Obviously looking towards the brighter side of the situation! Thanks again for the suggestions and recommendations! Happy Motoring!
 
#15 · (Edited)
Same issue here, battery died during Fuel pump replacement. Charged battery, car starts up again getting steady ~14V running. Brake, ASC, ABS, handbrake(red light?) stays on all the time.
Edit: Fuel gauge is due to wiring gone bad - unrelated. Checked glove box fuses, all ok. Turned steering full lock both ways, still nothing. Only things left to try is disconnect the battery for a little or take her out and stretch her legs.

Any help appreciated.
 
#16 ·
I just had the DSC/Brake/ABS all yellow 3 light trio come up on my 2001 e46 325xi last week. After searching the forums, I decided to go to a friend's garage that has a Snap-on reader using Mitchell 1 software.

The reader pulled a "104" code (Steering Angle Mis-aligned). It checked the ABS system and found the sesnor was fine and we proceeded to manually re-calibrate the steering angle by turning on the car, leaving it in park, not stepping on the brake anbd turning the steering wheel left and right, lock to lock. Lights went out. The software was needed to do this.

I recalled reading about the ABS sensors being sensitive to battery voltage and remembered temperatures got down to -10 degrees one day last week. The car has been starting up fine, even in the really cold temps. My battery is a little over 5 years old, but decided to have it tested. The CCA rating was still good, which confirmed my initial cold morning start ups ok, but the overall charge capacity only read 68%, which leads me to believe my battery was the culprit and probably needs to be changed soon.

Glad I went straight to get the ABS codes read first before I started checking fuses, sensors wires, pulling and/or cleaning ABS sensors, etc.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Cleaning ABS sensors is for the most part false logic.

But a good point to understand with these ultra cold temps across a lot of the US and Canada now, it is wise to put a battery charger on the battery maybe once a week.

Due to the very cold temps, most cars being driven shorter distances and at slower speeds in stop and go traffic, headlights, heater, wipers and rear defog running it really puts a lot of stress on the battery/charging systems.

It is not a bad idea to have the battery checked even if there is no problem as most of the resistive/inductive testers can tell the battery capacity as well as the state of charge very quickly and easily.

I have used my battery chargers more this year than most on both my cars and others.

Again, the cold weather and driving conditions have been hard this year on every vehicle.
 
#18 · (Edited)
First time poster. I had to disconnect my 2000 325ci battery for a week to repair a burst inlet manifold following a startup backfire of note with ccv delete. Upon reconnecting the same lights showed up. Turning steering lock to lock fixed this. Thanks for the info on this forum. I rely on it for most repairs/mods. CCV bypass vacuum intake relocated from spreader plenum to manifold rear. Hope to never hear the big bang again. Otherwise it is a super mod to cure oil digestion and boost performance.
 
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