Rectangular Vs Oval Voltage Regulators

Due to my thread - http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=891250
and doing ALOT of researching and calling pelican, realoem, my local bmw dealer, and emailing Tischer, I have found that my car's alternator/regulator is different from most others.

Im writing this to help other facelifted E46 owners with the same problem. I ordered the rectangle connector regulator from pelican before I was told by another member that he had a different one, just like me.


Some 2004 BMWs have an oval connectors on their bosch 120amp alternators.

All the places I have called, even after running my vin, came up with a regular alternator with an rectangular connector. I think this stumped most of them.

It seems like autozone is the only place that carries this regulator by itself. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...er=856762_0_0_




Here is the pic of the alternator (not mine but still the same)


Its the same alternator that they use on a 2003 Z4 3.0 still bosch.
Here is the pic off OEM. You can see the Oval Connector in the box.



While being a little pricey compared to replacing the alternator, I think from what I have read about bosch alternators, it might be the right way to go.

I did some searching and havent found any DIYs that show how to remove this piece but Im sure its quite like the other DIYs.

I plan on replacing it this weekend, it was a special order part and Im having it shipped to my house. I dont plan on removing the whole alternator, just working around it in the back. Im hoping that works.

Here are all the links

Regulator :

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...&siteid=214672 ... its cheaper and OEM apparently so I canceled my autozone order and ordered this one.
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...er=856762_0_0_

Alternator:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...FILTER_TOOL=ON


Part Numbers:

Regulator : 12317515319


Alternator: # 12317519620


Hope this helps some people in the future.

Because my dealer did all the work on this one for me. I didn't see the old one come out or the new one go in. I do know I do not have the duct on the back of the alternator as pictured here in your post.

And for accuracy here, change your Bosch 120A alternator from volts. The rating is for 120amps. And of course it is still a 12v unit.

Originally Posted by Stinger9

Because my dealer did all the work on this one for me. I didn't see the old one come out or the new one go in. I do know I do not have the duct on the back of the alternator as pictured here in your post.

And for accuracy here, change your Bosch 120A alternator from volts. The rating is for 120amps. And of course it is still a 12v unit.

Changed!! Thanks!

I'll update once mine comes in from Tischer. Yet again, its a special order part from BMW directly so it takes yet another day for them to get it and to send it out. I'm hoping to have this done by Xmas.

Good Luck, and please come back and tell us if this part fits and works!

Originally Posted by alex_lee88

Changed!! Thanks!

I'll update once mine comes in from Tischer. Yet again, its a special order part from BMW directly so it takes yet another day for them to get it and to send it out. I'm hoping to have this done by Xmas.

Yeah let us know if it works. It's strange that it wouldn't be documented like that on realoem.

My alternator also has the oval connector and does not have a cooling duct. It's a Bosch 120A. I have a theory that the pulley height is slightly different on these compared to the Bosch alternators with the rectangular connectors.

Another member confirmed that it is indeed the right part!! I'll post when mine comes in and after I've installed

How did you resolve this?

Just replaced the vr on my alternator which has the oval connector as well (without removing the alt thanks to another thread here). The part from Autozone was an exact match down to manufacturer (Bosch) and part number. My voltage is back up to nomal (13.9 off / 14.2 engine idle / 14 engine/ac/lights on) and the battery light has not come back on after driving it for a while. If I have any issues I'll post back. My brushes were pretty worn as you can see in the pic I attached.

Thanks al0513 for posting the Autozone link for the part! I originally purchased the rectangular vr and was frustrated when I went to the dealer and they were clueless as to why this is.

Looks like you have a freak of a car. No one else has ever posted a battery voltage higher than like 12.4 or 12.6.
Battery must have it's own internal generator.

First off, thanks to everyone on this tread. I just wanted to let you know that the part that was originally posted from AutoZone is no longer available. Also it is a bit expensive. I have an 04' 330CI and found that the oval voltage regulator for the 03'Z4 (as pictured above) uses the exact same part number [BR14-CO]. The best place that I have found to get it is at Auto Parts Warehouse.

Edit: Alright guys, I have not idea how to paste a link in here without it getting all the ****'s. Do a google search for 2003 BMW Z4 voltage regulator and it will come up.

It was only $57 and had free shipping.

Hope this helps.

They're auto-censoring you. Have to invent a code for us to interpret.

I need to retract my earlier statement about finding the right regulator. Autoparts warehouse was a crappy company to go through. They removed the product from their page and canceled my order.

My fix ended up to buy the square connector regulator from pelican parts and then to go to the junk yard to buy a snipped connector off a wrecked car then to solder it in.

On further searching it looks like you can get a s-745 (google it) connector off of ebay for about $13 and save yourself the trip and hassle of the junk yard.

Hope this post actually helps.

In and working currently?

I am having this exact same issue in my 2005 3.30i ZHP. Went to replace, everything looked great... and then realized the connection was different upon re-installation. RealOEM & all of the online catalogs have it wrong, but now I am leaning towards purchasing the Z4 VR above, which appears to be correct.

Can anyone verify this will work? If they are both 120A is there any risk in trying? I have found that ZHP engines share a few similarities with the Z4 3.0 so this seems very logical to me.... and the 3.25i Sport / Facelift is the second closest.

Any help is much appreciated, otherwise I guess Ill plan on answering my own question.

You you want the dealer's voltage regulator you can have it for about $110 Shipped from thebmwpartstore.com, great service in my experience. Best price I've found so far... vs. buying the square plug regulator ($50) and soldering a square connector from eBay (+$15), which may bring problems if you don't solder properly...