I have a 2012 M.C.S. convertible. It shows the battery not charging warning. The battery was replaced 3 years ago without any issue or registering. The car sat over the winter for rear suspension and brake repairs. It was outside in the cold, snow and ice. Once it warmed up and got the rear back together The battery was dead and was unable to charge. I tried several chargers and nothing. I bought a new battery from Costco and thats when the first warning came on. The Costco battery was a downgrade from what was there so I replaced the older one under warranty and installed it. Same issue. I can drive the car to run errands for a while before I need to throw a trickle charger on it. Autozone said the regulator was bad with their onboard testing equipment. They don't have a bench tester for the alternator. I know its a long process to remove and install it. I was hoping driving the vehicle and getting it to operating temperatures several times would get the alternator going. It did sit through the entire winter without being started. I think a small animal got into the engine bay from below. I am checking for loose wires or connections. I thought maybe there was corrosion inside the alternator and the high, warm revolutions while running could do the trick. I bought a manual that looks like a school text book to help me diagnose the no charge condition. I only got a wiring schematic out of it.

Is there a real shop manual available to the public vehicle specific? I have used all data and Mitchell before. Anything like that out there?

Is ther a flow chart out there for diagnosis and repair?

Can I energize the alternator manually with 12 volts? I have a power probe 2 to use.

Does the I.B.S. Have anything to do with a no charge state?

Closest dealership is about an hour from me. Does the new battery have to be registered?

What's the best scan tool that will do everything needed for this vehicle. I don't mind investing if it can do what I don't have to pay others to do repeatedly. Especially this battery registering issue.

I saw online people having the same no charge issue after replacing their alternator. I don't want to jump the gun and be part of that group. They also said aftermarket autozone units were not good but I want the lifetime warranty. Anyone trust O'Reilly's rotating electrical? Or is there a more reliable solution? I have the capability of rebuilding it. Just need a reliable source for the guts.

I want to know why this alternator would fail when it wasn't even under load. The vehicle only has 60k miles and was mostly garage kept much of its life. No mods or upgrades. All stock. .
I am new to this site. Please help.

Thank you in advance.

 

Just to make sure I understand: so you replaced the original dead battery and then replaced the replacement with yet another. Correct?
"From what was there" refers to the original, dead battery?
And neither of the two replacements was registered, right?

What makes you think an animal got inside? Actual evidence or is it an assumption based on the car's behaviour?

Don't know if ISTA fits your description, but it is what BMW garages use and besides primarily being a diagnosis tool, it also contains repair instructions, specifications (torque values, functional descriptions, etc.) and electrical diagrams (all of which for your actual, specific vehicle based on its VIN). I use it with a fitting, cheap OBD cable adapter (USB).

Not unlikely since the car will only charge a new battery within the "limits" of the previous one until it is told that a new battery has been installed (by means of "battery registration").

If your car has IBS: yes.

Most of the time I use DeepOBD on an OTG capable android phone with that cheap chinese OBD adapter. It can monitor every (!) single sensor value in the car in real time but setting it up is not very intuitive. It is also supposed to be able to do things like battery registration, etc. but I'd use ISTA for things like that. DeepOBD is open source and free of trackers. When working on the car (and my laptop is around), I mostly use ISTA for its repair instructions and torquing values.

I'm afraid I can't help you with these questions. But I'd first try to understand what is going on before replacing hardware. There is a "hidden menu" available (search for videos showing how to enter it) inside which the onboard voltage is displayed. If you see any voltage above 12.5 Volts with the engine running, your alternator is fine and you need to concentrate on the battery (and register it if it is fine). If below (i.e. the battery is the only source of voltage), then get an OBD scanner that can read all BMW/Mini ECU's (like ISTA or DeepOBD) in order to check for any errors thrown.

 

Thank you for replying. I appreciate your attention and help. Here is more info.

​Original BMW/ Exide battery: 70ah, 120rc, 570cca replaced in 2018 with battery from O'Reilly's Auto Parts/ Super Start Platinum AGM: 70ah, 120rc, 760cca. This is the battery that had died while the vehicle sat over the winter. Fastest replacement was from
Costco/ Interstate H5 (47): 60ah replaced July 2021. The Superstart (agm) battery was still under warranty but they didn't have one in stock which is why I purchased the Costco Interstate. That's when I found out it was rated lower than the original so I had the Superstart AGM battery replaced under the warranty. This was the best matched according to specs of the O.E.M. battery. So, in short... we have a good, fully charged battery to work with. And I did not register the battery back in 2018 and I recently learned about the need to register batteries, so I still have not registered this replacement.

And for the animal... There was short hairs on top of the motor like a small Possum or rodent that could fit squeezing themselves up on top of the exhaust manifold and valve cover. The vehicle runs fine. I drive it to the grocery and bank a few times. I'm also test driving it to diagnose a knocking sound from the rear driverside. Stabilizer links seem tight to touch as well as the bushings. Thats the most common complaint from other mini owners.
I was really hoping I had an open on the wire that energizes the alternator. Which is why I ask if I can give that 12 volts with the Power probe. I worked on a vehicle once that the main engine wire harness was chewed up by rats. So far nothing on this vehicle looks chewed, loose or broken.

As for the manual I acquired, it is a Bently Service Manual covering 2007-2013 year models. It looks and reads like a text book from school. It is like a glorified Haynes Manual. I am not familiar with ISTA. Is it expensive? What are my options in getting hooked up with that? I would like to have that vehicle specific repair instructions and charts. Accurate specs is always a necessity. What will i need to run that software? And will I be able to register the battery and perform other "dealer only" procedures?

With the I.B.S. is there a test to make sure it is functioning properly? The battery i replaced it with had the same amp hour and reserve capacity. But it did have 190 more cold cranking amps.

For a scan tool I've seen the Schwaben mentioned alot and the Launch, also the Creator c310. That deepOBD sounds interesting. I use a Samsung Galaxy note 9. I don't know if its compatible. Do you have more info on how to attain that? And the cost as well please?

The open circuit voltage is 12.7 volts. And running it drops a few tenths. Revving up to 1500 -2000 ram does nothing. If it wasn't so much labor to r and r Iwould just purchase one. I want to attempt a correct diagnosis to rule out the alternator is the failure. I will invest in that software or hardware if its not too much. Especially since this car was just paid off. All the issues started right after it was fully paid for. Go figure...

Thank you for your time.