bmwe21.net forums

Hi there, I got the car yesterday, and charged the battery, but it looked like it wasn't holding a charge. Got a new battery today and the battery light still kept coming on. Drove a short distance and the temp engine needle rose and rose, nearly to the red! Any ideas what the problem might be? I'm getting it serviced over the next few days but I need to make it 20 miles to the garage! Thanks, Enda.

is this the 320 baur?
ignoring the light for a second.... is the alternator actually charging?
temp wise, whip the thermostat out and do a kettle test on it. should open at like 75/82 degrees if its ok refit it and bleed the cooling system up. maybe back fill it by pulling a pipe off at connection to the heater matrix on the baulkhead and filling the pipe till it starts coming out the place you took the pipe.

Yep, the black Baur. I looked for the thermostat and didn't find it, so I reckon I've no handle on the mechanics of this beastie I'm bringing it to the mechanic next week so I guess he can look at it. I've since read that the temp gauge on the E21 can be temperamental, so I'm hoping this is the issue, not the rad/engine overheating!

Still wondering about the battery though. I guess the alternator is charging, as I can start the car, but it feels like it's going to conk out in low revs. Hopefully I'll get these issues sorted next week!

murran wrote:is this the 320 baur?
ignoring the light for a second.... is the alternator actually charging?
temp wise, whip the thermostat out and do a kettle test on it. should open at like 75/82 degrees if its ok refit it and bleed the cooling system up. maybe back fill it by pulling a pipe off at connection to the heater matrix on the baulkhead and filling the pipe till it starts coming out the place you took the pipe.