[BimmerMat135]

Good afternoon, I've got a warning light (low battery) I drove the car for 30 mins but as it was still on I went to a garage to look at the charge. It seem like the alternator is charging at 14.86volts which seem to be really high. Can I drive the car? I'm 3 hours away from the closest BMW dealer and 5.5h away from home. Car is a BMW 328d touring 2014

[glen24]

Same problem last year winter "2014 328D".

[BimmerMat135]

Originally Posted by glen24

Same problem last year winter "2014 328D".

What your dealer been doing to fix it? Did you had any problems driving with 14.85+ volts charge?

[x5mad]

The high voltage suggests that there may be a problem with the alternator itself or voltage regulator.

The battery is likely toast anyway.

If the battery is not charging at all then potentially driving it could be dangerous.

I had No choice driving with a faulty alternator and that was so dangerous. I had my wife follow me and in a space of 10km had to be jump started over 15 times.

[BimmerMat135]

Nobody seem to know exactly what is the charging voltage of these cars. I've been calling both service and part departement of my dealer and both seem to agree that it is not a dangerous situation. :

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by BimmerMat135

Good afternoon, I've got a warning light (low battery) I drove the car for 30 mins but as it was still on I went to a garage to look at the charge. It seem like the alternator is charging at 14.86volts which seem to be really high. Can I drive the car? I'm 3 hours away from the closest BMW dealer and 5.5h away from home. Car is a BMW 328d touring 2014

I suggest in that great city of yours that you find a nice little restaurant that serves lightly pan fried fois gras........the memories of Montreal..

[Labeef]

14.8 is not out of the ordinary. Remember, these cars have tons of modules and systems that need strong and steady voltage. When a battery is bad, regardless how much you drive it, the battery will be bad. I see no issue with you driving to your dealer.

[x5mad]

Originally Posted by BimmerMat135

Nobody seem to know exactly what is the charging voltage of these cars. I've been calling both service and part departement of my dealer and both seem to agree that it is not a dangerous situation. :

You never asked for the normal charging voltage in your question.

A Normal battery ideally needs 13.8-14.2V to charge optimally.

However our cars have an AGM battery which needs a higher voltage, up to 14.7V.

[BimmerMat135]

Originally Posted by x5mad

You never asked for the normal charging voltage in your question.

A Normal battery ideally needs 13.8-14.2V to charge optimally.

However our cars have an AGM battery which needs a higher voltage, up to 14.7V.

I try to ask for this information but was never able to find it from BMW . As you said the battery itself can go up to 14.7v which make perfect sense as it was the same on my 1m. I was just not sure as the local mecanic seem like to panic about it.

[Hernandiaz11]

I received a similar warning message Monday after not driving my car for 2 weeks. The warning was "increased battery discharge". I tried charging my car by driving it for 1 hour and it still wasn't enough. I also tried using a battery charger at 12V (40amp) for an hour and a half and I still get a warning message "charge battery" when I shut my car off. I guess I need to charge the battery at higher voltage and/or for a longer time.

[BimmerMat135]

Just got confirmation from BMW alternator charge can go up to 15.1v without any problems 16v or higher will give a warning light.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by BimmerMat135

Just got confirmation from BMW alternator charge can go up to 15.1v without any problems 16v or higher will give a warning light.

Not surprised at the confirmation, those figures are in BMW Energy Management data.

HighlandPete

[x5mad]

Originally Posted by Hernandiaz11

I received a similar warning message Monday after not driving my car for 2 weeks. The warning was "increased battery discharge". I tried charging my car by driving it for 1 hour and it still wasn't enough. I also tried using a battery charger at 12V (40amp) for an hour and a half and I still get a warning message "charge battery" when I shut my car off. I guess I need to charge the battery at higher voltage and/or for a longer time.

Yup you definitely need higher voltage. 12V will not charge it fully if at all.

Most will need to be left on overnight.

[ft1330]

Originally Posted by F32Fleet

I suggest in that great city of yours that you find a nice little restaurant that serves lightly pan fried fois gras........the memories of Montreal..

Fried foie gras.... only in america. lol