[techie182]

2008 e92 328i 92k miles.
Car drove fine until I tried to start it back up at hospital parking lot.
I'm getting humming noise(guessing fuel pump?)
all lights work
No error code from BMWhat
No crank

I'm guessing starter is out.
How much should I expect?

[The HACK]

Battery. $250 plus $100 labor for install and register.

[Wilt]

I have seen reference to a $650-1200 starter job from E9x owners in Northeastern US. But since you are in Korea, you really need to get quotes in your part of the world!

Enough battery to light the lights is NOT necessarily enough battery to run the starter! Your car is old enough that it might have the original battery, which has run to the end of its 5-7 year life seen in most cars.

[techie182]

Tried jumping but didnt help. So its going to indy for repair.

[Eat.Sleep.Race]

250 parts/500 labor

[Needbmwpartzz]

Everything is 1000 if dealer does it.....400 if DIY.
If I guess correctly is there a reward

[Nitrousbird]

Not that much if you take your panties off, put your man pants on and fix it yourself.

[GOS7]

Originally Posted by Nitrousbird

Not that much if you take your panties off, put your man pants on and fix it yourself.

[Needbmwpartzz]

Originally Posted by Nitrousbird

Not that much if you take your panties off, put your man pants on and fix it yourself.

Come on.....give the guy a break.....he's wearing those panties for a reason.

[Houston 328i]

changed the battery myself a year or so ago. its a pain in the ass, but better than paying $150 just to install it

[techie182]

Indy is replacing starter motor for 480 labor included. Im doing all the maintenance my self(transmission fluid, diff fluid, oil, pads etc). Stationed in korea right now and parts are 2x than states. Takes about 2 weeks to get parts from states if i want to do it my self. Starter motor is 270(rebuilt). So about 210 for labor.
I did research for diy on starter and it seems its pia to replace it.

[Wilt]

Originally Posted by Houston 328i

changed the battery myself a year or so ago. its a pain in the ass, but better than paying $150 just to install it

and did you register the battery, so the charging profile is best suited for a new battery's ability to accept charge?! Many stories of shortened battery life, or stories of multiple odd behaviors that crop up suddenly -- and which went away after the battery was properly registered!

DIY is great...when DIY is 'done properly'

[E90Graphite07]

Originally Posted by Houston 328i

changed the battery myself a year or so ago. its a pain in the ass, but better than paying $150 just to install it

What was the hard part of doing the battery replacement? Also, which brand and group/size did you get?

[techie182]

They gave me discount for paying cash.
Paid $450 total for Bosch starter and labor.

Plan to order Water Pump/Tstat from states. Damn thing cost $700 here. $350-$400 in U.S.
Labor should be around $200.
Labor is cheaper here but damn parts are expensive.

Also plan to replace battery myself and code using BMWhat.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by Wilt

and did you register the battery, so the charging profile is best suited for a new battery's ability to accept charge?! Many stories of shortened battery life, or stories of multiple odd behaviors that crop up suddenly -- and which went away after the battery was properly registered!

DIY is great...when DIY is 'done properly'

Yep. Did the same on an E60 545i, and blew up the alternator 2 years later because the battery wasn't registered properly. Saved $300 on labor for the battery, pay out $1,200 for the alternator later.

[Wilt]

Originally Posted by The HACK

Yep. Did the same on an E60 545i, and blew up the alternator 2 years later because the battery wasn't registered properly. Saved $300 on labor for the battery, pay out $1,200 for the alternator later.

Perhaps the failure to register the battery had NOTHING to do with alternator failure. The VOLTAGE regulator causes the alternator output be within a certain range, but the IBS regulates charging so you don't wear out your alternator prematurely. Either VR or IBS might have caused an issue. In your parent case, it was likely the VR which caused alternator failure, and you automatically get a new VR on the new alternator I believe.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by Wilt

Perhaps the failure to register the battery had NOTHING to do with alternator failure. The VOLTAGE regulator causes the alternator output be within a certain range, but the IBS regulates charging so you don't wear out your alternator prematurely. Either VR or IBS might have caused an issue. In your parent case, it was likely the VR which caused alternator failure, and you automatically get a new VR on the new alternator I believe.

Nope. The technician hooked the car up to a GT1 and showed me ALL the fault stored in the DME related to the charging system. Failure to register the battery caused the alternator to work extra hard to try and recharge the battery that it thinks is failing even though the voltage is regulated. End result is a dramatically shortened lifespan for the alternator.

The problem was it didn't show up right away. Car worked fine. No dash warnings. 18 months into the "new" battery the car needs to be jumped and we found out that saving a few hundred bucks ended up costing a new alternator.