symptoms of broken unloader relay on e34 525i???

[deacs]

what are the common symptoms of a dead unloader relay on a e34 535i m50 engine.

Over the last few days ive had the occasional non starting despite battery being good (engine doesnt spin over at all) yet most of the time it starts fine.

then yesterday i noticed my battery charge warning light on the dash had stoped working when the ignition is on before starting.

finally yesterday the car dies on me, appears it wasnt charging!

any ideeas?

[Ross]

An open resistor in the relay would cause the alt. not to charge. Have a looky at fuses 17 & 28 also.

[deacs]

ive checked teh fuses and they are good.

im thinking its deffo this relay. is there anyway i can bypass it short term just to see if alternator is working as it should?

[Ross]

You can jump the winding terminals, 85 & 86 on the relay I think.