Battery problems, then "Trans Program"

[KeithW '91 535i]

displayed. It's our '91 535ia again. My wife calls me and says dead battery. I rescue and see the battery has enough to light interior lights and barely, dash lights. No starter or solenoid response. I get the cables and jump the car to life...turns over slowly and won't fire the first try. Second try gets it running. We are probably 6-7 miles from home. One mile from home she gets the "Trans Program" message and I think the transmission shifts to 3rd gear because she says its not shifting and loss of power. She gets it home. Do not know if we have an alternator charging issue and the battery is due for changing(they don't last long in Arizona), it's the same battery from when I bought the car 3 years ago, so history is unknown. The transmission was a BMW factory reman and has around 12K miles since I installed it.
I do not want to drive it until I hear from this Board.
Please advise how to proceed. Thanks!
Keith in AZ.

Javier and Bill R- If you read this, I have to laugh because right now all the other electrical gremlins we have been chasing are not present. So it is true...if it's not one thing, it's another! Ha!

[Robert K]

Keith,

I've been through all of this before. I did a lengthy writeup that Bruno posted on his site. The address is: http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/trouble/TransProgram.asp

Check that out first, I think it should help. Frankly, I don't think you probably have anything bad going on. Having a low battery is one of the things that can make the "Trans Program" message pop. By the way, what has happened is this. The tranny computer didn't like a signal it got, so it went into limp home mode (only third and reverse gears) which is designed to protect the tranny until it can be checked out. If I were you, I'd jump the car and take it to an autoparts store that has battery testing capabilities. They can load test the battery and tell you whether it's about dead or not. If it is, and you get a new one, that will most likely solve this problem. If it's not, they can probably also test your alternator's charging capabilities. At any rate, I don't think you have a tranny problem right now. Hope this helps.

Grace and peace,

Robert K
1191 535i

[Bill R.]

typically the abs light comes on shortly after... then if you keep going the engine starts to stumble until it dies.. this is the typical scenario for a dead battery or an alternator thats not charging and your driving on the battery right up until its completely dead, I'd pull the battery out and charge it up then when its charged up reinstall it and check the charging system voltage with the engine running, you can't get an accurate alternator voltage output check until the battery is charged anyway.. At the very least i'd charge it up and then take it to autzone and have them load test the battery, they also have a system checker that they can check your alternator output with.

displayed. It's our '91 535ia again. My wife calls me and says dead battery. I rescue and see the battery has enough to light interior lights and barely, dash lights. No starter or solenoid response. I get the cables and jump the car to life...turns over slowly and won't fire the first try. Second try gets it running. We are probably 6-7 miles from home. One mile from home she gets the "Trans Program" message and I think the transmission shifts to 3rd gear because she says its not shifting and loss of power. She gets it home. Do not know if we have an alternator charging issue and the battery is due for changing(they don't last long in Arizona), it's the same battery from when I bought the car 3 years ago, so history is unknown. The transmission was a BMW factory reman and has around 12K miles since I installed it.
I do not want to drive it until I hear from this Board.
Please advise how to proceed. Thanks!
Keith in AZ.

Javier and Bill R- If you read this, I have to laugh because right now all the other electrical gremlins we have been chasing are not present. So it is true...if it's not one thing, it's another! Ha!

[632 Regal]

just get a new battery if its #1 that old and #2 if it may be in question.

What caused it to go dead for your wife? If it just went dead and you havent had this problem before you may have a bad diode or regulator on the alternator.

saying that it made it 6 miles home I would guess that it is charging, maybe an interior light was left on somehow?

[Russell]

It sat at a used car lot in the winter and was not driven much until I bought it. Shortly afterwards, the trans program poped on a couple of times until I started driving it every day. It popped on once when I left a light on. That was 30,000 miles ago. Nothing since. Knock on wood. I think your problem is electrical related charging or battery.

Just my experience.

displayed. It's our '91 535ia again. My wife calls me and says dead battery. I rescue and see the battery has enough to light interior lights and barely, dash lights. No starter or solenoid response. I get the cables and jump the car to life...turns over slowly and won't fire the first try. Second try gets it running. We are probably 6-7 miles from home. One mile from home she gets the "Trans Program" message and I think the transmission shifts to 3rd gear because she says its not shifting and loss of power. She gets it home. Do not know if we have an alternator charging issue and the battery is due for changing(they don't last long in Arizona), it's the same battery from when I bought the car 3 years ago, so history is unknown. The transmission was a BMW factory reman and has around 12K miles since I installed it.
I do not want to drive it until I hear from this Board.
Please advise how to proceed. Thanks!
Keith in AZ.

Javier and Bill R- If you read this, I have to laugh because right now all the other electrical gremlins we have been chasing are not present. So it is true...if it's not one thing, it's another! Ha!

[KeithW '91 535i]

While waiting for your reply posts (thanks for the fast replies to all!!!) I drove over to the Zone with the 535 battery. They put it on their battery diagnostic machine (doesn't anyone just check the cells anymore or am I just getting old?) and it showed 11.75 volts, then at the end of the bench test, said to recharge it and then retest. The Zone actually gave me a loaner battery to try out. So, after it's off my charger (that's right, the one they loaned was not up to snuff) I will plug into the E34, then run it over to them for a load test and charging system test. If charging system is good, I am buying the new battery. These guys will replace it free for 2 years if it fails, and in Arizona, that 's a good thing. They want $65.00 for the newbie.
Thanks again to all my E34 brothers to the rescue!

Keith in AZ.

[632 Regal]

sleep well my friend, I think your on the right track!