HELP: Instrument Cluster dead after expansion tank replacement

hellspcangel911 · #1 01-08-2018, 01:36 PM

Hi All,
2002 3.0 with 110k miles, automatic trans, have owned it a long time. I replaced the expansion tank after a pin hole coolant leak spraying out across the engine and onto the firewall - took a while to find it.
Everything went smoothly, but after starting up normally after the replacement, went to check the coolant level, got back to the drivers seat and the instrument cluster was out.
Turned the car off to check everything (thought maybe i left the MAF disconnected or something) all looked good. started the car up again, no issues, but the cluster was still out. I noticed the climate controls were now in Celsius and the red battery indicator was slowly flashing on the cluster. Car warmed up and the engine temp gauge works, but nothing else on the cluster.

I checked fuses 5 and 15 in the glove box, thats not it. charged the battery, and i still have the same problem. The battery is a 3 month old Interstate and the alternator is 6 months old. No issues before this. I should note that at the time of this repair it was 3 degrees outside.. not sure if that makes any difference.

Please help, I need to get the car back on the road

thanks in advance!

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hellspcangel911 · #2 01-08-2018, 02:13 PM

Fixed all issues above by:

1. Turning car off
2. Taking out fuses for Instrument Cluster - ON 2002 BMW X5 they were 1, 43, 45
3. Turning ignition to position 2. You can try and crank it, but mine wouldn't turn over.
4. Turn car off
5. Reinsert fuses from step 2.
6. All functions are reactivated.

wpoll · #3 01-08-2018, 03:18 PM

Be warned that coolant may have gotten into the alternator and caused this - the clue being the flashing battery symbol.

Keep an eye on the charge voltage while driving (via the unlocked BC display) and check you are getting 13.7-14.2v at all times.

hellspcangel911 · #4 01-08-2018, 03:27 PM

Thanks WPOLL,
thats exactly what i think happened when i was wrangling the new expansion tank on.
Ill keep an eye on it, i blew it off with compressed air and its dry now.

wpoll · #5 01-08-2018, 03:29 PM

Chuck a plastic bag over the alternator any time you are working on the coolant circuit!

Crowz · #6 01-08-2018, 04:04 PM

Not just the coolant. My ex-son in law got an alternator for my daughters 528i from a salvage yard. He dumped all of the power steering fluid into it removing it. Ruined it.

Basically if your working with anything that could leak bag the alternator.

oldskewel · #7 01-08-2018, 08:50 PM

On a different car, I had a slow coolant leak from the top of the radiator. I think that while driving, the leaking coolant got blown back towards the engine, including down onto the alternator. Around the same time I found the leak I started having intermittent charging problems, thinking it was bad luck to have two unrelated problems at the same time.

After I figured things out, and with a new radiator in place, I realized that the residue from the dried coolant (also seen throughout the lower engine bay) was probably inside the alternator, perhaps causing conductivity problems with the brushes.

So at the point when intermittent turned into constant and dead, I figured I did not have much to lose, so with the engine warm but off, I sprayed the alternator with a garden hose, rinsing it as thoroughly as I could. Then I blew it dry with the leaf blower, then compressed air, then a little later I ran it, and voltage was as good as ever. Still is. Totally fixed.

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