battery light on dash

the battery light on the dash stays on all the time, even when the car is turned off. it just started to do this last week, it will drain the battery in a couple of days, oh, its a 318i 1985
thanks for any help
chris

i found out the alternator is not charging, would the light stay on if the alt. was bad? that would just add to the problem of keeping a charge?

i found out the alternator is not charging, would the light stay on if the alt. was bad? that would just add to the problem of keeping a charge?Most cars would do that. I have had several alternator problems in the past with several different vehicle models and the battery light will stay on until the sensor picks up that it is functional and doing its job. Make sure all your connections are correct. You can take it to autozone or baxters and they will run a test on your alternator. For the time being, my only suggestion is to remove the positive battery cable so the car will not die on you when not in use.

thanks T thats what i have been doing, luckly i have had a heated shop to store my beemer in this winter, last winter i bought a car cover and it was about this time of year i took the cover off to give her a bath and the paint on the hood peeled off down to the metal, about the size of a basketball, nothihng but metal, anyway, thanks again T