battery warning light dead

[mister1000]

I had some overheating issues recently,those have been corrected,I had an ac control unit issue,which i have been trying to resolve,and have got a new part(ac brain)and recently hardwired in,it seems to be working but after all is said and done,i now have no recharging of the battery,it goes dead after about ten minutes of running,systems start to fail one at a time.the car charged no problem before i started work on it.I must have shorted something out.Anyway when i turn the key on the battery light does not illuminate at all,I suspect it is burnt out.I was leafing thru a cheap haynes manual in the alternator section and at the end it states

Quote:note on 1982-1986 models,a burned out dashboard light will prevent the alternator from charging the battery.After 1987 a resistor is wired in parallel with the warninglight in order to allow current to bypass the light in event of a broken circuit(burned out light) end quote.
Now my car is a 1992 525i so in fact it should have the resitor in place,but is it possible that I burnt the resistor and bulb.I was wondering if anyone has seen this before.I cant believe the alternator or regulator are fried as the car actually never moved anywhere and has not been on the road since i started to replace the ac control brain.I have no faults in the car stomp test provides 1444 no fault code.Any ideas ,is it hard to replace the bulb,do i need to remove the steering wheel just to change a bulb???has anyone removed the dash pod partially,i think it is doable just would like some advice.Thankx Is this accurate in staing that if the warning light has burnt out the alternator wont charge.

[mister1000]

bulb is good,anywhere i can check for voltage ,it shoud be on with ignition in the first position?????????any suggestions?

[mister1000]

regulator dead = no battery light

[jeffreyb4me]

soory i was away during your 'crisis'.
there's an easy test of the D+ circuit you could have done.
At Pin # 12 of the 'Diagnostic Connector' [it's the big round 'cap' in the engine bay, insert a 12V test lamp into #12. IF the circuit and 'BATT' lamp are okay, the test light will glow and the BATT lamp will come on when you turn the key on. IF NOT, the problem is the Voltage Reg. on the alternator 95% of the time.........
HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEONE ELSE.....................jb.

[mister1000]

thankx Jeff,you have any idea on the coding question i have here,
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=242408