Red battery light, does alternator need replacing?

[Arnie94]

New user here: looking at buying an 2015 M4.

Car was sitting on the lot for 12 months and needed jump starts when I went to check it out both times.

I plugged in the ODB scanner and got code P0563. Is that because the car was sitting for so long without being started?

Does the alternator need replacing? Or will driving for an hour fix the issue?

TIA

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by Arnie94

New user here: looking at buying an 2015 M4.

Car was sitting on the lot for 12 months and needed jump starts when I went to check it out both times.

I plugged in the ODB scanner and got code P0563. Is that because the car was sitting for so long without being started?

Does the alternator need replacing? Or will driving for an hour fix the issue?

TIA

Battery might be a low charge. It's probably better to put the battery in a lithium ion battery charger for a few hours and see if it helps it. Sitting for 12 months is way too long to be sitting on a lot without getting getting properly charged. Our BMW M cars sitting on the dealer lot are actually supposed to have the battery inspected and charged every few weeks if I can recall. I have the battery check in my glove box for when my car was sitting on the dealership lot.

[Arnie94]

I looked up the code and it says System Voltage High.

Could recharging the battery / replacing the battery fix this issue?

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by Arnie94

I looked up the code and it says System Voltage High.

Could recharging the battery / replacing the battery fix this issue?

Doing a battery recharge will be the cheapest thing to try first.

[F82///M]

Originally Posted by Arnie94

I looked up the code and it says System Voltage High.

Could recharging the battery / replacing the battery fix this issue?

This message could be from jump starting, assuming it wouldn't start without keeping the other vehicle connected for a few minutes. Max voltage is 14.4V, and it probably got 15.5V or more sitting on it.

Since it's 2015 and probably used car dealer I would check if it still has lithium battery in the trunk. Someone could swapped it for cheaper agm and system is trying to charge it with more voltage.

First step in diagnosing would be fully charged battery and then checking the voltage while car is running. With dead battery alternator will work overtime in those first few minutes, still shouldn't go over 14.4V and give you high system voltage error.

If you're not familiar, in Canada new battery is $2100 so don't be tricked by dealer and taking the car thinking it'll go away after few drives.