Car won't start..Alternator Problem? Help!!!

[pghZHP]

Hey guys,

My ZHP has been pretty reliable over the past year of ownership up until today. Vehicle has 109k on it.

I drove my car last night and noticed the radio was acting strange (turned off once and volume kept jumping up and down.) It also seemed like the headlights were flickering. No dash lights etc. When I got out of my car in the garage, there was a faint electrical burning smell.

Fast forward to this morning. Hop in my car to leave for work, dome light doesn't turn on. Turn the key and the dash lights up for a moment and then dies. Car doesn't try even attempt to start or turn over. I am almost positive it's not simply a battery as I tried charging it for about an hour. Also, the battery is about 4 months old and is an OEM BMW battery.

How can I go about troubleshooting this? I believe it's the alternator. I have searched and read through many threads on here and E46F.

Thanks for everyones help!

[pghZHP]

I did the battery test through the OBC and my battery is reading at 12.0

[wsmeyer]

It certainly could be the alternator. That doesn't explain why charging it didn't temporarily solve the problem though. I'm confused though when you first state:

Turn the key and the dash lights up for a moment and then dies.

But then you were able to read the voltage through OBC?

[pghZHP]

It certainly could be the alternator. That doesn't explain why charging it didn't temporarily solve the problem though. I'm confused though when you first state:

Turn the key and the dash lights up for a moment and then dies.

But then you were able to read the voltage through OBC?

Thanks for quick reply.

When I got into my car this morning, I turned the key, the dash lit up for a moment and then died. That seemed to be due to my battery being completely discharged.

Following that, I used jumper cables for an hour or so. Still could not get the car to start, but it does have power throughout the vehicle now.

[wsmeyer]

Gotcha.

But the car won't start using the jumper cables?

If that's the case I would start looking for loose or corroded connections both on the battery and the other ends, positive where it connects to the starter and where negative attaches to chassis.

[danewilson77]

Voltage regulator?

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

[pghZHP]

Gotcha.

But the car won't start using the jumper cables?

If that's the case I would start looking for loose or corroded connections both on the battery and the other ends, positive where it connects to the starter and where negative attaches to chassis.

I'll check the connections and report back.

[echo46]

I still think it is his alternator.

[pghZHP]

Voltage regulator?

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

That crossed my mind as well. I'll try to figure out how to troubleshoot that.

[pghZHP]

Just went out to my garage to start checking connections. Car is completely dead again. No power at all. I had charged the battery for an hour with jumper cables no more than 45 minutes ago...