Battery light

[Mr Paul]

I was driving tonight and the battery light came on. Shortly after that my radio shut off and the abs light and a bunch of other dash warning lights popped up. Luckily I had a friend that was close by so I pulled off to the side of the road.

Does this sound like a voltage regulator, alt, or battery? Anyway to test? I'm not real close to home so access to tools may be limited. Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks.

[wsmeyer]

I was driving tonight and the battery light came on. Shortly after that my radio shut off and the abs light and a bunch of other dash warning lights popped up. Luckily I had a friend that was close by so I pulled off to the side of the road.

Does this sound like a voltage regulator, alt, or battery? Anyway to test? I'm not real close to home so access to tools may be limited. Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks.

Alternator stopped working. Car ran off the battery for a little while but as the voltage dropped other weird things start happening.

[BimmerWill]

How far did you drive it? I had the same thing happen to me yesterday afternoon but was able to make it home. I kept an eye on battery level and it didn't get below 11.4, granted this was during the day with no lights or radio on.

Id say alternator went out as well. Take it off and get it rebuilt. Much cheaper than buying a new (refurbished) unit.

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[Mr Paul]

How far did you drive it? I had the same thing happen to me yesterday afternoon but was able to make it home. I kept an eye on battery level and it didn't get below 11.4, granted this was during the day with no lights or radio on.

Id say alternator went out as well. Take it off and get it rebuilt. Much cheaper than buying a new (refurbished) unit.

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I drove it just 2 or 3 blocks. I am unfortunately 20 miles from home and I don't think I can make it. I may just get it towed home and pull the alternator and get it checked out.

[edlvrt]

Did you watch the engine temperature closely? Are your engine belts and pulleys in good condition? Keep in mind that the alternator and water pump use the same belt to run them, and if that belt breaks, your engine will overheat very quickly.

[Mr Paul]

Did you watch the engine temperature closely? Are your engine belts and pulleys in good condition? Keep in mind that the alternator and water pump use the same belt to run them, and if that belt breaks, your engine will overheat very quickly.

Here is what I have found. I went back to the car yesterday with my tools all prepared to check and pull the alternator. I got in and used the test feature on the cluster to check the voltage at the battery and the alternator. I started it up and the alternator was putting out 14 volts, which is where it needs to be. I drove around the block a few times and everything looked good so I decided to test my luck and try to get it home as quickly as possible.

If I gave too much gas the voltage would briefly spike to 17 volts, which I don't think it should have been doing. After a few minutes of driving the voltage started going down slowly. By the time I made it home the reading was 12 volts.

All of this points me to the alternator, so I ordered one last night. The belts are 6 months old so everything is good there. As soon as I replace the alternator I will report back.

Thanks.

[Mr Paul]

Update: I replaced my alternator last night with a remanufactured Bosch unit from ECS and it appears to have solved my problem. Thanks, guys.

[BimmerWill]

Sounds like voltage regulator was the culprit. Glad you got it sorted. Im having to get mine rebuilt due to it not charging properly either.

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