Think my Alternator croaked

[Jehu]

At some point tonight after driving all day i noticed the Battery Light was on solid.It so happens that the Parking break light was staying on too right after i forgot to release it when i started to drive off and that's how i noticed the battery light on too.It dims now after i lower the lever all the way but stays on and has done this after several times shutting off the ignition .

On to the Alternator. I stopped near my home to shop for a new battery for my remote unlocking key fob as the range is getting very short in which it will work and when i was parked i tried the Stomp Test this time getting it to work.It seemed to go on for ever and i couldn't figure out what it was telling me.It seemed to be giving the same 2.5 second on then a .05 flash then 2.5 off then 2.5 on etc i realize there are codes with up to 8 flashes but i missed the first few so i figured I'd try it again when i got home. I back the car into my parking space at home, shut off the car then realized the wheel was positioned poorly to read the dash so i went to start the car to turn the steering wheel and nothing. Ruugh ruuugh,click,click,dead... I've had an alternator go on other vehicles and that is what i remember happening basically. I haven't seen the alternator yet so while I'm looking at Bruno's site for the How to,am i going to find this beyond my beginner's ability? ugh. my Van won't start either..

[Digita1 Ecstasy]

changing out an alternator isnt that bad.

I think there was a step by step process of it with pics in that 1,300 pgs .pdf file that someone on BF posted, when I get home i'll look n link it to you.

[Jehu]

Thanks a mil I was just checking Bruno's site and Roadlfy's E34 board so far only real info was yeaofang saying its a hard job on the 530 and 540...

[genphreak]

At some point tonight after driving all day i noticed the Battery Light was on solid.It so happens that the Parking break light was staying on too right after i forgot to release it when i started to drive off and that's how i noticed the battery light on too.It dims now after i lower the lever all the way but stays on and has done this after several times shutting off the ignition .On to the Alternator. I stopped near my home to shop for a new battery for my remote unlocking key fob as the range is getting very short in which it will work and when i was parked i tried the Stomp Test this time getting it to work.It seemed to go on for ever and i couldn't figure out what it was telling me.It seemed to be giving the same 2.5 second on then a .05 flash then 2.5 off then 2.5 on etc i realize there are codes with up to 8 flashes but i missed the first few so i figured I'd try it again when i got home. I back the car into my parking space at home, shut off the car then realized the wheel was positioned poorly to read the dash so i went to start the car to turn the steering wheel and nothing. Ruugh ruuugh,click,click,dead... I've had an alternator go on other vehicles and that is what i remember happening basically. I haven't seen the alternator yet so while I'm looking at Bruno's site for the How to,am i going to find this beyond my beginner's ability? ugh. my Van won't start either..Hey Jehu, it's too hard reading your posts mate! Solid blocks of text, no paragraphs... anyway-

A blown alternator is kind of common after having drived BMW at above normal revs, they almost always take a crap when exposed to speeds even just a little above the nornal range, it might be a delayed effect from before.

[Jehu]

Its the stress,mate.I am stranded at home essentially.Of course i can rent a car but its just a case of hemorrhaging money again and i just got the gusher plugged.
I have a musical mind,i think in terms of improvisational jazz.Think, Grateful Dead circa 1972 ,Jam in Playin' in the Band>The Other One>Goin'Down the Road Feelin' Bad>Sugar Magnolia on a 1000 µg of Albert Hofmann's 'Problem Child'.


I'm playing Beat the Clock since I work as a Contractor for a living and if i am not working I am not earning.At least I'm using the spell checker..

http://homepage.mac.com/juanwilson/islandbreath/%20Year%202006/10-spirit/0610-02st_hofmann100.jpg

[Fetch]

Your car has been hitting you hard recently :/

Get 'er fixed up

[Jehu]

Your car has been hitting you hard recently :/

Get 'er fixed up

its a few hundred short of 150,000 miles and has run trouble free the past six months/20,000 miles.That is to say nothing till now has disabled me.If with tools i can buy at any hardware or auto parts store, clear comprehensible instructions and armload's of patience i or any other halfwit can manage to access, remove and replace the alternator the only problem remaining is where to buy or to send mine off to be rebuilt and if so where. i guess i should herein ask for suggestions for that end of the job,remembering i am in the Northeast USA so suggesting Fair Dinkum's Billabong and Bimmer Rehab Depot while appreciated might be untenable.

[Fetch]

wow, 20,000 miles in 6 months? I wish I did that much driving, that'd be cool.

If you've only had basic maintenance to do over those 20k miles then that sounds pretty good.

[BillionPa]

getting to an M60 alternator totally sucks. your voltage regulator bushings probably dissapeared, so all you need to do is remove the air cap and change it out..... but the way it looks in my car i would have to remove the engine to do that!

[Jehu]

getting to an M60 alternator totally sucks. your voltage regulator bushings probably dissapeared, so all you need to do is remove the air cap and change it out..... but the way it looks in my car i would have to remove the engine to do that!

Surely you exagerate. I've found the haynes manual (http://www.e34.de/tips_tricks/haynes/05.pdf) and elsewhere i've read the fan shroud,fan need to be removed and oil filter housing moved the haynes says possibly the air box and air flow meter.To me even with no actual experience that doesn't sound like more than i can manage.The haynes manual there gives the details to test the system as well before i run off and buy a new alternator which by the way now that you mention the Voltage regulator i don't know if the refurbished alts come with a new voltage regulator or if i have to either,assuming the old one was good, resue or will i need to buy one , assuming its bad, if i end up needing the whole alternator.

[BillionPa]

a new alternator will come with a voltage regulator installed. if you remove the regulator and it has no bushings, then the rest of it is "probably" ok.

[BillionPa]

oh, and if you ARE going to remove the oil filter housing and want to spend some extra cash, think of investing in an Amsoil bypass filtration system.

depending on how much room is in your engine bay you may or may not be able to fit one. i have the AC removed, so there is tons of room, but the bay is pretty cramped. im still pretty sure one can be fitted somewhere with all the oe hardware still in there, but it may be tricky.

advantage? with 9 quarts of high TBN 0W40 oil and 2 massive filters that get pretty much anything, you could easily go 20000 miles per change, with less engine wear than a conventional 5K oil change would generate. you could also get the add-on pre oiler which squirts oil into the cylinder head before the starter engages, so you have about 80% less cold start wear.

that really wasnt pertinent to your problem was it?

[Jehu]

I may have misunderstood what i read about moving the Oil Filter Housing.I took it to mean it only needed to be unbolted from its perch and moved out of the way but if it is fitted with metal lines obviously you can't just move it without detaching it from the lines.Still hoping digita1 ecstasy will locate that step by step photo DIY he said he saw on another forum.

[ryan roopnarine]

that manual doesn't even cover v8s

here's sean and johan doing one on an v12 e32, which should be somewhat similar (at least more than on an I6 car)

http://bmwe32.masscom.net/sean750/VoltageRegulator/VoltageRegulator.htm

[Jehu]

Here's some new information.I went out to check the car and look for the alternator. It appears to be under the Air box on the passenger side.The oil filter housing doesn't come into play being on the opposite side.

The car started but the battery light still stayed on.In reading what Ryan posted burnt Voltage Reg bushings were mentioned and i did have a burning smell coming from under the hood a few days ago that did reappear briefly,maybe this was the bushings?Anyway I did some OBC tests.Test 09 while running read 11.35 UB 4 times out of 8 and fluctuated between 10.96 and 11.35.

While the car did start after sitting for about 12 hours, it was drained and almost wouldn't start after turning it off after running for a few minutes.I didn't want to drain any battery life i may have left if the alternator/voltage regulator are not doing their parts, i may want to drive it to a garage if it would make it and save on a Tow.Do the Test 09 values tell that the alternator/voltage regulator is completely dead and i shouldn't drive the car very far or is it just on its way out and while the car is running i should be able to make it anywhere?Another thoughtis that even if it were just the Voltage regulator,if this is the original Alternator with 150,000 miles on it is it not a smart idea to replace it anyway as they all will eventually fail anyway?
Just for kicks here are the other test values;

Test 01=10.97eich
Test 02=0.0VBR
Test 03=2.3-2.6 L/H
Test 04=9.4 TVBR
Test 05=360 RW
Test 06=29.5 T:ADC
Test 07=33.7 T:MTL
Car off for Test 08=0.0V
Test 09= average 11.35

Test 12=60.3 VANK
i gave up after 12...

car towed to shop.Quoted $590.00 OEM parts and labor.Be done tomorrow...

[BillionPa]

the thing under the airbox is the AC compressor.

[Jehu]

the thing under the airbox is the AC compressor.

This right?http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/8601/m60tj1.png