Hi guys. Friend of mine is having problems with a 1990 325i. It died on him the other day whilst driving, and had no electrical power at all. Got the battery charged and tested (at Halfords) and they said it was all good.
I went round today and the battery was on 13V on the bench after being charged. Put it in the car, and was on 14V whilst running.
HOWEVER, after a while it read 12.5V, and then after a few minutes went back to 14V, and now has gone back down to around 12.5V.
Dodgy alternator, or knackered battery?!?!
Cheers
Intermittent Alternator...
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Grrrmachine
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or loose belt, or loose wire occasionally shorting out and pulling the volts down?
Really need to clean up the earth straps, tighten the battery clamps, fit a new alternator belt and then see what happens.
Really need to clean up the earth straps, tighten the battery clamps, fit a new alternator belt and then see what happens.
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HJG-E30
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belt is fine, and wires / connections are good. This is happening completely stationary so can't see it being a connection/ wire issue
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Brianmoooore
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First thing I'd be doing is to unscrew the two small crosshead screws that hold the regulator pack to the rear of the alternator, and checking the length of the carbon brushes. Easily done, without removing the alternator from the car.
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Shaheenk
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I had a similar issue and found the connector at the back of the cluster to be loose