545 stalls when going into DRIVE.
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Originally Posted by craigm1841' post='772854' date='Jan 20 2009, 04:47 PM
Simple problem sounds like. You Have an Very Bad alternator and a Very Good battery. A good battery will charge itself while it sits. You are driving your car and draining your battery, not really bad but enough that you are having to jump it once a week. I would replace that alternator before you need to replace that battery too. Your battery is already getting worse, as it is no longer able to support the load of the drivetrain.
I would throw a voltmeter on that battery, have a friend start the car, leave it in park and rev the engine a little, or rav it
(i know, i couldnt let that one die) if your voltage dips, bad alternator. a good alternator with spike voltage when RPMs increase, as it is essentially a generator.
its easy. do it. i bet it is your alternator. i bet if you drove your car on a long trip, it would eventually strand you like when the aliens land (space aliens, not illegal aliens) in the movies.
I would throw a voltmeter on that battery, have a friend start the car, leave it in park and rev the engine a little, or rav it
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its easy. do it. i bet it is your alternator. i bet if you drove your car on a long trip, it would eventually strand you like when the aliens land (space aliens, not illegal aliens) in the movies.
Sit in the car, buckle up. Press the trip reset for 15 seconds. Menu 1 will appear. Let go of the trip button. Look at the numbers that are displayed. And count them up. Then press the trip button for 5 seconds until menu 1 goes away and then release it and press it again really fast. Then release it again and press it really fast. Do this until you get to menu 19. once you are at 19 wait for a few seconds and it will say CODE. press the trip button until the number you calculated earlier is displayed. Then press the button for 5 seconds again. then do the quick press and release thing until you get to menu 9. Then it will give you a read out of the volts.
#12
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Originally Posted by Krozi' post='772874' date='Jan 20 2009, 04:21 PM
And if you do not have a volt meter do this:
Sit in the car, buckle up. Press the trip reset for 15 seconds. Menu 1 will appear. Let go of the trip button. Look at the numbers that are displayed. And count them up. Then press the trip button for 5 seconds until menu 1 goes away and then release it and press it again really fast. Then release it again and press it really fast. Do this until you get to menu 19. once you are at 19 wait for a few seconds and it will say CODE. press the trip button until the number you calculated earlier is displayed. Then press the button for 5 seconds again. then do the quick press and release thing until you get to menu 9. Then it will give you a read out of the volts.
Sit in the car, buckle up. Press the trip reset for 15 seconds. Menu 1 will appear. Let go of the trip button. Look at the numbers that are displayed. And count them up. Then press the trip button for 5 seconds until menu 1 goes away and then release it and press it again really fast. Then release it again and press it really fast. Do this until you get to menu 19. once you are at 19 wait for a few seconds and it will say CODE. press the trip button until the number you calculated earlier is displayed. Then press the button for 5 seconds again. then do the quick press and release thing until you get to menu 9. Then it will give you a read out of the volts.
So, the volts with the ac, seat warmers, lights and radio on where ranging between 14.5-15.1
I assume this is a good reading? So that being said i did have to jump the car again cause the batter was dead. It didnt stall when i put it in drive, altough i didnt leave my drive way it ran for a good 20 min. Could this still be an issue with an aftermarket battery or some other gremlin?
thanks for all the help!
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drive it for a bit. have a friend follow you. if you can watch the voltage, drive it and see what the volts do after putting the drive train load on the car... if your voltage drops below 13 or so while driving, it would most def be your alternator. you may want to ensure that your aftermarket battery meets the standards required by your car, with regards to CCA and group size
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ok, so i drove it for anout 45 min today, had the volts hoovering around 14.5-15.2 and didnt have a problem til i was a couple blocks from my house. I was pulling out of the gas station and notice a spudder when i gave it a little gas, and as soon as i got to my driveway and put it in reverse the car stalled. I started it up put it in reverse again moved a couple of feet and it stalled again. So i looked at the volts on the dash and noticed they were droping below 13.1 or so and then the car would stall. So while sitting in my driveway the car would idle fine and volts would be good but after a 15 seconds or so the volts would die to below 13 and the car would follow. So, would this be the alternator?
Also, if the car didnt stall the rpms would dip and then spike back up to around 700ish.
thanks
Also, if the car didnt stall the rpms would dip and then spike back up to around 700ish.
thanks
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those sound like bad alternator/incredible battery symptoms... with one exception. 13 volts is still plenty to power a vehicle... maybe not a BMW? I dont know.... it is someone elses turn to chime in. I am not new to the world of automobile mechanics/electronics, but I am new to BMW
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I would think the 13 volts would be enough. Sounds like you may have a problem somewhere else. Where I don't know. A trip to the dealership or independant shop might be in order. Usually electrical issues like this are solved more quickly at the dealership unless your independant shop has a BMW tech who has been around the block a few times.
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