electric gremlins possible alternator

[Ryoken]

hopefully that grabbed someone's beady eye.
I was coming home today, car drove OK then I get a jolt, then trans failsafe
car will shift from auto to sport, but no manual , no other lights.
thought, bugger here we go again,
noticed however the following
at 2k rpm, I got a weird noise from car speakers like a pop or a thud noise
and the instrument cluster kept going a bit dim, then went normal,
hmm, battery or alternator any one ?.
parked up at side of road, wife went to supermarket , and revved car to 3 to 4k . same again speakers popped , then I got what I think was the pcd gong chiming , I thought wife had walked round back of car.. but no. turned car off, and drove home , after a bit same issues
decided I was going to see what my misfire was ( another fault) turned out to be leaking drivers rocker gasket ,. as there was oil in plugs.
took car for test drive, MUCH better drive , a lot more responsive, no gearbox error, put car in reverse, ping there it was again, BUGGER,
so got multimeter out and took some tests here are my findings
this is left after 20 to 30 minutes
ignition off 12.3 V
ignition on 11.9 V
crank 9.98V
idle is 13.2 no load
idle 12.3 load,= lights heated F+R screens
3k RPM 14.2V
settled voltage is 13.3
now the voltage on the battery fluctuates quite a bit aswell,
any ideas any one??

[lezmtaylor]

How old is the battery? E53 notorious for trans failsafe when battery gets old.
Try a battery disconnect.
Give battery a good charge whilst disconnected.

Lez

[Ryoken]

02/08/2016
bosch s4 95amp

just been out this morning , giving battery a chance to settle down
12.02 ho ignition
11.9 ignition on no load
11.5 ig on with load,
10v crank ,
14.07 idle
14.10 at 3k
got wife to measure it , so these readings might not be right

ill go out now and disconnect the battery, and leave it a bit

[Ryoken]

just to update you guys, went to a battery  supplier to test battery,

he tested battery, said battery was ok, however  a little low voltage,
he then did a drop test on it to confirm (stab test OK
he then did an alternator test on it , said my alternator was ok
started it up , I get a ping , red battery warning illuminated,
I'm getting 12 volts at battery with car running , and 12 volts at 3k

CRAP CRAP CRAP

is there a fuse on the alternator , or has the alternator been killed?
ive disconnected the battery from the car now, going to charge it up all day ,  lets see what happens when I re connect it
I'm not happy

[Smeeagain]

What year is the vehicle? X5Sport is the guy to ask - there is starter from around 2004 that kills the battery as t draws too much cranking amps when starting up (I cannot remember is it is Morelli that is the problem and the solution is to switch to Bosch or the other way around). I had that and the starter killed the battery the battery because it was playing up killed the alternator. I had to change all three

However if the starter is not that vintage then forget that. If the battery is over six years old, or you don't know how old it is then replace it. Best get one that comes with a warranty (and tape it to the side of the battery so you know where it is, if/when you need it). Its a good idea to use something like an 8 stage CTEK battery conditioner/charger.

I dont two about an alternator fuse - never heard of one personally.

Smee

[Horizon]

[quote="Ryoken"]
just to update you guys, went to a battery  supplier to test battery,

he tested battery, said battery was ok, however  a little low voltage,
he then did a drop test on it to confirm (stab test OK
he then did an alternator test on it , said my alternator was ok
started it up , I get a ping , red battery warning illuminated,
I'm getting 12 volts at battery with car running , and 12 volts at 3k

CRAP CRAP CRAP

is there a fuse on the alternator , or has the alternator been killed?
ive disconnected the battery from the car now, going to charge it up all day ,  lets see what happens when I re connect it
I'm not happy
[/quote]
You should be getting 14.2/5 with the engine running, usually they will spit there dummy out and who're all sorts of faults when the alternator is goosed.
From the rear of the alternator there should be a thickish wire that goes directly into the positive battery feed wiring, usually at the starter piggy back selenoid  other wires from the alternator are to tell the car if it is charging or not. The voltage regulator is built on to the alternator itself, so if your not getting 14v + at that thickish lead with a multimeter the alternator or built in volt reg is toast.( apart from a broken alternator drive belt )

[Ryoken]

battery is a year old

[Ryoken]

battery has been of car all day charging , just been out to fire it up now, still got the red battery light on ,just been out , I'm reading 11.8v across the terminals in the engine bay so there is no charge from alternator
crap

[Horizon]

[quote="Ryoken"]
battery has been of car all day charging , just been out to fire it up now, still got the red battery light on ,just been out , I'm reading 11.8v across the terminals in the engine bay so there is no charge from alternator
crap
[/quote]
This is a mobile compressor I was called too a few weeks ago that wasn't charging, I was getting 17 v at the alternator output post, yet the battery voltage was 12.5v either running or not. I traced the fault to a corroded fractured connection at the junction where the alternator feed was connected into the positive battery feed.
If there is no decent voltage (14+ v ) voltage at the alternator output, it looks like the alternator os duff.

[Ryoken]

its looking like the alternator has given up , tbh, 156k miles , on the x5, things don't last forever

just seems to be one thing after another of late ,
damn thing sounds like a squeaking chair at the back  lower bush I think ,
oh hum

[lezmtaylor]

If it is your alternator that has packed up :
It will be a watercooled one, can be upto £1000 (yes £1000) from dealers, check on Ebay or try for an exchange jobbie.
Then go onto Pelican site and get the info on how to change the alternator.
You may want to change the belts and waterpump  and pulleys if high mileage,

Lez

[Ryoken]

water pump changed.  bet changed other year. although I have got a ticking on something  at front of engine , maybe pulley (90% changed other year, no idea which one though

[Ryoken]

Well, I just thought id update ,you
fitted brand new alternator today, no leaks, drove car 15 miles ,  then it sounded like a jet engine , and batt light came on , car stalled, restarted and had batt light on , sounded like a bearing had gone somewhere on the front , so now I got a quiet car, and 11.5 voilts any one got any ideas, cot at the mo, my car is killing alternators

[Horizon]

[quote="Ryoken"]
Well, I just thought id update ,you
fitted brand new alternator today, no leaks, drove car 15 miles ,  then it sounded like a jet engine , and batt light came on , car stalled, restarted and had batt light on , sounded like a bearing had gone somewhere on the front , so now I got a quiet car, and 11.5 voilts any one got any ideas, cot at the mo, my car is killing alternators
[/quote] did you use your original alternator pulley ? They have a free wheel clutch and a bearing in them, has it chucked the belt off ?
I changed the pulley on my E93 330i as it was noisy, but that was a doddle to do as it's high up, changed the idler tensioner and belt at same time too.
Where did you get the alternator from , was it from a breakers / EBay. Funny it should go quiet after making such a noise, unless the belts adrift.

[Ryoken]

pulley was on the new alternator
this is the alternator I bought
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/BMW_X ... 340&000012
and the belt is OK