Electrical Issues

[Amazetbm]

I when I started up my e30 this morning, it started fine but the waring lights on the dash stayed dimly lit for a while. When I revved the engine they got dimer and eventually went out when I started driving I noticed a screaching sound under the hood as a accellerated out of my subdivision...only happend once. I'm thinking maybe the belt on the altenator is loose or the altenator might just be going bad. The battery is two years old. Any ideas what the problem could be?

[///Matt]

The screaching would definitely be the belt. I would doubt that the alternator is going bad, it may just need a little maintenance. What warning lights were on, and...is it very humid where you are, is there a chance that your alternator was soaked?

[Amazetbm]

Originally posted by ///Matt@Jan 19 2005, 12:22 PM
The screaching would definitely be the belt. I would doubt that the alternator is going bad, it may just need a little maintenance. What warning lights were on, and...is it very humid where you are, is there a chance that your alternator was soaked?

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I doubt that it the alternator was soaked. It's pretty cold here right now so the himidty is really low. The battery, oil and ABS light were on for a while...like turning the ignition on with out cranking the car. But the car was idling smoothly.

[wcleafs]

Sounds like your voltage regulator sensed a low out put from your alternator. A number of items could do that. Your belt should be checked and replaced if required and/or tightened. If you want to check the output of your alternator, get a voltmeter and connect it to the terminals on your battery. You should see about 14 Vdc when the car is running this is +/- 1 Vdc. If you get anything less than 13 Vdc I would suspect your alternator is starting to go if everything is nice and tight. I had a problem much like this but my one turned out to be the wire from the alternator to the starter, piss poor connection. replace the wire and good to go.

[Amazetbm]

Originally posted by wcleafs@Jan 19 2005, 08:22 PM
Sounds like your voltage regulator sensed a low out put from your alternator. A number of items could do that. Your belt should be checked and replaced if required and/or tightened. If you want to check the output of your alternator, get a voltmeter and connect it to the terminals on your battery. You should see about 14 Vdc when the car is running this is +/- 1 Vdc. If you get anything less than 13 Vdc I would suspect your alternator is starting to go if everything is nice and tight. I had a problem much like this but my one turned out to be the wire from the alternator to the starter, piss poor connection. replace the wire and good to go.

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Thanks I'll check all that out.