M3 left me...

[CMGO]

So i am driving to the vice president of my companies house to do some networking with his computers. On the way out, I turned ont eh radio, the radio made a whineing noise, like there was an electrical fault. Then all the lights on the dash light up, engine power drops and the lights go out again, engine power is still low. SO i keep on going, I have to get where I am going. I try turning different items on, head lights, radio, wipers, all of them make the dash lights come on then turn off and affects the engine speed, which by this time had normalized. I got ot the VPs house, pulled int eh driveway, turned off the car and it was dead. The lights came on dimly when i tried to start it, but nothing else. Does this sound like a bad alternator to you all?

[GreenDragon]

Altenator or battery.

[DesmoBob]

here is some info about wiring that has similar symptoms to yours:
http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthre...&threadid=79896

here is some general info on batteries:
http://www.bmw-forums.com/forum/index.php?...p?showtopic=631

[CMGO]

alternator AND battery. dead.

[MrM3]

sorry to hear that i know mark (furious) just replaced his blown alternator, maybe he could give some advice

->moving to M3 tech

[Furious]

well typically when your driving and your car starts to die , it would indicate a bad alternator, because the entire car runs off it and takes over once the battery originally starts the car. however ive heard of instances when the battery going dead causes problems in the entire charging system once driving.

what light is on when the car is tried to start? is it the battery light? or a check engine?
if its the battery light then that would be the alternator , that light is telling you that there is a fault in the charging system (alternator) *-note that the abs light will usually on as well because it automatically shuts off when the sensor notices a problem in the charging system.

what i suggest is that you get a volt meter and battery charger , charge the battery, start the car and see what the volt meter reads, if its reading 12.9-14ish then its probably your battery, if its above 14.9 or below 11.0 then you have an alternator problem.

um i cant think of much more, but if you have questions ask them i might remember more. im just tired today and even though i did my own trouble shooting and removed and replaced my alternator , im still a little sketchy on details. ( so if i aint clear on what ive said then ask me again )

[CMGO]

Luckily enough I cbought the car wioth a warranty on it and both the dead alternator and the dead battery will be replaced. Thansk all for pity and information!

[Furious]

good to hear. lucky too