This is a long story of my zhp's trip to bimmerfest east 2013.
I was driving from Williamsburg VA to codys house in Pa and got stuck in dc traffic and the battery warning light came on and was red. I kept going hoping it was the battery and I could make it there. I got to his exit and the dsc/abs/brake lights come on, I'm about five minutes away and the speedo and rpm gauges stick at 60 mph as I come to a stop, I'm getting worried but keep going. Then the eml light comes on and I lose probably 95 percent throttle. I get within eyes sight of his house and that was where it stopped. I call cody and he and brett come pick me up and we go to buy a towstrap so we can use his wifes jeep to get it to his house.
Test shows battery good but low, all signs point to alternator. We then went to advance auto for a new alternator. Get it back and its got the wrong plug. Codys wife katie then races me back to see about another one, it was wrong also. At this point I knew I would be riding with someone to bimmerfest.
The next day, brett and I leave early from bimmerfest to go get alternator from bmw of bel air. The guy working there gave me one and said its what they always use on e46 cars. We get back to the house and wrong again. I had to use my old voltage regulator with the new alternator to fit my car harness. Everything seemed good. Next morning we go to breakfast and the go karting, everything seems good.
We were done karting and said goodbye and split up to go home, 10 minutes down the road my battery light comes on. I go to advance auto for them to check my charging system and battery. They check my battery and it shows good with low charge, they cannot cbeck the alternator without a fully charged battery. I buy a new battery and the alternator tests bad. I check into a hotel for the night and plan on going to bmw of york the next day.
The next day I go to bmw and they diagnose the problem as bad voltage regulator.they order me a new one according to my vin and say it will here the next day around lunch time. I check in to another hotel for the night. I go back the next day after buying tools to do the work and the parts truck is stuck in traffic. I finally get the new regulator at 3:30 and it is wrong. At this point I tell them my story and I just need to get home. They pull an alternator of the shelf that had the right regulator and take that one off and trade me for the wrong one they gave me. I then go find a parking lot to do the work.
I got home with no issues. I will post a picture of both regulators. The old regulator had plenty of bite left on it so I'm thinking it was an internal failure. If anyone ever needs advice or info on alternators just ask.
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Originally Posted by saace7
glad its all fixed though. I vaguely remember saying it could be the VR...but that part isn't available for resale, right?
