Already poked around about 2 dozen threads with Battery/Alternator/Voltage Regulator in the title. Some info was good, as far as testing each component while other information just seemed of opinion and not fact.
The car is a 2002 325ci with 80.1k on the clock as of this morning. In the year and a half that I have owned the vehicle, I have never changed the battery, alternator etc. My trusted mechanic is out of town for a few weeks so im turning here before I take it to a different dude.
Yesterday evening after getting off work, I noticed while starting the car that all the lights dimmed and the car clicked several times and then finally turned over. Today, I went to Advance Auto and had the battery tested, read 11.6 volts. The box the guy used didnt say "bad battery" or anything, and he assured me the battery is fine.
Last night, the engine wouldnt turn over at all, so I had to put it in reverse and do a rolling start to get the thing running. While doing research here, I ran across a thread that said to drive the car for 20-30 minutes. I went up and down the beltway at 3 am with no one on the road at 60 miles an hour and got back home in about 35 minutes.
To test whether this worked, I turned the car off and then turned it on, turned it off, turned it on. I did this a total of six times until the engine refused to turn over again.
So the battery was tested, with low voltage. It seems like the alternator is partially working? Could it be that the batter is not getting enough charge and the voltage regulator is the issue?
I will be glad to answer any questions and follow procedures to figure this out. Thankfully, its a weekend and not a Monday.
The car is a 2002 325ci with 80.1k on the clock as of this morning. In the year and a half that I have owned the vehicle, I have never changed the battery, alternator etc. My trusted mechanic is out of town for a few weeks so im turning here before I take it to a different dude.
Yesterday evening after getting off work, I noticed while starting the car that all the lights dimmed and the car clicked several times and then finally turned over. Today, I went to Advance Auto and had the battery tested, read 11.6 volts. The box the guy used didnt say "bad battery" or anything, and he assured me the battery is fine.
Last night, the engine wouldnt turn over at all, so I had to put it in reverse and do a rolling start to get the thing running. While doing research here, I ran across a thread that said to drive the car for 20-30 minutes. I went up and down the beltway at 3 am with no one on the road at 60 miles an hour and got back home in about 35 minutes.
To test whether this worked, I turned the car off and then turned it on, turned it off, turned it on. I did this a total of six times until the engine refused to turn over again.
So the battery was tested, with low voltage. It seems like the alternator is partially working? Could it be that the batter is not getting enough charge and the voltage regulator is the issue?
I will be glad to answer any questions and follow procedures to figure this out. Thankfully, its a weekend and not a Monday.