[MattEM3]

:facepalm:

This is just starting to get ridiculous
I feel like everytime I fix something, something else has to break...
Anyways, I just put in a new battery a couple weeks ago and it was running just fine until the last couple of days
First, my right headlight goes out, high beams still work so I'm assuming the bulb burnt out, this was about 2 days ago
Last night, I'm driving around and lights start going on and off repeatedly all over my cluster, ABS, DSC, battery, light sensor, TPMS, almost everything on the cluster but is driving just fine
The music would stop then turn back on after a couple of seconds after reboot (I have the navigation system with 30gb phatnoise music box)
Starting up the car, you could hear the crank getting slower and slower every start until finally this morning, it's dead
I'm trickling power into it right now, I'm almost positive it will start up because it did in the past before I replaced the battery
I do know my starter is going out, and all my grounds are clean and well connected

What do you you guys have for me?

 

[illestminimike]

Alternator? What battery did you use?

 

[7xes]

Those are alternator symptoms, nothing to really worry about it, its a straight forward DIY! Don't give up, Im going through more serious problems with my M, but it all pays off when youre behind the wheel!

 

[sakumaxp]

whats your mileage?

 

[Rockyminator]

Replace your alternator.

 

[Obioban]

Before replacing anything, I'd make sure both terminals are securely attached to the battery and that the positive side has no ability to come into contact with anything else.

Assuming those check out, yes, alternator.

 

[MattEM3]

I'm trying hard not to give up
But its hard with 3G's put into it and i'm still dumping more into it...
I have 118,000 miles so I assumed there would be some stuff to work on
But this past 2 months I've done vanos solenoid (almost did the whole unit) water pump, belts and pulleys, 02 sensor, battery and now this
Like I've said, the terminals are all connected properly and all grounds are snug and clean so I don't think thats the problem

Some update from yesterday that made me believe it might be the alternator as well but why it's happening, I'm not sure:

I drove to Newport with all of the lights going on and off
Something I noticed was it happened mostly on the street when I was idling, if I was to rev the engine when idling and the lights on, they would all turn off and go back to normal
On the freeway, I had no lights come on at all (which is were I started assuming alternator)
Finally, one last thing I noticed, my positive terminal was HOT last night after first starting up the car
The car is draining itself as it sits and does nothing? or what?

So my questions are:
Why would the car drain itself when off?
and why would the lights come on in the street as opposed to the freeway?

 

[MattEM3]

Oh, the battery was a Bosch battery from pep boys
I think it was 760 CCW?
Don't quite remember

 

[KaliVertBoy]

Go to autozone and get your alternator checked, based on the symptoms it sounds like that's the problem. they do it for free, just give it a shot. good luck

 

[Noodle555]

Agree with everyone else. The light coming up usually happen with a dying battery. Your new battery was fine for a few days but alternator was not charging it properly so you have same symptoms again.

 

[sakumaxp]

Get a new alternator and do inspection II they will do a full inspection of the car and tell you exactly what is going out or in its way out, along checking the battery and a lot of other new things

 

[MattEM3]

For the autozone check do I have to pull the alternator out first?
Or can they check it from the car?

 

[MattEM3]

Would my starter be acting up as well because the alternator isn't giving the battery enough power?
Because before all of this happened, I could hear the starter spin, but not engage the flywheel when turning the ignition
Maybe the starter solenoid wasn't fully engaging because it wasn't getting enough power?

 

[boostedmanifold]

German cars are the best cars in the whole world. Lovely german car. The one thing that you did not mention if your alternator is going bad is 9 times out of 10 you will get a battery light. Easy way to check the alternator is check battery voltage with the car runing. You should have 14v give or take. With the car off you should have 12.75v at the battery as a min. If your battery will not hold 12.75v it is bad period. Low voltage can cause all kinds of electrical issues. A bad cell in the battery can do the same. The ground off the battery is the main ground for the car. Quick 2 min check of voltage. Just use the lugs under the hood.

 

[customisbetter]

Everything listed is directly related to your battery. Recheck your connections and make sure its a manufacturer approved battery.

 

[MattEM3]

German cars are the best cars in the whole world. Lovely german car. The one thing that you did not mention if your alternator is going bad is 9 times out of 10 you will get a battery light. Easy way to check the alternator is check battery voltage with the car runing. You should have 14v give or take. With the car off you should have 12.75v at the battery as a min. If your battery will not hold 12.75v it is bad period. Low voltage can cause all kinds of electrical issues. A bad cell in the battery can do the same. The ground off the battery is the main ground for the car. Quick 2 min check of voltage. Just use the lugs under the hood.

Sorry I forgot to update this
It was the alternator, the bolt that holds on the positive terminal on the alternator fell off, so the terminal was just flapping along while i was driving
Just put on another bolt and its running just fine again

Now, it's time for the starter and my headlight

 

[boostedmanifold]

It's always the basics, basics. Thanks for the update and good job. Moral of the story is double check your work for piece of mind.

 

[bmwknightm3]

I'm trying hard not to give up
But its hard with 3G's put into it and i'm still dumping more into it...
I have 118,000 miles so I assumed there would be some stuff to work on
But this past 2 months I've done vanos solenoid (almost did the whole unit) water pump, belts and pulleys, 02 sensor, battery and now this
Like I've said, the terminals are all connected properly and all grounds are snug and clean so I don't think thats the problem

Some update from yesterday that made me believe it might be the alternator as well but why it's happening, I'm not sure:

I drove to Newport with all of the lights going on and off
Something I noticed was it happened mostly on the street when I was idling, if I was to rev the engine when idling and the lights on, they would all turn off and go back to normal
On the freeway, I had no lights come on at all (which is were I started assuming alternator)
Finally, one last thing I noticed, my positive terminal was HOT last night after first starting up the car
The car is draining itself as it sits and does nothing? or what?

So my questions are:
Why would the car drain itself when off?
and why would the lights come on in the street as opposed to the freeway?

question for ya bro... while all this is happening, is it not giving you any issues with the SMG transmission at all?? I think I have a voltage problem that's causing me to drop into neutral while driving. Very intermittent though, after a fresh battery there's a world of a difference, but it did crap out on me again yesterday after a week of solid driving and no issues.

 

[justanotherone]

@MattEM3 Hang in there bro!! I know the feeling, it just keeps sucking money, money for this, money for that. Once you catch up with all the maintenance things will be easier. Besides you can count on the car running good for years to come! I'm still playing catch up as well, can't wait to be caught up with maintenance. Blowing $$ 'till then, but you know it feels damn good sitting behind that wheel!