Hi everyone.
Haven't posted in a while so here it goes..
BTW, before posting I did look through the forum for answers with out any luck..My case is slightly unique??
So I got a 2003 E46 330i sedan.
With colder months approaching my car started acting up a little bit.
First it would take a little while for it to actually start, the cranking.. Then as the temps dropped to like -5 Celsius I got battery light on.
So after driving it for like 5 minutes it disappeared. I should also mention I live from work like 5 minutes away.
Point is this happened for a week.. I however never had to boost the car.
So the following week same stuff, solid red battery light.. Driving it to work and the traction control lights came on, air bag light, as well as E-Brake light and it was flashing orange and red... Again after making a detour it was gone again... This happened for a couple of days in a row as well..
Now since the first occurrence I had a feeling either battery or alternator is going... But it started every time... and the lights were gone soon after driving the car for a bit..
I did the test on the weekend to check if my alternator was working... YUP. Works fine. Doing it's job. (ALL THANKS TO THIS FORUM AND ITS AWESOME PEOPLE ON THE WRITE UP ON HOW TO PREFORM THE TEST)
The other day again same symptoms came up.. so I got to work and just driving around the parking lot hoping to charge my battery.. All of a sudden my headlights go out.. Again At this point I think the battery is really R.I.P so I parked the car and went in to work.
Since I work for a Toyota dealership i decided to try and use a Toyota Battery with better CCA. 690 instead of the previous CAA Battery that was in there that only had 650 CCA.
SUCCESS!! It starts so much more smoother and better!!
So now, when I start the car in the morning and its not even cold.. I get a red solid battery light for a little bit.... After driving it.. It goes away...?? Whats the issue here?
Is it my short 5 minute commute to work? The battery doesn't get enough recharge? Although driving it to work the engine barely warms up to its operation temperature So I have to take a detour to get that warmed up as well..
Please advise,
Thanks in advance.
Haven't posted in a while so here it goes..
BTW, before posting I did look through the forum for answers with out any luck..My case is slightly unique??
So I got a 2003 E46 330i sedan.
With colder months approaching my car started acting up a little bit.
First it would take a little while for it to actually start, the cranking.. Then as the temps dropped to like -5 Celsius I got battery light on.
So after driving it for like 5 minutes it disappeared. I should also mention I live from work like 5 minutes away.
Point is this happened for a week.. I however never had to boost the car.
So the following week same stuff, solid red battery light.. Driving it to work and the traction control lights came on, air bag light, as well as E-Brake light and it was flashing orange and red... Again after making a detour it was gone again... This happened for a couple of days in a row as well..
Now since the first occurrence I had a feeling either battery or alternator is going... But it started every time... and the lights were gone soon after driving the car for a bit..
I did the test on the weekend to check if my alternator was working... YUP. Works fine. Doing it's job. (ALL THANKS TO THIS FORUM AND ITS AWESOME PEOPLE ON THE WRITE UP ON HOW TO PREFORM THE TEST)
The other day again same symptoms came up.. so I got to work and just driving around the parking lot hoping to charge my battery.. All of a sudden my headlights go out.. Again At this point I think the battery is really R.I.P so I parked the car and went in to work.
Since I work for a Toyota dealership i decided to try and use a Toyota Battery with better CCA. 690 instead of the previous CAA Battery that was in there that only had 650 CCA.
SUCCESS!! It starts so much more smoother and better!!
So now, when I start the car in the morning and its not even cold.. I get a red solid battery light for a little bit.... After driving it.. It goes away...?? Whats the issue here?
Is it my short 5 minute commute to work? The battery doesn't get enough recharge? Although driving it to work the engine barely warms up to its operation temperature So I have to take a detour to get that warmed up as well..
Please advise,
Thanks in advance.