terminatorX5 thanks for reply, ok at cold and non runing it was 12.38V read through the jump start points in engine bay,

With engine started I get a 14.3volts stable regardless of what i turn on lights radio, heater etc...

the CCA i opted for a battery that 120ah not the standard 90ah and the CCA I am sure were better...hmmm what concerns me is having to read volts across alt now....not sure how....

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E53 X5 3.0d SUV prod.date 11/2004 eng.variant M57N Europe Right hand drive N