Quote:
Originally Posted by dabenthusiast
I went to check on the x5..
When turning the heat and headlights it does dim and almost die. But if my alternator is bad and I can't turn the car on wouldn't that kill the battery alone...
Anyways I'm towing to my house instead of shop.
I will buy alternator and I will do it myself, then take the old one to be tested. Or the other way around....
And I may end up buying a battery after that.
That way I don't need to be worried about either.
Will update tomarow after I tow it home.
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While your symptoms sound like an alternator issue I would not buy anything yet.
When you get it home remove the battery cables and clean the posts and the connector. Then charge the battery. If after the battery has been charged your X won't start then have the battery load tested to verify if it is good or bad.
Once the battery is charged or a new one installed unlock the cluster. Read the battery voltage using the cluster. Start it up and read the alternator output.
The reason I am suggesting this process is there are other possible causes for your problem that are unconnected to the battery or the alternator. Best practice is to spend the time to troubleshoot to find the root cause before buying parts.
The the failure of an alternator does not mean the battery is also bad. The failure of a battery does not mean the alternator is going to fail. The life cycles are different.