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  #1  
Old 03-20-2019, 11:10 PM
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I have weird problem a little help

When I'm driving through town all of a sudden my car acts like the battery is dying. All the warning lights come on and the then goes into trans fail safe mode. I pull over and try to restart the car and it just clicks, like a dead battery. if I wait about three minutes it all come back to life and it won't happen again for weeks. Any thoughts would be great.
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Old 03-20-2019, 11:23 PM
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I have weird problem a little help

Symptom of a charging system problem:

Alternator, voltage regulator, loose cable (power or ground) are the likely candidates.

A battery will self-recover a bit when not under load which may be how you can restart after a pause, but you could also have a problem with the battery (but that won't cause the low voltage symptoms when driving).
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Old 03-20-2019, 11:29 PM
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If i have to guess I think it is a loose or corroded ground cable. If a voltage regulator or bad alternator the battery would be dead and the car won't restart.
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Old 03-20-2019, 11:54 PM
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Too little to go on.

The car runs from the alternator when running. If the alternator drops for a second you'd get abs disabled, and you'd probably be able to restart right away without the wait.

Definitely do a voltage drop test on the Alternator connection (measure from alternator bolt to the B+ jump point while wiggling the cable and just after starting with some loads on like the high beam headlights and seat heat).

Then measure grounds (From engine block to B- on the fender). You should only see values like 0.1v or less on the cables. I'm not sure where the actual engine ground is but you can wiggle the ground by revving the engine.


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Old 03-20-2019, 11:55 PM
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I had a similar problem and it just got worse with time. I'd strongly advise to have it addressed. Have you had the codes read off your vehicle? In my case it eventually regressed to the point where the vehicle would lose all power at freeway speeds; most dangerous with vehicles zooming past as you struggle to steer the vehicle to the side away from fast moving traffic. The error code in my case was always "DME- 2E95 Generator - Communications loss - Fault currently present - Fault would not cause a warning Light". Had to replace the alternator. I probably would have replaced just the generator, but also needed to get rid of the whining noise from the alternator pulleys.
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Last edited by X5only; 03-21-2019 at 12:05 AM.
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Old 03-21-2019, 12:36 AM
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Sounds like a soft failing alternator.
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Old 03-21-2019, 10:11 AM
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A simple volt meter test run at various RPM will show you wildly fluctuation in Voltage readings.
Idle RPM Voltage
1500 RPM
2500 RPM

Hold for 30 secs, read highest and lowest numbers and report back.

(HINT: the numbers should be constant, NOT fluctuating over +/- .5V)

Oh, test is done with all accessories off, then repeat with them all on.... YUP you will need two people or really long test leads as the test SHOULD be at the battery posts in the trunk but I will take the ones off the jump points under the hood AFTER they are cleaned and re-tightened. Any $5 DC digital volt meter will perform this test.

AS Andrew mentioned above, clean confirmed cable connections of positive and negative cables is a basic requirement of a charging system. Read the volt drop testing info posted a few weeks ago, and get under the hood, trunk etc.

We are all waiting....
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2005 X5 4.8IS
The Blue ones are always FASTER....

Current Garage:
2005 X5 4.8is
2002 M5 TiSilver
2003 525iT
1998 528i
Former Garage Stable Highlights
2004 325XiT Sport
1973 De Tomaso Pantera, L Model
1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 4 sp Alpine White
1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 4 sp GoManGo Green
1971 Dart Sport, “Dart Light” package
1969 Road Runner 383
1968 Ply Barracuda 340S FB Sea-foam Green

Last edited by StephenVA; 03-21-2019 at 10:22 AM. Reason: Tip
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Old 03-21-2019, 10:27 AM
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On the E39 sites, lots of problems coming from motor mounts failing allowing the engine to rotate and pull on all the ground cables. No idea if that carries over into the E53 world or not but at 15+ years anything is possible including wiring jacketing falling off causing shorts all over, bolts backing off on terminal ends, etc.
So, TEST DO NOT GUESS is the rule on old cars.
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2005 X5 4.8IS
The Blue ones are always FASTER....

Current Garage:
2005 X5 4.8is
2002 M5 TiSilver
2003 525iT
1998 528i
Former Garage Stable Highlights
2004 325XiT Sport
1973 De Tomaso Pantera, L Model
1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 4 sp Alpine White
1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 4 sp GoManGo Green
1971 Dart Sport, “Dart Light” package
1969 Road Runner 383
1968 Ply Barracuda 340S FB Sea-foam Green
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Old 03-21-2019, 02:33 PM
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One disagreement with above: test BEFORE any contact rework. Else you will never know where the problem was. Got job finding the diagram and method.
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Old 03-21-2019, 02:50 PM
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I'm a visual so so me a picture, process tree, etc and I am golden. Give me 25 lines of text instructions and I am constantly rereading....
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2005 X5 4.8IS
The Blue ones are always FASTER....

Current Garage:
2005 X5 4.8is
2002 M5 TiSilver
2003 525iT
1998 528i
Former Garage Stable Highlights
2004 325XiT Sport
1973 De Tomaso Pantera, L Model
1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 4 sp Alpine White
1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 4 sp GoManGo Green
1971 Dart Sport, “Dart Light” package
1969 Road Runner 383
1968 Ply Barracuda 340S FB Sea-foam Green
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