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  #11  
Old 06-20-2019, 01:38 AM
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Originally Posted by SlickGT1 View Post
Sounds every similar to what I dealt with. And I meant to say that I got an “overvoltage” error when scanning for errors with INPA. It showed my voltage spike to 15v and take out all sorts of other computers as fault protection. So it time stamps when overvoltage happened. And time stamps matched up identical with abs computer going down for example.

I don’t remember anymore, but I have Inpa, so I never wait for codes to go away, I reset and wait as a habit.

Tips from memory. My tool Arsenal is pretty advanced, but I don’t remember needing anything special here. Literally beers and chilling which my friend the whole way.

This is a very easy job on the 4.8is. Remove intake stuff. Remove electric fan. Takes 5 min. Disconnect neg battery terminal. Or use a kill switch, best mod for my car ever, by the way. Then remove duct for alternator, then remove belt. Then unscrew alt, pull out a bit and unbolt power wire. Twist turn, don’t slam the radiator. Put cardboard in front of it to be safe. Alternator out. Remove voltage regulator. Polish the copper/brass looking slip ring. I used this polishing cloth, but 3000 grit sand paper worked faster. I managed to spin the alt with my drill. I forgot how i rigged it up, but it made polishing the ring easy.

Inspect new regulator. Do not engage anything on it, or your install will get a lot harder. It’s sorta trick how it engages when you install it. You will see what I mean when you do it. I forget exactly, but you have to make the brushes contact, after you bolt it on the alt. Don’t push shit, or you will be sitting there putting the brush and spring back into the regulator. No fear after it’s bolted to alt. Then install. Start car and monitor voltage.

I was paranoid for a few days. I have never had overvoltage before, so this felt like an experiment. Well no issues since. 30k miles now. Went from crazy shit, to why the F..k was this so cheap to fix.
Thank you very much for the help! I will be ordering a new regulator and replace the old one. Shouldn't be too hard for me! I'll update this post if I run into any other issues.
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  #12  
Old 06-20-2019, 10:49 AM
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Originally Posted by andrewwynn View Post
Oil was what killed mine. Not really the regulator though, the slip rings get coated and the brushes can't get full current to the field windings at low rpm.
Good to know. Mine was having over and under voltage issues so just assumed it was the regulator. My mechanical prowess is not as high as yours. But that's why I come here.
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Old 06-20-2019, 12:18 PM
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A long delay in fixing my power steering reservoir and hoses (slacker) coated my alternator in Dextron 3. I mean it was 1/4" thick after a couple years of leaking directly on it. So far so good once the leak is fixed, knock on wood, the charging system is still working fine.

I did replace the alternator with a Genuine BMW about 8 years ago when it failed.
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Old 06-20-2019, 02:56 PM
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On the M54 it's a very tight squeeze to get out but not bad just take your time and have the swear jar close. You'll be able to buy a size pack with it.

I took my disa off for more elbow room since just two bolts.


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Old 06-20-2019, 04:33 PM
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Just finished taking out my alternator from my car. Not bad at all although it was a pain in the ass a little because the bottom wouldn't move but I eventually got it. Luckily for my alternator there isn't any oil residue or dirt on it so I should be replacing just the regulator.

However side note, have any of you replaced the valve cover gasket for the N62 engine X5? It looks like I should replace mine due to age and I see some dry oil/dirt towards the back of the engine and since I have everything taken out it looks like now would also be a great time to do it. I googled any threads and watched a couple of videos on how to do it but it looked pretty daunting cause there were so many wires and stuff in the way but then again the threads and the videos were all E60s which has less space than my X5.

Looks like the left bank is pretty simple to replace and the right bank needs some finagling and moving things to the side but it doesn't look too bad. Any experience between you all with this? Thanks
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Old 06-20-2019, 11:52 PM
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Many have done that repair. I'd search YouTube for a video. You are correct one bank is harder than the rest. I'm suspecting you could remove the inside air filter box for working room but not sure.


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  #17  
Old 06-21-2019, 12:36 AM
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Update: Removed the regulator from the alternator and this is what the slip ring looks like.
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Old 06-21-2019, 01:13 AM
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That's not bad at all. Vr replace is appropriate. Clean the slip rings dont use rough sandpaper. There is an appropriate burnishing tool but it's hard to find so very high grit sandpaper like 1200 should be ok or nylon scrubbier pad


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Old 06-21-2019, 02:19 AM
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Originally Posted by andrewwynn View Post
That's not bad at all. Vr replace is appropriate. Clean the slip rings dont use rough sandpaper. There is an appropriate burnishing tool but it's hard to find so very high grit sandpaper like 1200 should be ok or nylon scrubbier pad


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Sounds good thanks! And also how do you manage to put the regulator back onto the slip ring? I tried putting on my old one to see and its a lot harder than it looks. Like what kind of finagling do you have to do to push the back brush down and into place? I was able to get the first brush down but the back one is hard and the regulator is not sitting flush because of it.
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Old 06-21-2019, 08:36 AM
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You do have to push the brushes in while assembling and there is very little space. The answer is practice and experience. I usually find some very thin tool like a dental pick to assist with that issue.

Do you have valeo or Bosch?

You can drill a tiny hole in the plastic in just the right place and use a thick paperclip if needed to hold the brushes back also if you get close spin the armature if you can (might be impossible with water cooled model) to help seat.
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