x5 Alternater or battery?

[Yii]

I was stuck unable to start my car yesterday night and had to get a tow truck to come and he gave my car a battery charge and worked. Told me to let the car run 30mins and i should be fine. Did that and today starts good ran a couple of errands and came back home. Est time of drive was at least hr and a half or more. I go out and start the car and it clicks and does nothing but have my lights on and the radio playing. Is this a sign that mmy Alternator is broken? or the battery being old?

[powers1]

First you need to find out if the alternator is charging the battery.
With engine on you battery voltage should be approx.13.5-14.0 Volts.Much below this and your alternator isnt charging!
Check the voltage of your battery.(engine off).If Alternator is gone then battery voltage with engine on,should be about the same.
If Alternator is good,then search here for various posts here on the matter ,as maybe something draining your battery.
Also fully charge your battery disconnected from the car and check the drain on it.If its a bad battery,it will quickly get discharged and you know its the problem.

[Yii]

when i got towed the other day the guy had a battery pack and started my car and the voltage meeter read 13 volts. i am going to see if i can replace the battery and do a check for battery drains.

[X5Dawg]

Did you have any warning lights on the dash??

Take it to Autozone or Advance Auto and they can test both the battery and alternator for you.

[Yii]

When i was driving last night there wasn't any warning lights. But the night the guy used the battery charger there was a yellow 4x4 light with a ! i dun exactly remeber what that meant but it went away. right now i am getting my cousin to come over and jumping it. after that i will try to bring it to get checked

[cobra94563]

As 'powers1' said, a quick read of the running voltage will tell you if the charging voltage(alternator) is good. Some shops have the newer portable testers (with an printout) where they can test battery without taking tha battery out (which is a hassle on the X5.) But if you have an '05 and it is original battery, I would kinda suspect it's just time for a new one.