HELP!! Bad Voltage Regulator?

[e30cabrio]

This is just one small shop in Van Nuys, Ca. Not exactly the alternator capital of the world.

He said it was much higher this summer than usual but he is happy for the business.

I have rerouted my throttle body coolant pass through on every (5) car I have had since I moved to the land of the egg frying sidewalk.

I get in Minnesota you need to warm the intake air in -20 degree winter but not where it never gets near freezing.

As an aside the Titanic was steel and it WAS UNSINKABLE!

[TerminatorX5]

Originally Posted by e30cabrio

As an aside the Titanic was steel and it WAS UNSINKABLE!

sure thing... lol...

the other day Leonardo DiCaprio was spotted on a Carribean cruise ship... The passengers started jumping off the boat while ocean water was still warm

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by e30cabrio

This is just one small shop in Van Nuys, Ca. Not exactly the alternator capital of the world.

He said it was much higher this summer than usual but he is happy for the business.

I have rerouted my throttle body coolant pass through on every (5) car I have had since I moved to the land of the egg frying sidewalk.

I get in Minnesota you need to warm the intake air in -20 degree winter but not where it never gets near freezing.

As an aside the Titanic was steel and it WAS UNSINKABLE!

Fascinating!!!

Did we enter an Alternate Universe via the Romulans were the Titanic didn't sink after striking the Iceberg?

[e30cabrio]

Originally Posted by upallnight

Fascinating!!!

Did we enter an Alternate Universe via the Romulans were the Titanic didn't sink after striking the Iceberg?

Sarcasm.

But I can dig the alternate universe deal.

"Unsinkable" Titanic sinks — History.com This Day in History — 4/15/1912

Apr 15, 1912: "Unsinkable" Titanic sinks


The RMS Titanic, billed as unsinkable, sinks into the icy waters of the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage, killing 1,517 people.
The United Kingdom's White Star Line built the Titanic to be the most luxurious cruise ship in the world. It was nearly 900 feet long and more than 100 feet high. The Titanic could reach speeds of 30 knots and was thought to be the world's fastest ship. With its individualized watertight compartments, it was seen as virtually unsinkable.
On its first voyage, from Southampton, England, to New York with stops in Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland, the Titanic was carrying 2,206 people, including a crew of 898. A relatively mild winter had produced a bumper crop of icebergs in the North Atlantic, but the crew, believing their ship was unsinkable, paid scant attention to warnings.
On the night of Sunday, April 14, other ships in the area reported icebergs by radio, but their messages were not delivered to the bridge or the captain of the Titanic. The iceberg that struck the ship was spotted at 11:40 p.m. Although a dead-on collision was avoided, the Titanic's starboard side violently scraped the iceberg, ripping open six compartments. The ship's design could withstand only four compartments flooding.
Minutes later, the crew radioed for help, sending out an SOS signal, the first time the new type of help signal was used. Ten minutes after midnight, the order for passengers to head for the lifeboats was given. Unfortunately, there were only lifeboats for about half of the people on board. Additionally, there had been no instruction or drills regarding such a procedure and general panic broke out on deck.
The survivors--those who successfully made it onto the lifeboats--were largely women who were traveling first class. In fact, the third-class passengers were not even allowed onto the deck until the first-class female passengers had abandoned the ship. White Star President Bruce Ismay jumped onto the last lifeboat though there were women and children still waiting to board.
At 2:20 a.m., the Titanic finally sank. Breaking in half, it plunged downward to the sea floor. Captain Edward Smith went down with the ship. The Carpathia arrived about an hour later and rescued the 705 people who made it onto the lifeboats. The people who were forced into the cold waters all perished.
Official blame for the tragedy was placed on the captain and bridge crew, all of whom had died. In the wake of the accident, significant safety-improvement measures were established, including a requirement that the number of lifeboats on board a ship reflect the entire number of passengers. The sinking of the Titanic has become a legendary story about the dangers of hubris.
In 1985, after many attempts over many years, divers were finally able to locate the wreckage of the Titanic on the floor of the North Atlantic.

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by e30cabrio

Sarcasm.

One man Sarcasm is another man Humor.

[bcredliner]

Too small a sample and could be many reasons that caused business increase.

IMO retrofitting to non-cooled alternator will not be worth the cost/benefit, even it works
as planned.

May make it harder to sell.

I recall posts about the high replacement cost of coolant cooled alternator and that it is a pain to replace but don't recall a heat related post (maybe others have).

Might be worthwhile to start a thread asking--Has your coolant cooled alternator failed? Then request mileage, low/high average number of days per year to see what worldwide info come in.

How many miles on your alternator?

[e30cabrio]

My car has 39k. I have never seen an alternator fail that early. My 1990 325iC with 72k has it's original alternator.

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by e30cabrio

My car has 39k. I have never seen an alternator fail that early. My 1990 325iC with 72k has it's original alternator.

That is well short of normal lifespan. With only 39K on an 03 X (I assume that is what we are talking about from your signature) it must sit for extended periods or you normally drive very short distances--both can cause premature failure on many parts, including an alternator.

All alternators are not created equal, the next one might go 200,000K.

I'd have the existing one rebuilt.

[e30cabrio]

I went to the dealer that sold the car and got it's history (and the hoses) that will be removed to do the alternator. BMWCCA discount took just shy of 20 bucks off the 90.xx retail marked up price so I paid 72.78.

The driver axle was replaced at 20k in 2010 otherwise just normal maintenance. I asked about the trans fluid and they said BMW considers it truly lifetime.

[bcredliner]

There are strong feeling on both sides of whether or not to replace trans fluid. Some have solved tranny issues by changing fluid, some think the change was the reason the tranny failed sometime later.

I am in the camp that changes the fluid for no other reason than petroleum products break done over time. I have changed fluid every 50,000 miles and have around 108,000 miles on original transmission--and I drive hard.

It is good advice to change all fluids if a vehicle has has spent a lot of time sitting but even with the camp I am in I wouldn't change your the transmission fluid unless it is acting up now and in a manner that others say has been corrected by changing the fluid.

Great to have the history!