I am SO SICK of my X5!

[eskaeone]

Love/Hate relationship, kinda like were I live... I Love and almost equally hate living in NY.. Had the X for only 2 1/2 years and in that short time I've had the Timing chain replaced along with the VANOS sprockets, I've done the radiator, timing chain valve cover gaskets, two coils, spark plugs, brakes, rotors, front drive shaft, driver's side CV axle, steering rack, transfer case chain, female front drive shaft gear, both drive shaft U joints, heat exchanger O rings, generator, driver's side window regulator, driver's side door lock, passanger's side window regulator, passanger's side door lock, rear passanger's side window regulator, front bumper support, moon roof seal, oil separator, intake valve gaskets, windshield washer motors, steering angle sensor, and the Tranny fluid.
It all depends on who owned the X before you (if that applies) or where your X lives.. sometimes shit just sucks on it.. like the rediculous drive shaft defect. but truthfully even after all that madness, there is still nothing that drives or feels like an X (SUVwise ofcourse)..

[nitrogass2000]

So here is what i did to try and figure out if its possibly the alternator/voltage regulator. I measured the voltage output as best as i knew how: I used a volt meeter and held the probes to the positive and negative terminal under the hood while the car was running i sat there for probably 5 minutes watching the volt meeter. Twice the voltage went way down almost to nothing. several times it fluctuated severely 5,6,7,8s. I then did a similar thing on my 01 540 it stayed in the low 14s never went down any lower then high 13s.

So would this mean that either my voltage regulator is bad or the whole alternator is bad? I don't think the whole alternator is bad its definitely charging the battery but the voltage regulator is a possibility.

[SlickGT1]

Originally Posted by nitrogass2000

So here is what i did to try and figure out if its possibly the alternator/voltage regulator. I measured the voltage output as best as i knew how: I used a volt meeter and held the probes to the positive and negative terminal under the hood while the car was running i sat there for probably 5 minutes watching the volt meeter. Twice the voltage went way down almost to nothing. several times it fluctuated severely 5,6,7,8s. I then did a similar thing on my 01 540 it stayed in the low 14s never went down any lower then high 13s.

So would this mean that either my voltage regulator is bad or the whole alternator is bad? I don't think the whole alternator is bad its definitely charging the battery but the voltage regulator is a possibility.

No, that is probably the alternator.

[TerminatorX5]

isn't the regulator part of the alternator assembly? and that part can not be separated from the main alternator body?... or... I am mixing my other other BMWs into this picture...

[nitrogass2000]

No you can replace the regulator separately on the x5...

[SlickGT1]

Originally Posted by nitrogass2000

No you can replace the regulator separately on the x5...

Correct, this. Requires removal of alternator either way.

[X5only]

Nitrogass, have you had the codes read off your vehicle? I highly recommend this. In my case, I read the errors using DIS/INPA which pinpointed the issue to be undoubtedly the alternator. A new alternator fixed all the problems.

Cheers!

[hoaesq]

Better off replacing the alternator since you have to remove it to replace the volt reg. I got a rebuilt from Orielly auto parts for $211+ and it has a better warranty than oem. You might want to change out both belts as well and consider the pulleys also. I didn't change my pulleys but plan to. Would have saved me some time considering I was already under the hood.

[nitrogass2000]

I had the codes read a while ago I don't remember what came up but the codes that did and the symptoms it had lead me to believe it was the abs module sent the module for rebuild and it apparently wasn't bad. My friend has one of those software on his laptop ill have to have him run it again. But yesterday i drove the car to Advanced Auto Parts to see if they can test the alternator they couldn't help me. On the way there the lights came on and the car died one time but on the way back the lights went away and the car drove fine.

I have a recall for some crank valve part and a recall for engine and tranny computer programing so im taking it in on Friday to have them do that because I am thinking maybe the ecu is just going nuts. After that ill see whats she does.

Also i have a question. Since they will be reprogramming the engine computer i wonder if i can ask them to load a better tune on it? Does the dealer have something for the e53 available like they do on Porsche to add some HP simply by changing the software?

[civdiv99]

Your impromptu test with the fluctuations is really waving the voltage problem flag here. When this is the case, you can end up chasing a lot of ghosts => other problems that are throwing codes left and right which are symptoms, not necessarily problems. There are a lot of friendly casualties in this arena.

I'm also rather surprised you haven't gotten the TRANS FAILSAFE off of this since that's usually another distracting casualty of a voltage issue. But I don't know how to tell what X5 you have, either. (I'm so novice at this forum stuff).

How you pursue is ultimately in your court, but I think the voltage flag went up early on in your thread and you've pretty much acknowledged the problem. Given that you could compare indications with your 540, I'd just say that now you have to make some decisions.

By the way, you can get the Bosch parts you need about anywhere, but if you let this get wrapped into your dealer visit you are going to feel pain as they charge A LOT more for the same thing available elsewhere.