2008 X5 4.8L N62 Vanos repair

[E-series ftw]

Originally Posted by Westlotorn

A not so nice follow up, the cam code came back, dang, I thought it was fixed. Code 2B65 reads DME Camshaft Sensor 2 Exhaust P0390.

Separately and maybe the cause of this??? Also have code 2EBD DME No BSC message from alternator???

I have a voltage meter in the cigarette lighter now and I notice sometimes on start up the car is slow to start charging. So initial start volts drop to 11.7 while cranking, then they stat there while the engine starts to warm up. Sometimes it takes 10-15 seconds for the alternator to start working but I have seen it take over 10 minutes before the alternator starts charging???

I plan to order a new voltage regulator but first need to determine if I have the 220 or 180 amp alternator. Is there a quick way to tell?

I looked with my flashlight and a mirror and could not see any numbers with the car still fully assembled. IF possible I don't want to tear this apart till I have parts on hand to repair it so I can avoid having the car down while waiting for parts.

Thanks for any input.
Mark

Ii read an interesting tidbit in another forum that talked about how the IBS determines/regulates alternator output, and that by unplugging it, should default to a constant 14.6V output. An easy and simple test to help diagnose charging system anomolies, such as yours.