The OP has a 3.0 engine, never seen one with a water cooled version Alternator. We need to find you a few friends in the NYC area where you could learn a few things.., Anyone out there interested?

Battery light flickering on startup
 

Alternator on E53 not very difficult of a job. I rebuilt mine for $20 vs replace. I have no problem with remanufactured motors (generators) are very robust simple machines. I would use branded reman over knock off new


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I agree, in this case especially a good rebuilt is better than a new knock-off. The reman Bosch unit is actually more money than the made in China New Bosch. Flickering light is very likely brushes failing in alternator.

I just replaced my battery 1 month ago. Red batt light on dash showed up Saturday. Had to get alternator replaced yesterday. $750 for part, 2 hours of labor.


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I took it to my indy shop and he confirmed it was the alternator. He said he will order the part and to bring it in on Friday.

Keep the old one. Especially if valeo; they can be refurbished for add little as $20. I would be interested in paying for you to ship it to me. I have two E53! It would be great to have one on hand for the inevitable.


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Update:

Dropped the car off Friday morning to have the alternator changed. The mechanic calls me at 1 pm and tells me the alternator pulley is making noise and probably worn out, and he suggests that I change it in addition to another belt, I forgot the name of the other. Annoyed at the additional cost, but I ok it nonetheless. Mechanic calls again at 3:45 pm and says after changing the alternator and the aforementioned belts, the vehicle is still having issues with the battery light flashing and now having starting issues, which I did not bring it in with starting issues. He states the bad alternator drained my battery which may be the original battery and he suggests that I change the battery to ensure all problems are resolved. He said the new battery would be $245. Now I'm more annoyed. I go ahead and ok the new battery.

I pick up the vehicle at 5:30 and all is well. No flickering battery light upon starting. Drove home and parked it. Stepped back out at 9 pm to head to the grocery store and upon starting I noticed the battery light is flickering once again. Pissed at this point, I checked my battery level and it's reading 13.5 and 13.8 with the ignition running.

Called my indy the next morning, he told me due to the holiday I would need to bring the vehicle in on Tuesday. I really did not drive much on Saturday but the flickering on startup still persists. Around 8 pm tonight on the way back home with my wife I noticed the battery light is now flashing while driving, which it was not doing prior to bringing it into the shop. By the time I got home the battery light was no longer flashing it was completed illuminated and staying on.

What's really going on here? Could it be a defective alternator or bad battery installed or bad workmanship? I know these question will be answered on Tuesday, but the X is really letting me down at this point. I'm at the point where I can't stomach the mechanic telling me something else is wrong after spending $800 dollars. Now with one more day to wait, I'm not even sure if it's safe to drive the X.

The wife suggests getting rid of the X. At only 72K, I have dumped a considerably amount cash into repairs over the past year. I just did right front bearing and CV three weeks ago.

Just saw this. The mechanic might still have the old alternator in his possession.

When it's on steady it's usually the alternator. Did you check running voltage after it came on steady? Could be a defective alternator.

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Wow, another Cliff Clavin. Like someone mentions before 3.0 did not come with a water cooled alternator. If I was a Trump supporter I would tweet "Fake Advice".