2001 e39 530i 5-spd 91,00 miles. Starts with jumpers but stalls when jumper cables removed.

Apr 26, 2008 2 Replies

My son started it fine. Drove about 4-5 miles and the engine stalled and would not restart. He notice a pop in the radio at the time. I tested the battery at about



11.9 volts when I arrived to jump it. It started and then stalled as soon as I removed the jumper cable. I suspect the alternator brushes except, it does not seem like enough mileage for the brushes to be worn out. I would be most grateful for your thoughts. At RealOEM.com (last 7 digits of VIN are ce91161 ) I see that this car could have any one of the following alternator setups
90A Valeo
120A Bosch
120A/140A Valeo. How do I determine the alternator type? Is this info in the owner's manual?I left the manual in the car when I had it towed to the workplace. I have not research any of the codes found with my PEAKE reader All code are in Table 19
76 Throttle position sensor - thank you son.
64 Memory self test control module defective
45 Fuel Pump Relay
23 Secondary Air Pump Relay
3e Seconday Air System switching valve circuit
8c DM-TL pump control circuit
7e DM-TL switching solenoid d1 EWS Message
7c DISA control Many Thanks in advance.

Was the alternator light on at the time? Was he even watching for it?

Could be all sorts of alternator failures, and could also be the fusible links on the alternator too. Do you measure voltage at the alternator terminals? If so, the alternator is connected properly to the battery.

If you disconnect the battery and stick an ammeter onto it, can you see if something is discharging the battery? One of the more popular regulator failure modes will show up with the alternator discharging the battery.

If the alternator is connected to the battery but does not put out enough current to charge the battery or operate the car, it is bad.

It doesn't matter. They should have basically the same configuration and the same issues. If yours turns out to be bad, take it to the dealer and get a replacement.

If the engine control has been running without proper supply voltage, all hell will break loose and you will get a million codes registered. You can ignore all of them. They are all symptoms of the low voltage and not the cause of it.

--scott

Many thanks. Good comments. I will try to check it all out.

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