mborkow

driving into work this morning (already running about an hour late :-( ) when suddenly my v1 starts making a strange static sounds, and both it and the radio cut out. car seems fine, but when i look at the dash i can see that my abs light and airgbag light are both illuminated. i keep going anyway though because the car seems fine (and i am in the middle of nowhere). then the speedometer stops working, and then the fuel gage...then when i press on the gas the car doesn't do much of anything and more lights are coming on. at this point i figure i am not going any further so i sorta coast to the right side (had been in the fast lane), pull over on the shoulder and turn the car off. i tried restarting the car, but there was no juice (click, click, click was the only sound the car made). AAA flatbedded the truck to my mechanic; i assume it is the alternator, but that is just a guess...what a way to start of the morning.

Father of 3

Sounds like an alternator issue. Good luck. A similar thing happened to me in my 325i. Funny thing was I had just happened to stop in front of a kragen auto parts store!

DaveM993

Exact samething happen to me in another car. It was an alternator issue. As the battery drains you start losing electrical stuff until finally no spark to the engine...

mborkow

any idea what the parts run on that fix?

InTheAir

Add in the cost of a battery too....

mborkow

when the alternator dies, does it kill the battery as well? (mine was only ~ 2years old)

InTheAir

Technically no. But, what probably happened is that the alternator failed and you started pulling juice from the battery. The battery kept the car running but as it lost power you saw the electrical components start shutting down. The battery lost a lot of power and may not be able to rebound to a full and reliable charge.

mborkow

my mechanic just gave me a call; it should be ~$600 (parts and labor). he thinks that since the battery is pretty new that it should be ok.

bpoteat

I could be wrong, but I believe when the alternator dies, all the car's electricals are running off battery until the battery finally kicks it (which isn't long).

EDIT: man you gotta be quick around here. Hopefully your battery will still hold a charge. Good luck.

mborkow

yeah, it wasn't long: maybe 5 minutes.

the_buch

Any early warning signs over the last while (e.g., subtle noises from the alternator)??

95 C4 993

Rebuilt Alternator-$517.00, Labor $240. Had it done at Auto Werksatt in Manhatten Beach. Total $800 with taxes.

Part # 964603156AX

997Heaven

Had the same thing last summer..it was the alternator.. are u going with the Bosch replacement (thats what I did has a two year warrantee) or something else. ..I did not change the belts or the tensioner with the alternator...big mistake tensioner went out this spring and took the belt with it ...all told about a grand for everything.. i did replace the battery just to be sure...so far soo good

95 C4 993

I believe alternators are much cheaper but Im going by my records from the previous owner. My guess is you can pick them up in the $200-$250 range for after market or rebuilt.

mborkow

$350 for the rebuilt one my guy is putting today

there really were no warnings at all (that i detected). she did hesitate to start up for a split second this am, but i hadn't started the car since friday so i didn't think much of that (and then it ran fine for about 25 miles before it quit on me).