Freaking alternator (long PLEASE HELP)

[John B.]

How old is the battery? This weather is killing marginal batteries left & right.

[Phatty5BMW]

Nope battery is all good for sure. Im going to double check the connections right now and see if I can get that bolt out or w/e I have to do. Then come home and eat some pizza and drink some more beer.

[Phatty5BMW]

Connections are fine on the battery and elsewhere. Still no luck on that Fing bolt. I am starting to get a little worried about what im going to do.

Do you know if the motor mount swivels over 90 degrees? I have never had to touch them therefor im not sure, but if it was out of the way I think I could have enough room to get in there. I'm gettin pissed.....

[632 Regal]

jack the motor up a little and loosen the motor mount bolts and move it away. Have you tried vice grips to get a bite on that damn bolt? I doubt if you cut the head off the bolt you would be able to slide the alternater forward enough to pop it off, but you would probably be able to get it out with vice grips.

[Phatty5BMW]

I tried the biggest pair of vise grips I got. I just don't see how the bolt is seized up in there. If I try to move the alternator I can barely move it on its pivot but the bottom bolt just wont move, no wiggling, no nothing. I just replaced all the belts mid-summer last year and had no problems...

[Phatty5BMW]

Update: Got the POS alternator off. Took off the whole mounting bracket, but the bracket and alternator in the vise and used a punch to beat the bolt out. ****in ******** but anyway, im going to get this thing tested tomarrow.

I also cracked the bushing that the bolt resides in the mounting bracket. Screw it or buy a whole new bracket? It couldn't hurt beings I can't adjust alt or ps belt due to p.o. breaking teeth. Now the question is wtf to do?

I will update tomarrow as I get this thing tested. Then its on to the intrepid, rabbit truck then the e28 thermostat.. hopefully I get those 2 running tomarrow because my 535 sure is hell aint going to get fixed.....

Pat

[Phatty5BMW]

Update: The voltage regulator looks fine on the alternator. I went to Carquest and another local shop and nobody has the right wire leads to test this alternator. I am going to call up autozone but I will most likely have the same luck. At this point I might just have to buy a new one.

Do you guys know if I can get a service history by calling a bmw dealer if the car was serviced there by the vin # or something? Its a bosch reman and the thing looks new, if they have a warranty I will ateast try to save a few hundred bucks.

Any input appreciated....

Pat

[Phatty5BMW]

I went to autozone, of course i talked to a guy on the phone that was there for 2 weeks. Anyway they couldn't do it, so I figured if im 25 miles from home better not go home empty handed.

I went to Advanced Auto and they tested it, put out 11 Volts but the diode light came on the machine. We talked about it, sounds like the voltage regulator.

Do you guys think it is a waste to buy a new voltage regulator or should I just buy a whole new alt.?

Thanks!
Pat

[colo525i]

If the bearings and place where the brushes contact are still good, i can't see why you'd need to buy the whole thing. Had the same thing happen on an old benz, $15 v regulator fixed the problem and has worked for 5 years since.

[632 Regal]

I am not a big fan of remanufactured crap at all. Over the years many many re-man products are a total crap shoot. If you spend the cash for a new one it should outlast the car. Another Idea would be to find a known good used one but thats also a crapshoot.