ok I've had my car for a few months now and it's been a non-stop electrical issue :( my car is a 1996 328is and so far I've replaced the entire climate control unit, the battery & the alternator. But still my lights dim, the climate control unit display practically turns on and off, the car start to drop RPMS and lights dim when I use something electrical in the car (lights, windows, sunroof)


any ideas, I'm going nuts here!!!!


thanks

Will the battery drain if you don't drive it for a few days? Does the car die if the negative is removed from the battery while the car is running?

Originally posted by monterey
Will the battery drain if you don't drive it for a few days? Does the car die if the negative is removed from the battery while the car is running?

I have no idea if it will drain after a few days, it's my ony car and wee the dealer has had it more than I have in the last 2 weeks :(

as for the car dying if the negative is removed what will that tell me? I'll give it a try on my next break...

If you remove the battery and the car dies, then it's your alternator. A battery is only there to start a car, not to keep it running. I'm thinking if you leave the car for a few days and the battery drains, then you have a big short somewhere. Another indicator is to take the negative off the battery. Make sure the doors are closed and all electrical stuff is off. Tap the terminal onto the neg. of the battery if you see a huge spark then you have a big drain/short somewhere.

Sounds like the ground cable is loose/corroded at one end or another.

Originally posted by monterey
If you remove the battery and the car dies, then it's your alternator. A battery is only there to start a car, not to keep it running. I'm thinking if you leave the car for a few days and the battery drains, then you have a big short somewhere. Another indicator is to take the negative off the battery. Make sure the doors are closed and all electrical stuff is off. Tap the terminal onto the neg. of the battery if you see a huge spark then you have a big drain/short somewhere.

I hope it's not the alternator because I just replaced it 2 days ago :( I will test for the ground issue at my lunch break

ok the other night after getting my car fixed again... :( I decided to take a nice slow *cough* *cough* drive through some mountain roads, so anyways I was about to hit 5000 rpm in second gear when I hit my rev limitter, or at least it felt like I was, i.e it felt like I was bouncing off my rev limiter, however 5000 rpm is not where my rev limiter is :( I pulled over, turned off the car, popped the hood, everything looked good (to the best of my knowledge, for all I know the engine could have been missing), so I started it back up and now it goes to the proper rev limit, any idea what could cause this issue?