Ok, well I've been battling with the car since I bought it. I've played with the timing, gotten it to run great then it went back to the surging....Changed the plugs....same deal.....So then this last week I went to fire it up after all the snow and it had been sitting outside. Got in turned the key, punched the start switch.......nothing.....dead....I try jumping it and can't figure out for the life of me why I can't get power to the switch and ACC...I take the battery into Checker to have them test the battery.....yes it was dead, wouldn't hold a charge and was actually a smaller battery then it should have been. So, I'm guessing the guy that sold me the car needed to throw a battery in the car to sell it and put in what ever he had.....Anyways, got a new battery.....get home put it in and ....again....nothing.....Now I'm mad and thinking, shit, something is messed up electrically in the car.......then, just by chance I bump the hot wire from the battery and the freaking windshield wipers turn on...........the light bulb turns on in my head and I realize the terminal and the wires are so corroded that its not making a good connection.......So, I clean everything up, put a new terminal connector on the end......and walla! thing starts and keeps running.......Its like I just got a new car......:redspot

I hate when the solution is staring you right in the face and you don't see it........shit, i've had the car half apart trying to figure out why it keeps cutting out and won't idle...

Anyways, thanks for reading........I'm a happy 320i owner again......:buttrock

Just in case, disconnect the battery with the car running to make sure the alternator is working. If it dies, the alternator is bad.

yeah, i would do that too.

congrats on finding and fixing it though, (feels good doesn't it :D)

Just in case, disconnect the battery with the car running to make sure the alternator is working. If it dies, the alternator is bad.

Actually, if you do this test the alternator is bad. Never run it without a battery. It can damage the alternator. Get a voltmeter and test it right.

Actually, if you do this test the alternator is bad. Never run it without a battery. It can damage the alternator. Get a voltmeter and test it right.
That's what I said. I don't think removing the negative pole briefly will do any damage. It takes about a second to test. If you have a voltimeter then that's the way to go. My way is "old school poor guy diagnostics" :cool

I don't know if it will ruin the alternator in 1 second, but it can and will damage it. Do not do it. Also don't load test your battery by shorting it out with a pair of pliers, or any of 1000 other dangerous, invalid tests performed by 'oldschool mechanics'.

how do you know that this damages the alt? what happens?

To put it simply, theres nowhere for the power to go. If I had to guess without dragging out a schematic, I'd say its the voltage regulator that gets it.

OK, now I want proof of the "invalid tests done by old school mechanics". I was joking but apparently you know something I don't and now take it personal. Or maybe just no sense of humor.

I am by no means a mechanic or even an "old school mechanic" but have done this in a multitude of cars in the past and have NEVER damaged an alternator. Never heard of anyone damaging one either. Anyway, where did that "don't short the battery using pliers either" come from. I've never done that or did I mention it. Very different from what I suggested.

I am out of this one. Maybe I'll just go and join Bob. Good night and happy new year.

The pliers is just something I saw an old guy do one time.

Sorry, no offense meant. I certainly don't take it personally.

I have formally studied automotive electronics, FWIW.

The pliers is just something I saw an old guy do one time.

Sorry, no offense meant. I certainly don't take it personally.

I have formally studied automotive electronics, FWIW.
It's all good. I am half joking anyway. I formally studied diagnostics, just not on cars. I agree that a meter is the best way to test if and how many volts the alternator is putting out.

To the OP, the reason we are suggesting to check the alternator is because if it is bad, your car will run well until the new battery looses charge. Theoretically, if your alternator is working properly, the car should not be affected much by a low battery once the engine is running. Layne, feel free to correct me if this is wrong :)

Funny that you all are talking about that with the pliers thing. I'd seen my Dad do that when i was a kid to get a car started.

yes it does feel good that the car is running and keeps running now. I think my next project is the blower, it makes some crazy noise after running for a while or after its been turned off then back on again....

Theoretically, if your alternator is working properly, the car should not be affected much by a low battery once the engine is running. Layne, feel free to correct me if this is wrong :)

Thats true assuming the battery isn't shorted or something. If you jump the car, it should charge up and be just fine.

320iJoe, your dad was just jumping across a bad solonoid with the pliers, which there's really nothing wrong with other than leaving burn marks on the terminals. When you short the battery directly though (no starter in the circuit to provide resistance) the battery discharges too quickly and theres some chance, however remote, that it could explode. Personally I'll pass on any chance of getting hosed with sulphuric acid.

Thats true assuming the battery isn't shorted or something. If you jump the car, it should charge up and be just fine.

320iJoe, your dad was just jumping across a bad solonoid with the pliers, which there's really nothing wrong with other than leaving burn marks on the terminals. When you short the battery directly though (no starter in the circuit to provide resistance) the battery discharges too quickly and theres some chance, however remote, that it could explode. Personally I'll pass on any chance of getting hosed with sulphuric acid.

I'm with you on that!:eyecrazy