"Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief" (flynorcal)
04/01/2016 at 15:57 • Filed to: None
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"Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief" (flynorcal)
04/01/2016 at 15:57 • Filed to: None | 2
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As I suspected last night, my alternator (or voltage regulator) is only putting out just over 10.3 volts. This is just enough voltage to keep the v10 engine running, but with a lot of alarms and sub systems shutting down and making the car appear to have all kinds of majorly expensive things wrong with it. Not that the alternator will be cheap, but hey, it’s a known quantity.
The problem is that the closest dealer is about 20-50 minutes away depending on traffic. So here’s my plan to try to avoid a tow truck: I’m charging this battery up as best I can and then making a run for it. I should get there just fine. If I don’t, no big deal as AAA to the rescue, and BMW already has a nice loaner car waiting for me, so expect a review of a 428i Xdrive shortly.
For those of you keeping score, yes, I have two BMWs in the shop at the same time. Keeping April 1st “real” this year :/
DrScientist
> Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
04/01/2016 at 17:04 |
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is that an m5? or m6?
i think you’ll be fine. i once made this drive with no alternator, when the belt snapped on y v12 jaguar in the middle of nowhere california. of course that car had about 398 fewer electrical systems it needed to power, and 726 fewer that were actually required to maintain forward progress.
i didn’t tell my girlfriend about the situation until we were actually pulling in to the mechanic’s parking lot—a british car specialist mechanic! the gods were smiling that day
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Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
> DrScientist
04/01/2016 at 17:09 |
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It’s a M5.
I’m feeling pretty good about getting there except that I think the battery has taken a bit of a bashing as I suspect the alternator has been running low for a while now and I didn’t realize it. I’m trying to get it charged up as much as I can and wait until the last minute... but not get stuck in Friday traffic. I’m giving it 20 more minutes. Waze says it’s looking good now. Hopefully nobody rear ends somebody in the next half hour and I should be golden.