Emergency repair in Montreal?

Gerk · 05-29-2010, 10:32 PM

Hi everyone, sorry to cross post (I posted this is the quebec regional area as well), but it's kind of urgent and hoping someone can help us out here ...

My wife is in Montreal for the weekend with our e38, but on the way she ran into some trouble (the battery light flickering on and off for the last hour). It sounds like it could be anything from a loose alternator belt to a dead alternator/battery, etc. Hard to diagnose over the phone and she is not technically inclined at all.

Does anyone know of a shop she can get into to get it looked at before the trip home? She has to leave on tuesday .. the car is currently parked and will hopefully still have enough juice left in the battery to get it to a Montreal shop and hopefully get it sorted out for her! I know that Sunday is very unlikely to be an option but hoping we can figure out somewhere she can get it into first thing monday AM with hopes of repair done by tuesday AM when she has to leave ...

Help!

Dammerung · 05-30-2010, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerk

Help!

Bimmershop out in Dorion (450-510-2744) Sebastien Rochon is the owner
1801 Chicoine, suite 6
Vaudreuil-Dorion

Speed Autotech (514 696-2122) in Pierrefonds. Maroun Koury

RPM Located 428 Beaconsfield Blvd.
Tel: 514-693-0994

TC automotive ink.
7165, De Nancy montreal qc
514-343-3776

Hope this helps.
Cheers.
From what she says it sounds like a dieing alternator.

Gerk · 05-30-2010, 02:12 PM

Thanks. Very helpful. I thought it might be the alternator too, but hopefully she can get into one of these places and find out!

Dammerung · 05-30-2010, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerk

Thanks. Very helpful. I thought it might be the alternator too, but hopefully she can get into one of these places and find out!

flashing battery lights indicate no charge to the battery. You should be ok as long as their is juice in the battery. Id suggest going to Bimmershop as ive heard good stuff about them but if your far just hit the closest one. alternator is an easy job. Take out old put in new.
Your most welcome bud.

Gerk · 05-30-2010, 02:29 PM

The wife thinks she wants to try and drive it home the way it is (eeek!) ... do you think it will last for the 6 hour drive with a flaky alternator? Do you think the battery would hold enough charge to make it that far?

Dammerung · 05-30-2010, 03:21 PM

As far as i know theres no chance. Because the battery wont charge if the alternators bust. When the cars on it will depend on the battery for power such as sparking. I would say the best bet is to get it diagnosed. That way you will know if the alternator has failed completely or not. As far as i know if the alternator is completely dead it wont make 6 hours. Im not sure if flashing battery means dead or dying alternator. There are other sypmtoms od a dying alternateor. Steering wont come down the interior lights will act funny etc. Get it checked bud. 6-700kms like that is not a good idea.

Oyster · 05-30-2010, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerk

The wife thinks she wants to try and drive it home the way it is (eeek!) ... do you think it will last for the 6 hour drive with a flaky alternator? Do you think the battery would hold enough charge to make it that far?

order CAA plus NOW, because you have to wait I think 24 or 48h before getting that 200km tow.

So she can hope to make it to 360km before Calling CAA which should tow you to Toronto 401/dvp

The other issue is refuelling, the car might not re-start when she refuels

Gerk · 05-30-2010, 03:55 PM

Got CAA Plus already

I think she's going to get it checked out before she leaves once I told her what she would be up against if she broke down along the way ... she thought she could just call CAA to get a boost and then continue the rest of the way .. as I said she's not technically inclined at all!

Dammerung · 05-30-2010, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerk

Got CAA Plus already

I think she's going to get it checked out before she leaves once I told her what she would be up against if she broke down along the way ... she thought she could just call CAA to get a boost and then continue the rest of the way .. as I said she's not technically inclined at all!

+1

I think getting it checked is the way to go.A proper mechanic will be a be a better judge of whether she should drive back or not.

Nick_V · 05-30-2010, 04:32 PM

If you guys are lucky, it will be something like a loose connection on the battery, or a bad battery. Both very easy to check. However...

to me it sounds like a bad voltage regulator. I had the exact same symptoms when mine went. The brushes wear down over time until the springs are fully extended and cannot maintain adequate/steady pressure against the commutator - hence the flickering. If this just started happening and is still very intermittent, then there is a chance that she could make it home, but I wouldn't risk it. I drove around for almost a month with a flickering light (procrastinating as usual), but finally learned the hard way, waiting for a tow on the side of the 403 with no jacket in February

. There's no telling how long it will last, but that would be my guess.

Not sure if your E38/M62 alternator is the same as the E34/M60, but if so the voltage reg. can be replaced on its own and the actual alternator might still be ok. Realoem.com shows some crazy water-cooled unit though, so maybe not....

740-iLL · 05-30-2010, 04:41 PM

Hey Gerk, I have a friend out in Montreal who has an E38 and a few connections that might be able to help you out. Gonna PM you his number now.

Gerk · 05-30-2010, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 740-iLL

Hey Gerk, I have a friend out in Montreal who has an E38 and a few connections that might be able to help you out. Gonna PM you his number now.

Thanks man

V12 · 05-31-2010, 12:54 AM

If your OBC is unlocked, do a test #9 on your cluster and you should be able to see the voltage of the battery, before and after starting the car. If the voltage is around 13V after starting, then your alternator is good.

Dammerung · 05-31-2010, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by V12

If your OBC is unlocked, do a test #9 on your cluster and you should be able to see the voltage of the battery, before and after starting the car. If the voltage is around 13V after starting, then your alternator is good.

Jeff do you know how to unlock the OBC?

V12 · 05-31-2010, 12:17 PM

Here it is , have fun

Set your key to position 1 or 2.
Hold the right CC button on the cluster for about 10 secs until Test #01 is displayed. Select test #19 using the right button, then press the left button, you will see LOCK:ON and enter the unlock code using the left button repeatedly until your unlock code. In the example below, 22 times.
The unlock code is computed by adding up the last 5 digits of your VIN. So if yours is DD71239, then it is 7+1+2+3+9 = 22.

Here are the ones I used mostly:
Test#1 VIN and country designation
Test#2 is fun as it test all light segments in your cluster.
Test #6 gives you the litres of gas in each tank
Test#7 Engine core temperature
Test #8 real time speed
Test#9 battery voltage
Test#20 Adjust fuel consumption ratio