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Whilst driving I noticed the service light (car on the ramp) came on a few times, then all of a sudden the gauges stopped working, then the radio, couldnt open the boot, eventually it didn't even show the indicators working on the dash. BMW says it's because of the battery, as the car was not used for five weeks and the alarm would drain the battery? The car started fine after five weeks. Has this happed to anyone out there? Many thanks in advance.
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Please could anyone help me
Sweetened, With Lemon.
Not sure if i'm well out of my depth here, but it's been my experience that when an alternator fails and a vehicle begins drawing all power from the battery directly, as the battery voltage drops steadily electrical malfunctions will occur at different voltage levels before the power drains so much that it will no longer run or eventually even power the cluster. In other vehicles I've had the gauges start flicking on and off, random indicator lights coming on and recovering multiple times making for a panicky ride up the highway - all culminating in a dead SUV in a truck stop parking lot and a long wait for AAA.
It sounds to me like your battery was fine - as it initially started and ran - but the alternator was not taking the load and providing recharge.
I would charge up the battery enough to get the car to run, and using a voltmeter monitor the voltage at the battery terminals, or from the positive terminal to chassis ground. If you're only seeing (max) 12V, and it continuously drops as the car sits at idle then you're likely got a dead charging system (alternator). If it hovers around 13.2V or so then you need help from a smarter fella!
Hope that helps, and best of luck.
Jbird
You need to install a batter tender if the car is going to continue to sit. The Isle of Man the dunlops, mcginness truely great racers along with all the other lads that take on the 37 mile road course.
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