alternator woes

[Liquid Ice]

last night a noticed my battery light coming on while driving:banghead:. it seems to come on at low revs and dissappears at higher revs. i believe the e46 ///M's came out with "Valeo" alternators?? im only sitting at 50k's, isnt it a bit too early for this? anyway, what could possibly be the cause of this, brushes/ regulator ? can these parts be bought separately for the valeo?
thanks in advance guys.

 

[BMW M]

Sounds like the regulator... From BMW you would probably have to replace the whole altenator, if you take it to a Auto Electrician, they would probably be able to replace the regulator. (R5000 vs R500)

Did the exercise last week with my Navara, Nissan wanted to charge me R3841 ex Vat to replace regulator, got it done at Auto Electrician for R600. :thumbsup:

 

[Liquid Ice]

thanks for the speedy response. im just worried about spares availability for this strange brand. if only it was a bosch

 

[P1000]

Goldwagen does valeo, also sparxx automotive: http://www.sparxx.co.za/

 

[Rawatster777]

My battery light was also flashing, but at higher revs.
Took it to BMW this morning, they said it was due to the TRACKER's battery being flat.
Therefore, it gets power from the car battery.
What do you think? Does it make sense?

 

[P1000]

Yeah, the trackers are poorly designed, and they tap into any wire. They can draw muchos amps when the battery dies and if it is tapped into the wrong wire, it can most certainly cause all kinds of havoc.

 

[BMW M]

Yeah, the trackers are poorly designed, and they tap into any wire. They can draw muchos amps when the battery dies and if it is tapped into the wrong wire, it can most certainly cause all kinds of havoc.

+1

Thats one of the reasons I why I have Cartrack. They test your tracking units battery remotely twice a month and send you a report each time, Tracker does this once a year... So if your car gets stolen and the Tracker units battery is flat, they wont be able to activate the unit and recover your car.

 

[Liquid Ice]

ill be getting sum elbow grease this afternoon to try end sort this out. do i have to take out the alternator inorder to replace the regulator / brushes or is this valeo similar to a bosch which doesnt need to be taken out for a regulator replacement?

 

[Liquid Ice]

ok regulator is out. now to find a cheaaper replacement. sparxx seem to be reasonable in price but they in cape town only :bawling: the shopping continues. any advice would be highly appreciated.

 

[P1000]

sparxx will courier it to you...

 

[Liquid Ice]

ordered the part yesterday from sparxx and was given a tracking number. the part was suppossed to be at my door step this morning but im still waiting for the door bell to go off. :dunno: