lxgoffxi

Never had a problem before. but today after the neighbor bumped my front end (no damage) i had an issue. not sure if the bump has anything to do with it. so the car would not start and made a clicking sound, i jump started it and then drove done the road to a stop. at the stop the car idle got ruff and rpms dropped and the car turned off. so i removed the battery to charge it and the battery had 70% charge. i fully charged it to 100% and cleaned the battery terminals. the car would still make the clicking sound and not start. so i jumped started the car again and it would idle ruff and turn off. i jump started it again and left it connected to the other car on idle and there is no problem while connected to the other car. as soon as i unconnected the jumper cables it would idle ruff and turn off. so i cleaned the engine air filter cleaned the battery terminals again more thoroughly and jump started it again and now the problem seems fixed. not sure if it will come back, any ideas? the car starts now but worried, i also noticed my passenger window is not working when i try to raise it so i may have a bad fuse. i checked the car for codes and got no codes. do you think its the alternator? if the alternator was bad would i get a code? i dont think its the starter because it turns on....help...thanks...

criminaltc

The windows not working is just related to them being reset due to you disconnecting the battery. You just have to go through a sequence to reset them to work again, nothing's wrong there. I would have to say alternator though for sure. That's why it dies. It can't keep the car running when it's not under load/driving. And the rough idle is the alternator not being able to keep up causing it to die. The idle will always seem rough before a car dies. Totally alternator. You can have it tested at Autozone if you can get there.

lxgoffxi

i thought so, it worked fine driving after but i feel it may happen again. will test it, afraid to drive it to autozone and get stuck on the way. i wonder if i can diy replace it, i am not afraid to try and have done one before on an VW. is swapping alternators hard? if not i am sure i can do it. any idea why the car would not start and made a clicking sound with a 70% charge? the alternator is not involved in the starting of the car so that worries me.

p.s the driver window does work and the passenger one does not? ideas?

taking the battery out and taking it to get tested first, will update. any ideas let me know.

criminaltc

Replacing it is easy on these. You'll be fine.

And yes with the windows, that's how it works. Your sunroof won't work either.

Not starting and making a clicking sound is the battery, and that's why when you jump it, it starts. The battery is no good for sure.

lxgoffxi

it was hard to remove and have my alternator tested. It passed! i even went to another shop to test it twice and it passed. now im worried, the battery did not pass and bought a new one. but the problem persists. at idle the car is at 250-400 rpms and it stays really low and sounds like it will turn off any second, it turns off randomly. what could it be? new battery and passed alternator so its good...worried....im guessing fuel delivery problem or air intake issue or a sensor? i dunno i get no codes which is weird....

lxgoffxi

that car has 120k miles so i feel i should replace alternator anyway...:?

criminaltc

Shoot. I was almost positive that's what it was. But yeah, my next thing would air/fuel/timing/spark.

lxgoffxi

going to clean out the maf sensor and throttle body.

criminaltc

Yeah, I wouldn't expect too much from that, but you never know.

tccountsofMURDER

alternator wiring possibly?
All this started from a bump from the neighbor to the front end?
also, try disconnecting the battery, and holding the leads together to reset the ecu.
keep us posted


MURDER

lxgoffxi

i dont think the bump did anything now. this is something that took months i realize the idle got worse over time.

lxgoffxi

problem solved. the throttle body has a mini 1/2 mm gap so the throttle door never fully closes while on idle so that the engine doesn't choke. there was a small ring of black buildup surrounding the throttle door effectively closing that small gap. sprayed it with CRC Throttle Body Cleaner pushed the door of the throttle open with my fingers and a towel to wipe away the soot in between the door and the throttle wall. i noticed a clean gap after that i didnt see before because the black stuff blocked it. so glad i thought of doing this. problem solved. didn't need an alternator or fuel pump.

gercantu2006

Hi guys, I also have a little ruff idle that isn't as bad as it used to be. I actually removed the ECU fuse and re-installed while the car was off it seemed to help lol. I'm glad someone brought this subject up and will also be trying what the guy above me wrote to see if that's my problem as well

lxgoffxi

<<<@!1!@>>>
this is what i did.

criminaltc

Wooo hooo! That's awesome man. Glad you got it. Chalk that one up as a win. Good going.

lxgoffxi

thanks next is my 525i stalling i thinks its the cam shaft sensor. just my luck 2 cars stalling at the same time.

criminaltc

Oooh. In for pics of the sexy beamer.

lxgoffxi

this is my car i used this as my profile pic on bimmerfest forums.

criminaltc

Noice.

stayintrucha

Once you remove the batter for about 15 min it resets everything. Most of the time is just cleaning your throttle body and researching your car how to idle. Thats happened to me a couple of times