Hi guys. Sorry for the long post.
My '91 318i has been sitting for about four months while I was at school. I tried to start it up yesterday, but the battery was dead. While trying to jump it, I wasn't paying attention and I switched the leads (ground cable was orange, positive cable was black, I know it's a rookie mistake).
Anyway, I realized the mistake after ten minutes of "charging" and trying to get the engine to crank. When I flipped the leads, it cranked but didn't turn over because the battery was almost fully discharged. So I charged the battery (1 year old) overnight and it started up fine today.
Despite being fully charged, my battery warning light is on when the car is not running (turns off once the engine starts). After about an hour/20 miles of driving, the ABS light and Check Engine light came on. I was pulling into a shop to get new tires when I noticed my blinkers stopped working, and the engine nearly stalled itself as I was parking. It's now able to start itself with a jump (battery's down to <8 volts) and run for 15 seconds before stalling.
I'm thinking I fried either the alternator or the ECU when I reverse jumped the car. It's stuck on a lift and they won't let me get in there with a multimeter.
Has anyone seen a problem like this before? I'd like to order parts to fix it as soon as I can. I appreciate any input you guys have.
My '91 318i has been sitting for about four months while I was at school. I tried to start it up yesterday, but the battery was dead. While trying to jump it, I wasn't paying attention and I switched the leads (ground cable was orange, positive cable was black, I know it's a rookie mistake).
Anyway, I realized the mistake after ten minutes of "charging" and trying to get the engine to crank. When I flipped the leads, it cranked but didn't turn over because the battery was almost fully discharged. So I charged the battery (1 year old) overnight and it started up fine today.
Despite being fully charged, my battery warning light is on when the car is not running (turns off once the engine starts). After about an hour/20 miles of driving, the ABS light and Check Engine light came on. I was pulling into a shop to get new tires when I noticed my blinkers stopped working, and the engine nearly stalled itself as I was parking. It's now able to start itself with a jump (battery's down to <8 volts) and run for 15 seconds before stalling.
I'm thinking I fried either the alternator or the ECU when I reverse jumped the car. It's stuck on a lift and they won't let me get in there with a multimeter.
Has anyone seen a problem like this before? I'd like to order parts to fix it as soon as I can. I appreciate any input you guys have.
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