In need of some serious help(87 325is)

[RedHoodRidah]

Ok where and how do I start.....Well I r3v'd my oil pan the other day do to some brake happy person I had to dodge. I bought one from a former member here and put it on this morning. I got the oil pan on and put the oil in the engine to start up the car. I go to start it and it wouldn't turn over, so I said to myself ok battery must need some power. I get the jumper cables hooked on the battery and started the car. I got the car started up and I let it sit for a while so the battery can get some charge(5minutes later) I take off the jumper cables and the car lost some power and idled really low. I call up a mechanic and have him come over and check it. He tells me its the alternator so I go buy one and he installs it. Now the car is turning over fine and is sounding good. I then took the car out for a spin to test it out and go around the block a few times to see if its running normal again. Running great, once i get in my parking lot the temp gauge starts going ape shit from hot to cold. My check engine light comes on when the car is sitting at 1k rpms. So I disconnected the battery for about 20min to reset the ecu(20min later) I connected the battery and turned the car on. Now its idling real rough and shuts off.......I give it another go and it idles low but the rpms came back up and settled down(10min later) I shut the car off and run inside my house for a bit and then go back out to leave, I turn the car over and here we go again, idling real low and check engine light with the temp gauge going ape shit.


I need some help with this. Excuse me if the story doesn't make much sense but in conclusion my engine is acting weird. If anyone can help me out with this i will really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

[jlevie]

Sounds like your battery may have died. Take it to an autoparts house and have it tested,

[RedHoodRidah]

I just ran outside to turn the car on and it didn't turn on. Now I remember seeing a black wire coming out of the alternator but i cannot see where it connects to so i left it as is. The wire was coming from the bottom of the alternator I don't remember the letter. Can someone really help me out with this, I am really getting frustrated with this.

[Mike325]

Did you test the voltage out of the alt. with the engine running at idle? It should be around 14.5 volts. The battery should have like 12.5 volts with the engine off. Not sure what the black wire is. What does the end that went to the alt look like? What type of connector is on it?

One other thing that comes to mind is a vacuum leak from the new pan gasket. I do not know if this is even a possibility, but rather a long-shot guess? Just throwing it out there.

[RedHoodRidah]

The mechanic tested the battery cable and said that not enough power was going in. I just got the car to turn over again and took it out for about 30min, i came back turned it off and went to turn it back on and nothing. The check engine light keeps lighting up at low rpm's. Can someone show me a picture of a alternator of a 87 325is(if they are any different from other models) wiring. Someone sent me a picture earlier and i saw this small black box with a black wire coming out of it going back into the alternator, my alternator didn't come with it and neither did the old one i had in the car. I was also thinking it could be the battery maybe because when I jump the car it turns on fine no problem, no check engine light or anything. Another thing, the car was sitting for about 3 weeks if this matters.

[RedHoodRidah]

The black wire I am talking about is number 6 in this picture.

http://realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/e/r/1.png

For some reason I tapped it again some metal and a quick spark came out. On realoem it was listed as a ground wire. If it really is a ground wire where do i ground it?? Could it be any wire that i can use to ground it?? If not what kind of wire?? I really need the help.

[kendogg]

E30 alternator's don't charge until the engine hits around 2k rpm's each time after the engine has been started. Take the battery out, put it on a slow charge overnight. Re-install, start engine,d rive away. Problem Solved.

[RobertK]

Umm.. that wire grounds out to the oil pan. I'm surprised someone didn't think of that first. There is a bolt hole close to the oil level sensor that bolts that ground wire to the oil pan.

Here is a picture from my steering swap write up I edited to give you a better idea. Ignore what's circled in red.

[lordofthewaters]

That was the first thing I though of too. But the talk of a black box, with a black wire to the alternator confusticated me. My car wouldn't even turn over with it disconnected.

[RedHoodRidah]

Ok I just grounded the oil pan and the car turns on. Idles alot though and the check engine light is still on and so is the ???engine oil???. Can anyone take a picture of their alternator so i can see how and what wires are there?? I don't see anymore wires around the engine bay near the alternator that need to be connected. On the link i posted above from realoem #6 is the wire I am talking about.

[Mike325]

It's wierd that mt 87 e does not have that wire. At least I did not see the wire.

[RedHoodRidah]

The car is running pretty good now. Just at start up I have to rev it up to get it to stay on but other then that it runs perfecto. Maybe since the alternator is new it still needs to break in or something no clue. I am going to take it to a electrician tomorrow so he can check it up. I will give you guys an update then. BTW I want to thank you guys for all the info, without you guys i still would've been busting my balls trying to figure things out.

[ScottL]

If you cooked the alternator, it's very likely that you cooked the battery too. Trust me - I went around and around on this. :)

[RedHoodRidah]

What I don't understand is how did r3v'ing the oil pan screw up the alternator. I was expecting the oil pump to get screwed up since it is lower to the ground then the alternator. Maybe it's just time to get a new battery who knows. I am going to get it tested to see if it is still good or not, if it's not man oh man new battery time.

[lordofthewaters]

Ok I just grounded the oil pan and the car turns on. Idles alot though and the check engine light is still on and so is the ???engine oil???. Can anyone take a picture of their alternator so i can see how and what wires are there?? I don't see anymore wires around the engine bay near the alternator that need to be connected. On the link i posted above from realoem #6 is the wire I am talking about.

Well if you've taken the battery cable/s off to charge it then it'll have to run for a little while to readjust the ecu. As for the oil, is it pressure on the cluster or level on the check panel?