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1988 BMW 735i Stutters, dies, currently stranded!
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735i
Anonymous Poster
Nov 21, 2008, 10:33 AM
Post #1 of 7
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1988 BMW 735i Stutters, dies, currently stranded!
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1988
BMW
735i
My GF called me on her way home from work. Car was running rough at a red light, battery light on the dash lit up, headlights and interior lights starting to go dim. I told her to make it through the intersection and pull over. Then the car died. She got it started a couple more times but it would stutter and die after a few minutes.
I went to meet her, used a jumper pack to get it started, held the engine at 3500 trying to get the charging system going, but after a few minutes I let it go back to idle and it stuttered and died again. I had to push it to the nearest sidestreet and abandon it for the night.
Bad battery or alternator? Battery was strong enough to start the car 2 or 3 times before getting completely drained so I'm not sure it's the battery. Seems more like the alternator since it started to lose power while driving. Just here for advice because I can't afford to throw parts at it.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Nov 21, 2008, 10:44 AM
Post #2 of 7
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Re: 1988 BMW 735i Stutters, dies, currently stranded!
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Ok: It would run rough and then die out as voltage drops off.
Make sure there's a belt in place and tight enough first and continue on checking battery and alternator. Best to charge battery with charger for testing - not just a jump and see what the car can do as when battery is weak enough, alternators won't charge well or at all OR work so hard they burn up trying.
Basics: Battery over 4 years old - toss it now, charge the new one too first! Then test alternator would be a good choice of attack.
If belt is found missing or too loose you just have to find out why, repair + replace what's needed but again charge that battery separately,
T
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735i
Anonymous Poster
Nov 21, 2008, 11:01 AM
Post #3 of 7
(3823 views)
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Re: 1988 BMW 735i Stutters, dies, currently stranded!
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Okay I will start with checking the belt tension and ask her how old the battery is. Tricky part is that the car is still ten miles away, hoping I can come across a fix long enough to get it home instead of paying tow truck fees plus repairs.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Nov 21, 2008, 1:53 PM
Post #4 of 7
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Re: 1988 BMW 735i Stutters, dies, currently stranded!
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10 miles is a tough call if you go there and leave a vehicle on it while jumped to charge up the BMW but take breaks doing that so you don't burn out donor car too. 10 min a few times might buy you a fair charge on Beamer.
Consider getting a portable jumper box - $80ish for a fair powered one and those are safer PLUS most come with 12v cig lighter ports and you could just "port to port" back power the dead car once running for some extra time. Soon as engine breaks up get right to a safe spot as it's almost dead again.
You could use those portable jumperboxs for a slow battery charger once at a home and keep that hooked up while it's attached to a battery and both get charged - take a whole day though.
I kinda think the BMW isn't charging and battery has some capacity left but know that just running the car using no extras won't give you much run time. Do this when lights aren't needed of course if you do try.
Note: Batteries are marked with a read date or a code to the month/year they were made. I think this one may be coded if thru BMW but you can look for embossed letters and #s which date it. I think some BMWs put batteries under back seat?? Not certain but a maybe and a specific battery that can hook up to vent OUTSIDE cabin is a must if so.
Good luck,
T
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735i
Anonymous Poster
Nov 21, 2008, 3:16 PM
Post #5 of 7
(3810 views)
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Re: 1988 BMW 735i Stutters, dies, currently stranded!
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Yeah I have one of those portable jumper boxes that's what I used last night to get the car running again. With that box fully charged it only seems to jump a car once or twice so it would be hard to make it home using that.
I really wouldn't mind buying a battery and going over there and installing it I just felt more like it was the alternator because of the way that it died. A battery is $100+ I don't want to buy it if that's not the problem. Maybe I will give in and call a tow truck to at least get it back home.
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Guest
Anonymous Poster
Nov 21, 2008, 3:21 PM
Post #6 of 7
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Re: 1988 BMW 735i Stutters, dies, currently stranded!
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Forgot to mention yes you are right the battery is under the back seat on this car.
Right now I'm thinking either...
A) Buy a new battery, install it where the car is now, and hope that it works or...
B) Call a tow truck, get it home, and worry about fixing it later.
Should I try a new battery or is it a waste of money without knowing if the charging system is working?
Either way I just want to get the car out of there soon, I don't want somebody in the neighborhood reporting the car and getting it towed since it's sitting there dead and doesn't belong there.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Nov 21, 2008, 4:58 PM
Post #7 of 7
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Re: 1988 BMW 735i Stutters, dies, currently stranded!
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Chances are since it acted up while it was running the problem lurks and the battery in it is run down now. Whether it will take and hold a good charge now remains to be determined. If you brought a voltmeter and jumped it on location it would read something informative. As said it's really hard to tell when a battery good or not is drained what is going on till you have it known fully charged for testing.
Getting a new battery isn't really a waste if it's older now but may not be the problem. A new fully charged battery probably would go the 10 mile run you need without help from the charging system still an unknown till you check it.
Remember - a new battery isn't necessarily fully charged when you get it! I know most jumper packs you describe are not as powerful as the car's battery. They need to be portable so the more they weigh the more powerful but harder to carry about - a trade off with those. Those come with a charger that you plug in a household outlet and if left on a battery in jump mode with it plugged into the "house" current and charging they both should charge up - slow, slow, slow but would charge both up.
Doesn't sound like you are ready with equipment to do test at location so towing the car to where you can work on it and test things out is probably your only choice. If you don't have the tools and equipment to diagnose, and possibly replace alternator, belt or pulley that may have cause a belt failure or whatever is wrong you should tow it to a shop that can or you may just end up towing it twice.......
T
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