The complete automotive resource for buyers, sellers, and owners like you.
Car, Truck and SUV Forums at Roadfly
+ Bentley Forums
+ BMW Forums
+ Cadillac Forums
+ Chevrolet Forums
+ Ferrari Forums
+ Jaguar Forums
+ Lamborghini Forums
+ Lotus Forums
+ Mercedes-Benz Forums
+ Maserati Forums
+ MINI Forums
+ Porsche Forums
+ General Discussion
+ Marketplace Forums
Re: Very good suggestion Barry! (archive)
[ Follow Ups ] [ E30 M3 Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]
Posted by Barry Robinson on February 03, 2002 at 15:25:02:

In Reply to: Re: Very good suggestion Barry! posted by eric_m3 on February 03, 2002 at 13:28:45:

But why does the battery take a charge after the lights go out? Or, why does the alternator start charging after the light go off?

It is my understanding that the car does not charge until the RPM hit a certain minimum at any given time. If you are idling at a traffic light I thought the alternator is not charging at that time.

I am going to hit the garage and run some tests to see what I find.

Eric

That's not true. The alternator will charge your car at idle but after startup you have to press the accelerator before it starts charging. This is true with the M3 only. All E30's from 86-on have this resistor in parallel also, which allows the alternator to charge even if the bulb is burned out. I think this is unrelated to what we are talking about since our issue is unique to the M3.


Follow Ups:


[ Follow Ups ] [ E30 M3 Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]
Questions, comments, or problems, please visit the Roadfly help desk.
Roadfly.com Logo © 1997 - 2009 Jump Internet Inc. All rights reserved.