My Baby is done... Thanks for all your help!!!!

Question, would a 4 watt bulb affect the charging vs a 2 watt stock bulb?

Yes. Note sure how well I can explain this, but I will give it a try. The alternator light that indicates low voltage from the alternator is actually part of the circuit that the alternator uses to determine how much current to send into the car to cover the current being consumed and to charge the battery. When the current flow from the battery side of the circuit exceeds the current flow from the alternator, the alternator increases its output to match. The alternator determines this current flow using voltage received from the battery and Ohms law (voltage/resistance = current), with the resistance employed being the sum of the resistance in the wire from the battery to the dash bulb plus the resistance of the bulb plus the resistance of the wire from the bulb to the alternator. When you replace an incandescent bulb with an LED, you are changing the resistance of this circuit. This then gives a false signal of current usage to the alternator causing the alternator to output the wrong current.

If the LED bulbs have much lower resistance than the incandescent bulbs, the voltage flowing from the battery to the alternator would be higher signalling to the alternator less current usage than is actually occurring in your car and less need to charge the battery.
 
As an addition to the two tip exhaust discussion. The fjord coupé comes maybe with a rather rare and not less expensive exhaust system from Rochhausen (german manufacturer). I'm not sure if this is still available (don't think so).
Auspuff2.jpg

Auspuff1.jpg

Pictures show the car of a friend, who mentioned the costs with 3500,- €

Good for a performance engine, just waste of money for a stock machine. And imo not good looking, especially from the side, where you can see the second tube sitting under the regular single tube, because there's simply not enough space between the lower part of the left rear quarter panel and the spare tire well.

Another exhaust system with a double tube rear muffler was distributed from SIMA in Munich (not longer existing), back in the days. This muffler had the two tubes sitting under each other, looked even worse (sry couldn't find a picture of that), but I can remember the sound was great.

Personally I went another way with my purchased B10 Alpina engine and fitting exhaust system from a donor car of the e28 series. Moved the spare tire well as much as possible to the outside to gain enough space for the rear muffler just straight in the center of the car. As a result the two tubes came out of the rear valance right in the middle (like it is for the e24 series ie.). Looked pretty nice for my taste 20 years ago ...

Within the complete restauration of this car I changed this back to stock with my self made exhaust system, with the exception, that I used a 70 mm diameter for the end tube. This suits that much better for my taste nowadays.
 
As an addition to the two tip exhaust discussion. The fjord coupé comes maybe with a rather rare and not less expensive exhaust system from Rochhausen (german manufacturer). I'm not sure if this is still available (don't think so).
View attachment 49944

View attachment 49943

Pictures show the car of a friend, who mentioned the costs with 3500,- €

Good for a performance engine, just waste of money for a stock machine. And imo not good looking, especially from the side, where you can see the second tube sitting under the regular single tube, because there's simply not enough space between the lower part of the left rear quarter panel and the spare tire well.

Another exhaust system with a double tube rear muffler was distributed from SIMA in Munich (not longer existing), back in the days. This muffler had the two tubes sitting under each other, looked even worse (sry couldn't find a picture of that), but I can remember the sound was great.

Personally I went another way with my purchased B10 Alpina engine and fitting exhaust system from a donor car of the e28 series. Moved the spare tire well as much as possible to the outside to gain enough space for the rear muffler just straight in the center of the car. As a result the two tubes came out of the rear valance right in the middle (like it is for the e24 series ie.). Looked pretty nice for my taste 20 years ago ...

Within the complete restauration of this car I changed this back to stock with my self made exhaust system, with the exception, that I used a 70 mm diameter for the end tube. This suits that much better for my taste nowadays.
Beautiful pics and good information. I think one of the key differences in the car you are showing is that it has a dual exhaust "system" - two pipes from front to back. It is a true performance option that is fairly involved and, as you pointed out, not worthwhile if your engine wouldn't benefit from this solution. Whereas, the idea of placing a twin tip on a single pipe system is just an aesthetic accessory. Another key detail is that, if adding a twin tip of some sort, the original pipe needs to be cut down in order for the new, longer tip to fit the car without creating a large extension that projects beyond the bumper. :eek:

Related, the Coupe King exhaust is a single pipe system but the pipe diameter is larger than many single pipe systems. So the breathability is there to a large extent even with one pipe. At least that's my take on it. :)
 
Went to visit the car. Should be done next week, I hope. BUT, no luck on the alternator. I was certain that we switched to LED bulbs, but Gary tells me for sure that is not the case. I recorded this video at put on Facebook e9 Group. Easier to upload. Gary describes in detail what we know. Any help is appreciated.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bmwe9/permalink/1565827286895804/
 
Went to visit the car. Should be done next week, I hope. BUT, no luck on the alternator. I was certain that we switched to LED bulbs, but Gary tells me for sure that is not the case. I recorded this video at put on Facebook e9 Group. Easier to upload. Gary describes in detail what we know. Any help is appreciated.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bmwe9/permalink/1565827286895804/
OMG. just sent this video to the eBAY seller. He watched it and called immediately and conferenced in Gary. It's complicated but seems that he knows what the issue is. Gary is going to try to fix it. Says I can send old alternator back to him for a core credit. Stay tuned. More reasons to video tape things.
 
OMG. just sent this video to the eBAY seller. He watched it and called immediately and conferenced in Gary. It's complicated but seems that he knows what the issue is. Gary is going to try to fix it. Says I can send old alternator back to him for a core credit. Stay tuned. More reasons to video tape things.
If he helps fix the problem you should give the eBay seller a "shout out" here on the forum. We need more people like that...
 
No luck... If any of you have ideas, please let me know. Seems odd that it worked before the restoration and now it doesn't when no electronics were done. Just sent this email to ebay seller.

"I hate to bother you, but we can't seem to figure this out, even with your clear instructions. He did what you said, and no luck at all. Would you mind calling Gary on Monday am when he is in front of the car and walking him through it? He's a super nice guy. Everything was working fine before the mini-restoration. I'm convinced it is something simple. He phone is ----. If you want, I can have him call you at ---?"

BTW, all fisheyes are gone.
 
FYU
No luck... If any of you have ideas, please let me know. Seems odd that it worked before the restoration and now it doesn't when no electronics were done. Just sent this email to ebay seller.

"I hate to bother you, but we can't seem to figure this out, even with your clear instructions. He did what you said, and no luck at all. Would you mind calling Gary on Monday am when he is in front of the car and walking him through it? He's a super nice guy. Everything was working fine before the mini-restoration. I'm convinced it is something simple. He phone is ----. If you want, I can have him call you at ---?"

BTW, all fisheyes are gone.

FYI: very prompt reply from eBay seller offering to help Gary. He thinks that he is just missing a ground. Is this stuff normal?
 
BTW, all fisheyes are gone.
This is usually not an easy task. Of all the things that can happen with paint, fisheye is the one I dislike the most. After it happened a couple times to me I do extra cleaning now to make sure it doesn't happen again. Time well spent...
 
This is usually not an easy task. Of all the things that can happen with paint, fisheye is the one I dislike the most. After it happened a couple times to me I do extra cleaning now to make sure it doesn't happen again. Time well spent...

Honestly, I was freaking out about this, but Benny didn't sweat it at all. If I had as many fisheyes as were there a couple weeks ago, it would have been very disturbed if I washed the car and saw multiple imperfections. I looked in the sun now, and had a touch time seeing any imperfections. I am sure I will find some, but nothing near what I saw initially. Benny does amazing paint work, typically.
 
Scott - I have been through every circuit of my car in great detail. If you can post some additional detail about precisely what your alternator is doing or not doing, perhaps I can help.

Steve - as to the change to 4w bulbs, the answer depends on the resistance of the bulbs, and not only when they are at rest but also as they heat up. I suspect the resistance difference is much larger when the bulbs are shining brightly as compared to when they are dim or not in use. If this supposition is correct, the circuit with the 4w bulb will signal the alternator to put out more current immediately after the car is started (i.e. immediately after the light has been powered only by the battery), than would the same circuit with a 2w bulb because the resistance in the 4w bulb will be greater than the resistance in the 2w bulb when the bulbs are lit, but once the alternator output voltage increases to the point where it offsets the battery voltage and the bulb starts to dim, the resistance difference between the bulbs will decrease to the point where the difference is negligible once the bulb goes out. In other words, once you are up and running, there is no discernible difference. The fact that numerous members here have changed to 4w bulbs without reporting problems supports my theory.
 
Does the Red warning lamp still glow? If it doesn’t the blue wire from the Alt to the dash has a break, find it. It’s usually in the plastic sleeve that had the previous three other wires from the old regulator to the Alt.
 
Does the Red warning lamp still glow? If it doesn’t the blue wire from the Alt to the dash has a break, find it. It’s usually in the plastic sleeve that had the previous three other wires from the old regulator to the Alt.
Thx Chris! Will check on Monday
 
Back
Top