radio, alternator, and other small difficulties... (longish)

["Liz Sayre" <esayre@xxxxxxxx>]

good morning!

i've got an '84 318i that i love.  i haven't had her on the road much in 
several months because i was using my other car ('90 alpha romeo 
spider) during the warmer weather.  i have, however been running 
her regularly - at least once a week.  suddenly i've started 
experiencing a cluster of small difficulties mostly of an electrical 
nature.  

1. 	first my battery went and died.  i tested the battery itself, pulled 
	it from the car and tried to charge it and it would not hold a
	charge.  so i replaced it.

2.	two days later, i went out start her and nothing. another dead 
	battery.  i charged this battery and it is fine.  when i put the 
	battery back in, i discovered that one of the interior lights (the 
	one just about the driver's side door) was on and that this was 
	probably what drained the new battery.  the problem is that this 
	particular light has not worked since i got the car.  i have no 
	idea why it was suddenly working.  

3.	i turned it off.  when i went to turn it back on again, it was not 
	working again.  fine, i drove the car for a couple more days 
	without problem.  

4.	then, this morning, out i go to leave for work, start the car, 
	nothing.  battery's dead again.  jump her, starts right back up 
	again. lo and behold that same interior light is on again.

5.	about the time my first battery died, the temp guage on my 
	dash stopped registering.  i have heat which, rightly or wrongly, 
	leads me to believe the thermostat is functioning properly.

HELP!!

6.	i have ordered all the mounting hardware and bushing for a new 
	alternator along with the new alternator.  i intend to replace the 
	alternator adjustment arm at the very least because i've known 
	this needed it for a bit.  i also have a new thermostat and have 
	no problem installing that - it simply seems prudent and will do 
	no harm.  how do i tell whether or not i have an alternator 
	problem?

7.	i believe that i can simply replace the switch for the light and 
	avoid whatever problems that might be causing until i can do 
	something more permanent.  but i have no idea what to do 
	about the temp guage.  any ideas?

8.	to top it all off, my radio has gone a bit nuts during all of this.  
	suddenly a couple of days ago, it simply stopped receiving and 
	all the display showed was the number "1" bright and clear and 
	uhelpful.  i turned it off and turned it back on, no change.  the 
	next day, when i started the car, it was back to normal.  this 
	morning it was normal to start with (after the car was jumped) 
	and had even managed to have maintained its station memory 
	despite the dead battery.  that was a surprise unto itself.  then 
	it freaked out again and the display went nuts.  the station 
	frequency number started flashing "1" "0" "2" "9" in sequence, 
	over and over again.  i turned it off, then turned it back on.  the 
	flashing sequence had stopped and a big bright "3" sits there in 
	the center of the display and nothing i do changes it in the 
	least.  does this mean something?

can anyone tell me if this cluster of electrical stuff is a bunch of 
coincidental events or does it point to some underlying problem 
(major or minor)?  clues to any or all of these would be greatly 
appreciated...

thanks and enjoy!!

liz

'84 BMW 318i
'90 Alpha Romeo Spider
'93 Dodge Dakota 4X4
'97 Dodge 1 ton

God how I love to drive!!


doceo insanare omnes

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