RED oil and battery light

[MotorSportThree]

I've posted this on mforum.net about a month ago but hopefully I can gain some advice from this forum too. I will be driving my car when suddenly the red oil and red battery light comes up. The steering becomes very heavy. I pull over and restart the car. It drives normally sometimes afterwards but other times it happens again soon after I restart the car. As it happens quickly I don't remember but I think it usually happens when I am in neutral instead of gear so I am not sure if the car looses power. I believe it must be an electrical issue. I've heard that it could be a battery or alternator issue. Any advice would be appreciated. The car is a 6 speed manual.

[Shadytype]

Alternator is going. Probably need a new one. Dont get an autozone one one something like that. Get a rebuilt one from a reputable shop or reputable online spot.

The old site had a long thread on how the lesser ones didnt work well after install. I myself had to pull one from my reputable shop on less then a month for a regulator replacement. They replaced it with oe BMW.

[R1pilot]

Make sure your battery posts are tight and the battery itself is secured and not moving around.

[Obioban]

Red battery light only ever means alternator/voltage regulator. Get OE or you will have issues.

Red oil light when in means low oil pressure, but I’d start with the alternator (as funky things can happen when it’s failed).

[xpme46m3]

E46 has a self diagnostics you can access. Helped confirm a bad alternator for me. Good luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=ra7yx_y_zV0&feature=emb_logo

[MotorSportThree]

Thanks everyone

[MotorSportThree]

Checked my battery and alternator with the self diagnostic that's built into the car. They both had a healthy reading. I drove the car around today with no issues but still a bit paranoid what the problem can be as I'm unsure when it will happen again. Is it possible that sometimes the serpentine belt slips or something causing these symptoms. Pretty unsure at this point. Attached is an image of the of the alternator reading.

Thanks in advanced for any other suggestions. I might just need to end up taking it to shop.

[heinzboehmer]

I didn't see this explicitly mentioned so thought it would be worth asking. Does the engine die when this happens?

[Jimbo's M]

When my alternator failed, I had no warning until my instrument cluster lit up like a Christmas tree, motor started missing big time as well. As luck would have it, I was just down the street from my indy, pulled into the lot and it literally quit right there on the spot. Had to push it into the bay.

[ethan]

Combination of heavy steering and alternator light means your accessories aren't being driven adequately by the belt. Either the engine is stalling (maybe a vac leak or frozen ICV when you come to a stop and put in the clutch) or the serpentine belt is slipping. But the red oil light points to the former (since it's driven by the crank.)

[sapote]

Ibe driving my car when suddenly the red oil and red battery light comes up. The steering becomes very heavy.

something causing the steering pump pulley slowed or stopped, and this also affected the alternator. should check around belt and pulleys.

[MotorSportThree]

So update time. I drive this car mainly on weekends. And it doesn’t really see long journeys. This problem occurred rarely on my weekend drives and although it was always in the back of my mind to take care of this issue admittedly I kind of just let it be as I have other reliable daily cars ( I know call me lazy). But I have had enough this past weekend. I was really enjoying the drive when it happened again. I put the clutch in as I’m coming to a stop and the car stalls. With the two lights coming up on the dash. It did it a total of about 8 times after on my way home. It was not a good experience lol. So I bought MAF cleaner and was determined to clean the ICV as well as install new belts. But then when I started the car this morning. I got a service engine light. It turns out the car has a vacuum leak somewhere. I’m thinking this can be the reason for the initial problem. Tonight I bought a new gas cap, oil cap and dipstick o-rings just to get started and it’s good regular maintenance anyways. I will install these ASAP and see if I still have this issue. I know a vacuum leak can be from a load of things. I guess I am writing this to see if a vacuum leak can be the cause of this issue (engine stalling when coming to a stop) or because the SES engine light barley appeared it is unrelated? Any guesses? I might add that I took a video of the problem occurring this morning. I did not drive the car and this issue still happened. I pressed on the gas and let off around 3k rpms, then the revs dropped enough for the engine to stall. I know this is a a long read so thanks to anyone willing to help.

[Shonky]

I doubt a smallish vacuum leak would result in the symptoms you are seeing.

What codes did you get?

[MotorSportThree]

I doubt a smallish vacuum leak would result in the symptoms you are seeing.

What codes did you get?

The codes are P0171 and P0174

[ethan]

So it's stalling at idle and has codes suggesting it's running lean. First thing to do is check for unmetered air ingress. FPR and brake booster lines OK?