[CoolGuyNilo]

Today On my way to work my car gave me an transmission malfunction light, then a passenger airbag light and then a bunch of other lights came on, then the drive screen started turning on and off. Then it felt like it wouldn't shift out of second gear. Weird thing is was about half a mile away from the dealership here in Gainesville Fl so I parked it there and came to work. once I parked it I turned it off waited a little and then turned it back on, it turned on normal but (while on park) when I gave it a tiny bit of gas the idrive screen turned back off and the dome light as well and as soon as I let off the gas everything came back (along with some lights) but things didn't quite seem normal (this is when I just turned it off and got picked up by a coworker. Anyways I'm thinking/hoping it's the alternator and not something crazy.
Any ideas on what this could be?
Thank you

[eoddom]

Sounds more like a bad battery.

[Red_Bean_Bun]

Can't rule out the alternator till you have it tested

[C.Pop]

Somewhat similar symptoms for me were indeed alternator caused. The car was running, all the lights were off, then I got an overheat warning -coolant pump turned off. New alternator and all was well.

[optigrab]

Check the main electrical system ground for rust etc

[whosdady]

+1 on battery issues...

[stashtrey]

This happened to me and it was my alternator regulator. 50/50 it is your alternator or regulator OR your battery dying. It is 100% one or the other. My money is on your regulator since when you gave it gas you got systems issues. Getting stuck in 2nd gear and having all the systems light up is precisely what happened to me and I tracked it down to my alternator. It was pushing way too much voltage due to the regulator and causing each system to go into protection mode. My wipers would also turn on without being able to turn them off. Got stuck in Park then it slammed into drive then stuck.

A replaced the alternator and it immediately solved all problems.

Your cheapest way to diagnose is to get an voltage/amp meter with a 'load ' feature and put it on your battery and see what kind of power your battery is putting out. If it is normal start the car and see what it puts out running... If it is low your battery or alternator is likely not charging or maintaining the required voltage. If it is higher than required your regulator is toast an the alternator is pushing to much causing systems to wig out and shut down etc.

How old is the battery?

Alternator is around 500-600 for the unit and likely another 500+ for install. I did it myself on my e90 335 and it was one of the more challenging jobs I've DIY'd due to the extremely tight space where the alternator bolts are located.

You can get a volt/amp meter at Harbor freight for 20 or so bucks. That's where you should start for sure. It will take you all of 15 minutes to figure out what is causing the issues.

[stashtrey]

Here's the tool to get to test your battery and alternator voltage/load.

http://m.harborfreight.com/100-amp-6...ter-61747.html