Battery life and reset question

[funseries]

So after replacing my original battery a little over a year ago, my new battery has been flashing the lift icon low power warning with the clock reset on start up. Thing is, I know it's because I only drove it on very short distances for my commute for a couple months.

According to what I've read about our battery system is that the computer will slowly readjust your max capacity to limit overcharging. And because I kept a low power for this long of a period, my max has probably lowered significantly. I'm assuming this is the case because it's starting to happen more frequently regardless of having driven it on a long trip a day or 2 before.

My question is, can I simply reregister or reset the battery back to regular capacity, now that I'm driving back to longer distances?

[gjm120]

Was your new battery registered ? And is the car coded for the correct type and Ah of the battery ?

[Gangplank]

This ^^. You have to register the battery.

Get a battery tender & plug it in every now & then to keep it charged. There are all types & brands. I have a pretty inexpensive one by Black & Decker. It takes a while to charge but overnight does a decent job.

I had a Deltran Battery Tender Plus for years & it was great. Not the least expensive out there but it worked great. If the B&D stops working I'd get another Deltran.

[FLATBMW]

Whatever you do don't let the battery go dead it's a total nightmare trust me I know!

[funseries]

Originally Posted by gjm120

Was your new battery registered ? And is the car coded for the correct type and Ah of the battery ?

Yes it was registered properly. Everything was fine until I started driving these very short distances, I guess. It's only my theory that by doing that for several months it neutered my battery.

[funseries]

Originally Posted by Gangplank

This ^^. You have to register the battery.

Get a battery tender & plug it in every now & then to keep it charged. There are all types & brands. I have a pretty inexpensive one by Black & Decker. It takes a while to charge but overnight does a decent job.

I had a Deltran Battery Tender Plus for years & it was great. Not the least expensive out there but it worked great. If the B&D stops working I'd get another Deltran.

Unfortunately I live in a condo and they don't have any easy way to keep a tender plugged in. At this point I'm just wondering if my battery is legit fcked. It's only a little over a year old. I don't see why it would die that fast even if I made short drives since then.

Maybe I'll give this reregistration a shot. Always wanted to have one of those OBD tools anyways.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by funseries

Unfortunately I live in a condo and they don't have any easy way to keep a tender plugged in. At this point I'm just wondering if my battery is legit fcked. It's only a little over a year old. I don't see why it would die that fast even if I made short drives since then.

Maybe I'll give this reregistration a shot. Always wanted to have one of those OBD tools anyways.

I have stored my car for the winter in our condo, I used a solar powered maintainer that plugs into the OBD2 port. It is actually what we use at the dealer. Works well.

[Gangplank]

Short distance like 10 min or ??

[gjm120]

Originally Posted by funseries

Yes it was registered properly. Everything was fine until I started driving these very short distances, I guess. It's only my theory that by doing that for several months it neutered my battery.

Don't take this as me being a jerk, but do you, or the person that installed your battery, know the difference battery registration and battery coding? Asking because if your car is coded for a very different battery, that is a problem. Some people think coding is more important than registration. I don't know, but, both should be done.

If the coding and registration are good, your theory may be correct. I understand from your answer to Gangplank a battery tender isn't an option.

I would not register a one year old battery that is showing signs of going dead. It might get overcharged and that could be bad. I'd try to find some way to have it properly charged with a recondition mode charger. If that doesn't work best to bite the bullet and get a new one and have it registered and coded correctly.

Another possibility - are you sure you don't have any parasitic drain?

[Ric in RVA]

That battery should have a warranty on it.....use it.

[JimD]

One of the reasons I am still using my 10 year old battery is failures of relatively new batteries in other cars. I think it is very possible to get a battery that doesn't last long for no discernable reason. Before concluding that is the issue, I think I would:

1) Get one of those little battery packs that will jump start a car. Could be handy for you right now and it also will facilitate step two.
2) Remove the battery, take it inside and charge it. If it is the short trips this will cause the car to work correctly for a short period of time.
3) Get a multi-tester and check for a parasitic draw on the battery. Not all multi-testers will measure amps so you have to see what they do before buying. I have let my car sit for a week before without driving it and it always starts. I do not use a tender.

If you do not have a parasitic draw and the battery is just not staying charged, the options are a tender or taking the battery back.

[Olgeezer1]

Originally Posted by funseries

Unfortunately I live in a condo and they don't have any easy way to keep a tender plugged in. At this point I'm just wondering if my battery is legit fcked. It's only a little over a year old. I don't see why it would die that fast even if I made short drives since then.

Maybe I'll give this reregistration a shot. Always wanted to have one of those OBD tools anyways.

Assuming your battery is coded + registered correctly it's the lack of use/ short trips that are killing you. These cars are battery killers if not used regularly as the constant electronic monitoring cannot be shut off. Your condo situation puts you in a tough spot. If you can work out a power source a BMW Smart Charger or quality Smart Charger from Deltran or CTEK will end your problems. Plug in using the under hood connections anytime the car sits more than a couple of days, avoid drives of less than 30 min. Those short trips are also filling your oil and exhaust system with water from condensation that's not getting burned off. It would really appreciate a hard weekly drive of an hour or more.