Battery Life While Parked

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by mr.fabulous

That's my factory battery, too. Sealed tight, has an eye, sloshes. And I'd imagine your new battery is what I have as well. Dealer charged me $240 for just the battery, I coded it for $145. Wow, did you get ripped-off. Sorry that happened, man, wow.

IF your battery has an "eye" its not an AGM battery. Just FYI.


I also thought I would attach these two pdf's here...

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by mr.fabulous

That's my factory battery, too. Sealed tight, has an eye, sloshes. And I'd imagine your new battery is what I have as well. Dealer charged me $240 for just the battery, I coded it for $145. Wow, did you get ripped-off. Sorry that happened, man, wow.

Yeah, I've been hassling the stealership and BMWNA, and both have been shining me on... I'm afraid it's a lost cause, though I'm still keeping a close eye on that potential class action lawsuit regarding BMW batteries in New Jersey.

Originally Posted by Dackelone

IF your battery has an "eye" its not an AGM battery. Just FYI.

My original battery had an eye as well.

[bmw1racer]

Was at a Kragen/O'Reilly store picking up a case of Mobil1 0W-40 and took a quick look at the car batteries available for my car: $161 for an AGM battery, compared to the $255 non-AGM battery from the stealership... Hmph.

[Wakka]

My Car is a June 09 build date and still on the original battery. at least 3-4 times a year it gets left alone for a week +. 1-2 times a year 2.5+ weeks.

Never had a problem with it yet, but i am starting to get worried... been a long time for not needing a battery.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Wakka

My Car is a June 09 build date and still on the original battery. at least 3-4 times a year it gets left alone for a week +. 1-2 times a year 2.5+ weeks.

Never had a problem with it yet, but i am starting to get worried... been a long time for not needing a battery.

Have you ever had it tested? If not, maybe you should.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by Wakka

My Car is a June 09 build date and still on the original battery. at least 3-4 times a year it gets left alone for a week +. 1-2 times a year 2.5+ weeks.

Never had a problem with it yet, but i am starting to get worried... been a long time for not needing a battery.

If your battery has that magic eye, check to see if there's a green dot... If so, I think you're OK... Otherwise get it tested or buy as tester/charger.

[optigrab]

So would a 2008 135I have intelligent alternator control?

Would i get better gas mileage by installing a AGM battery?

[mr.fabulous]

Originally Posted by optigrab

So would a 2008 135I have intelligent alternator control?

yes

Originally Posted by optigrab

Would i get better gas mileage by installing a AGM battery?

NO

Do not change battery types unless/until you have the tools and wherewithal to change battery parameters in your car's FLASH.

[optigrab]

Originally Posted by mr.fabulous

yes



NO

Do not change battery types unless/until you have the tools and wherewithal to change battery parameters in your car's FLASH.

I get that it needs to be coded so the car can charge it properly....reading through the pdfs it claims 3% fewer emissions with AGM and intelligent battery control. I wonder if that would translate to better mileage

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

If your battery has that magic eye, check to see if there's a green dot... If so, I think you're OK... Otherwise get it tested or buy as tester/charger.

That only tells you the condition of one cell. Most bad batteries still show "OK" by that.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

If your battery has that magic eye, check to see if there's a green dot... If so, I think you're OK... Otherwise get it tested or buy as tester/charger.

That only tells you the charge level of one cell. Most bad batteries still show "OK" by that. All it is is a small ball that will float in acid, and sink in water. As the battery discharges, the acid will turn to pure water, and vice versa.

[mr.fabulous]

Originally Posted by optigrab

I get that it needs to be coded so the car can charge it properly....reading through the pdfs it claims 3% fewer emissions with AGM and intelligent battery control. I wonder if that would translate to better mileage

Your car has intelligent alternator control, all 1-ers do. You might have an AGM battery, you might not. Take it out of the car and shake it (if it sloshes, it's basic lead-acid).

Registering a new battery without changing physical battery parameters can be done with a BT Scan Tool on (I believe) a 128 or an N54 135. BT Scan Tool does not currently support N55 for battery registration, grrrr. AutoEnginuity makes what looks to be a very capable PC software suite that will register a new battery for any 1-er. They also make a little widget that does that for less $$$, I have one, it seems to work.

Changing physical battery parameters requires what looks to me like some pretty serious coding. AutoEnginuity software might hide some of the complexity of that? Not sure.

Keep it simple and use the same battery, I don't personally see a reason to switch.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

That only tells you the charge level of one cell. Most bad batteries still show "OK" by that. All it is is a small ball that will float in acid, and sink in water. As the battery discharges, the acid will turn to pure water, and vice versa.

Ah, okay... So basically a simple hydrometer in just one of the six cells... Only somewhat useful in indicating the state of the entire battery.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by mr.fabulous

Registering a new battery without changing physical battery parameters can be done with a BT Scan Tool on (I believe) a 128 or an N54 135. BT Scan Tool does not currently support N55 for battery registration, grrrr. AutoEnginuity makes what looks to be a very capable PC software suite that will register a new battery for any 1-er. They also make a little widget that does that for less $$$, I have one, it seems to work.

Changing physical battery parameters requires what looks to me like some pretty serious coding. AutoEnginuity software might hide some of the complexity of that? Not sure.

I'm looking into the BMWhat app and its requisite OBD2 Bluetooth adapter to register the battery among other things... Just to be more proactive and not get sucker punched by the dealer again.

[EMWOLB]

You could eliminate this worry with a Ctex 3300 for a very modest price. Also the unit can be used to check out your battery.

[mackeroni]

Lots of good info in this old thread and others on the same subject, but I still have a nagging question. The document below describes the Intelligent Alternator Control (IGR) as NOT allowing the battery to reach full charge during normal driving. If the car is purposely not charging the battery fully in order to reduce CO2 emissions, as well as improve power output, mpg and battery life, then is charging my battery with a Battery Tender until it is fully charged really a good idea? Why or why not?

My battery is less than three years old and it routinely takes 16 to 36 hours to reach a full charge after just a day or two of not being driven. I have been thinking something is wrong with the battery, but this seems to be within acceptable parameters given the IGR design. Further, my battery load tester indicates that the battery is still at 96% of its intended output.

Opinions welcome, but the truth is highly valued.

https://www.1addicts.com/forums/atta...7&d=1428415121

Peace... Mack

[JimD]

I do not use a battery tender. My battery is about 10 years old and still working fine. Until a little over a year ago, I did not drive my car daily, I drove it 2-3 times a week. It sometimes sat for over a week, usually in my garage. If a car sits for a month or more, I think it is wise to charge the battery. But I would not do it daily. I see no benefit.

I read through the link and I think it is an interesting read. It doesn't directly address coding for the battery but I think it helps to explain why the car "needs" coding. It also doesn't seem to address trickle charging the battery. If the "intelligent" charging doesn't sense you are doing this, it seems like it would not be a good thing. It could lead to over charging of the battery. But probably not by much.

I would not put much faith in the 3 per cent savings comment. That must be under very unusual conditions. The alternator is a significant drag on the motor when it is putting out a lot of energy. But it is still a small amount of what the motor is supplying, most of the energy goes into moving the car. This system doesn't radically reduce the energy the alternator provides, it changes it a small percentage. A small percentage of a small percentage has a hard time getting the 3%. But I think it's a good thing. Using the "free" energy of the coasting car is a good idea. Reduces brake wear a tiny amount too. I'm not as much a fan of leaving the battery a little undercharged so you can charge it when coasting but considering how long my battery has lasted, it can't be a terribly bad thing.

[Rmtt]

Owning Corvettes over the years, I am very familiar with a battery tender. About 2 years ago, I went with this option.

https://www.prioritystart.com/

Priority Start is a module that is wired in series with your battery. It is used on a lot of emergency vehicles such as ambulances, etc.

It monitors voltage and physically disconnects the battery if volts drop to 11.8 or less from sitting too long.

You simply press a button on a key fob, and it then reconnects the battery for you with enough juice to start it. Then after you drive for awhile, the charging system obviously charges the battery back up.

Not sure how good it may be with a BMW, but I know my Corvette has a lot of sensitive electronics that are monitored and sometimes they wake up even if you aren't around the car.

I have used this module plenty of times. All my radio settings are retained, and all I typically have to do sometimes is re-index my windows.

But it's been worth it's weight in gold! I have one on my wife and my daughter's car. It has saved me numerous trips when my daughter was first learning to drive and had a habit of leaving her lights on draining the battery.

Now if she goes out to her car and the remote entry doesn't work, she just pulls the Priority Start fob from her purse, presses a button, and she can then get in the car and start it up.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by JimD

I do not use a battery tender. My battery is about 10 years old and still working fine. Until a little over a year ago, I did not drive my car daily, I drove it 2-3 times a week. It sometimes sat for over a week, usually in my garage. If a car sits for a month or more, I think it is wise to charge the battery. But I would not do it daily. I see no benefit.

I charge mine on a daily basis, mainly out of paranoia.

My daily drive to and from work amounts to about ten miles and it apparently isn't enough to charge the battery satisfactorily and that's what killed my first battery after only about three years. The dealer tried to screw me with a $650 battery replacement , but they refunded me the money after I reported them to the local news station's consumer protection department.

So now I have my CTEK charger attached whenever I'm home and now I'm four years in on the new battery.

[CivicDuty]

Originally Posted by methodz

I have a question as I had battery problems with my e90 m3 and don't want a repeat with my 1er. Does key proximity have anything to do with battery drain? I noticed at the car wash that as I walked around with my key in my pocket washing the car I would notice my amber lights kept flashing. My battery actually died at their wash and I had to call a tow truck to jump me. The next day as I was going to get a new battery my car started just fine but I went and got a new battery anyways. I actually didn't expect it to start because it was completely dead the day before. I dunno?

If you have comfort access the water will lock and unlock your car as it passes over the handle.

I noticed this not only on my E82 but my wife's Honda that also has comfort access.

I put my key back in the house when I wash it at home and that does the trick.

[Rmtt]

Not sure if it's the same with BMW, but with Corvettes, having your key fob and cell phone in close proximity to each other can cause some weird issues as well.

[JimD]

I got NCSExpert nearly 10 years ago now mainly so I could put my top down with the key fob even though I do not have comfort access. I like having that capability but sometimes I find the windows and even the top down when I did not deliberately press the buttons on the fob. Seems to happen like "butt dialing". But even with that occasional drain, my battery keeps on working without trickle charging.

But if I had an issue, such as with short trips not charging the battery, I would charge. My boats often sit for weeks between uses and I charge them back up to be sure they work. If I don't sometimes they have not started. But if my car works without using a trickle charger I do not use it.