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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > BMW E90/E92/E93 3-series General Forums > Regional Forums > UK > UK Technical Forum > Charging Battery



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      12-17-2012, 04:27 AM   #1
davyk31
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Charging Battery

My car has been doing a lot of relatively short runs recently, 10 mins each time and I reckon the battery is taking a bit of a battering especially with the cold weather.

I have an old battey charger at home, thinking of sticking it on for a night to give it a little boost. I assume this would be long enough? Do I just connect under the bonnet to the red terminal and then a nearby earth point.

I had a post recently about my autolevelling not working on my Xenons but noticed recently it does seem to work sometimes and especially not first thing in the morning. Kinda wondering could a lowish battery charge be to blame - what you reckon as sometimes the seat belt butler doesn't work in the mornings but then is fine at other times. I know low battery can cause all sorts of strange electrical warnings and malfunctions.
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      12-17-2012, 05:03 AM   #2
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On the E92 there is a designated charge point with a black plastic cover under the bonnet,it's to the left as you face the car.
To the side of this on the wing there is also an earthing point.

An overnight charge should be sufficient.

A flat/on the way to flat battery can display itself in all manner of ways,so your problems could well be associated with the battery.
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      12-17-2012, 05:48 AM   #3
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Cheers for that, think I will run an overnight charge before letting my dealer loose with trying to sort the lights. The fact they have started to work some of the time makes it a bit strange but as you say low battery has all sorts of wierd consequences.
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      01-16-2013, 04:02 PM   #4
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after charging did it solve the problems?

Thanks..
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      01-17-2013, 02:58 AM   #5
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Yes seemed to solve any issues, I just let it charge for a night and now its all good again. It does run down a little over time especially in winter when doing short trips so a little boost now and again is good.
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      01-17-2013, 06:29 AM   #6
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can anyone reccomed a charger/trickle charger?
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      01-17-2013, 08:55 AM   #7
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I'm sure someone will be along soon that has one, the Ctek ones seem to be mentioned here before. I'm just using a very old charger I've had for year, a Sealey one.
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      01-17-2013, 11:14 AM   #8
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Just purchased a CTEK CTE-MXS5.0 5A 12V Car Battery Charger from Amazon for £51.

Haven't tried it myself yet (awaiting delivery), but plenty of very positive reviews. Very similar in spec. to the BMW badged CTEK that sells for mega bucks.
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      01-17-2013, 11:23 AM   #9
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Just bought the one above, only just unpacked it so yet to try but looks good quality. Looks very simple to use, instructions very simple. The ctek chargers seem to top reviews and come with a 5 year warranty.
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      01-17-2013, 11:45 AM   #10
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isn't the MXS5.0 overkill? its for batteries upto 160ah, i think the e90 battery is 80ah.
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      01-17-2013, 12:55 PM   #11
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but on amazon I think there was about £5 in it and the 5.0 has a recondition option as well as progress LEDs.
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      01-17-2013, 12:56 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wallsmk2 View Post
but on amazon I think there was about £5 in it and the 5.0 has a recondition option as well as progress LEDs.
so it can tell you a battery is bad by voltage or something?

Thanks.
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      01-17-2013, 02:40 PM   #13
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I've got the 5.0 and it's great - definitely recommended.
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      01-17-2013, 02:58 PM   #14
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Thanks guys will look into ordering one soon
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      01-17-2013, 03:26 PM   #15
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guys today was trying to see if my cigi lighter was live with the car in accessory mode & it is live phew but my idrive rebooted by itself dunno why, i got no low battery warning sign also, any idea why it rebooted by itself?

Thanks..
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      01-19-2013, 10:38 AM   #16
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Similar thing here, lots of very short journeys and had the I drive re-boot a couple of times, as well as satnav freeze.

I wasn't sure that you could connect a charger to the under bonnet charging point. Does't the circuit get cut off when the car goes into sleep mode after 15 minutes?

You can (if you haven't already) check your battery's voltage through the 'hidden menu', with engine off and engine running, to check it's charging okay from the altinator.
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      01-19-2013, 12:51 PM   #17
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Under bonnet battery charging can be done anytime.
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      01-19-2013, 01:16 PM   #18
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Is charging directly on the battery terminal in the boot strictly "verboten" for some reason or are the under bonnet charge points just a matter of convenience?
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      01-19-2013, 01:57 PM   #19
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i just bought the bmw battery conditioner today from the dealer, will let you know how it is once i open it up..
told them to check my battery & all they did is toke the key & then gave me a printout about the car, it said battery voltage 13.8v
They said anything above 12.5v is enough so i guess my battery is fine?


Thanks.
Thanks..

Last edited by insane79; 01-19-2013 at 02:02 PM..
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