[BeezerBry]

Hello everyone, I recently bought my first BMW, a 2011 328xi and within a day or two the battery light came on. The car lot I bought it from gave me a new battery and I have a Foxwell 520 pro so installation and registration aren't a problem but coding might be. They only issue I have is my original battery is a lead acid, 640cca 80ah and the battery they gave me is a lead acid 680cca 70ah. It's my understanding that I cannot code or change the battery specs with the Foxwell and I'm wondering if that even matters since the batteries are so similar? What do you all think? Thanks!

[BeezerBry]

I didn't find exactly what I was looking for by searching this forum, but did find this that I guess answers my question. https://stevesorensenmechanical.com....nd-programing/ If my new battery was 80ah instead of 70Ah I would likely have been ok. From this guys article I am getting that a slightly higher power battery is ok but any lower runs the risk of overcharging. I guess I'll buy another battery.

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by BeezerBry

Hello everyone, I recently bought my first BMW, a 2011 328xi and within a day or two the battery light came on. The car lot I bought it from gave me a new battery and I have a Foxwell 520 pro so installation and registration aren't a problem but coding might be. They only issue I have is my original battery is a lead acid, 640cca 80ah and the battery they gave me is a lead acid 680cca 70ah. It's my understanding that I cannot code or change the battery specs with the Foxwell and I'm wondering if that even matters since the batteries are so similar? What do you all think? Thanks!

Looks like you should change the charging profile to match.

46ah
55ah
70ah
80ah
90ah
110ah
40ah_agm
60ah_agm
70ah_agm
80ah_agm
90ah_agm

You can do it for free with a laptop and cable or you can use carly app for a small fee to do it yourself.

https://www.1addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1384864

Please don't pay some jack-ass 100 bucks to do this. All you do is click 3 or 4 buttons and you are done.

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by BeezerBry

I didn't find exactly what I was looking for by searching this forum, but did find this that I guess answers my question. https://stevesorensenmechanical.com....nd-programing/ If my new battery was 80ah instead of 70Ah I would likely have been ok. From this guys article I am getting that a slightly higher power battery is ok but any lower runs the risk of overcharging. I guess I'll buy another battery.

You can buy carly app for 60 bucks or use a 20 dollar OBDII cable with laptop and free software. Cheaper than buying a new battery. Nothing you are doing is coding so don't be scare. All you are doing is selecting a new charging profile.

[BeezerBry]

That sounds pretty simple and that's what I will do. Thank you! Also, like the other thread stated, I'll be able to assist others when they are in a similar situation.

I sure wish the Foxwell had the option to change the battery parameters.

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by BeezerBry

... 2011 328xi...The car lot I bought it from gave me a new battery and I have a Foxwell 520 pro...only issue I have is my original battery is a lead acid, 640cca 80ah and the battery they gave me is a lead acid 680cca 70ah...

Welcome to the Forum!

Was the battery that was in it when you bought it the original battery? How many people have "messed with" the PM system settings on the vehicle BEFORE you bought it? There is so much misinformation about "battery registration" bouncing around on the Web, I would suggest that BEFORE you do anything related to the battery, check the ACTUAL, PRESENT SETTINGS in the PM or CAS. It is quite possible that they are NOT the correct settings for the battery that is in it at the moment.

I don't know anything about Foxwell, but NCS Dummy, which is included in BMW Standard Tools, which ALSO includes INPA, and can be downloaded (free) from sites such as "BimmerGeeks Downloads" will quickly show you exactly what the settings are in CAS as far as battery type (AGM vs. FLA) and the Ah rating now selected. Dummy gives you a list of options you can select, that looks like those "BJ" shows in his post here. You basically click the one closest to your battery Ah rating and all is well.

"Registering" or "Batterietausch Registrieren" in the INPA German simply enters the current odometer km reading in PM memory for tech historical or informational reference, and does NOT affect how the battery is charged. Resetting the Histogram, if you have software such as INPA which is capable of that, is advisable, but NOT necessary as that data will be overwritten in 5 Start/Stop cycles anyway.

You might help others who use Foxwell (or perhaps they can help you ;-) if you would indicate its capability to either (1) Read, or (2) Reset CAS settings for Battery Type (Klasse Batterie), whether AGM or conventional, and what Ah rating is selected.

George

[BeezerBry]

Thank you!

The battery in the car is a BMW battery, likely the original but I'll definitely be checking the settings in case it isn't. I'm doing more research on these software programs, some are in German only and I'm not liking that idea. But I'm glad to have found options. So far I'm thinking the Carly app is the way to go, it seems it will tell me what I need to know and do what I need it to do. It's kind of odd to me that it isn't advertised better, or any of these programs for that matter. My Foxwell is a great tool but limited as far as BMW.

[ctuna]

I would go with the Bimmergeeks Pro tool over Carly.
Its not a subscription service and they keep developing it.

The Inpa suite and Ista d are way more powerful though.

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by BeezerBry

...The battery in the car is a BMW battery, likely the original but I'll definitely be checking the settings in case it isn't. I'm doing more research on these software programs, some are in German only and I'm not liking that idea. But I'm glad to have found options...

If your Foxwell allows you to "Register" a new battery, it ought to allow you to see MILEAGE/Km when the last replacement battery was registered. INPA allows you to do either, as well as to clear/reset the Histogram.

DON'T be afraid of a little German -- she won't hurt you (Google Translate).

If you have a laptop, for the price of a K+DCAN cable ($15 to $45) you can download (free) BMW Standard Tools which includes INPA & NCS Dummy, and there are a number of things you can do in INPA with a MINIMUM of guidance or German translation. INPA is a VERY powerful diagnostic tool and it probably makes sense for most people just to spend several hours learning the basic functions it can perform, and then to ask for help when you have a specific module or system related to that module you need to diagnose, and someone can walk you through it and help with the translation. The MENUS are translated to English, but the technical terms, fault code definitions, etc. are in German (like Fehlerspeicher for Error Memory ;-).

For instance, in 10 minutes you can learn how to use "Functional Jobs" in INPA to read ANY fault codes saved in ANY of the ~ 20 modules in your vehicle, and you can read & save the screen showing those codes in ~ 2 minutes once you learn how to do it. You can then attach the ScreenPrint (SavedAs a jpg file) to a post on the forum, and get analysis by someone familiar with INPA, the same as having that person see your computer screen. Learning HOW to address any fault codes found using that process takes longer, but once again, there are a number of folks on the Forums who use INPA and will walk you through steps you have NOT taken before.

NCS Dummy has been MOSTLY translated. I will attach a screen related to battery options you can select (to the next post so as NOT to mess up the margins here). There is NO translation needed to use that, other than knowing the German term (Klasse_Batterie) to search to find the correct spot in a long list of CAS options. Unfortunately, you cannot search for the English translation in the main program. There IS an Excel spreadsheet that provides the translation, so you could search the 2nd column in that.

ISTA is more involved to download & install, but it is entirely (?) in English as I understand, and contains test plans & flow chart type diagnostic assistance, along with circuit diagrams & other references, similar to what is found in TIS.

The more tools in your toolbox, the better. I would strongly suggest downloading & installing BMW Standard Tools, and at least learning what INPA & NCS Dummy are capable of.

George

[gbalthrop]

NCS Dummy
Klasse Batterie - Battery Type
When Connected, you can see "Selection Boxes" for each Option
Or you can save & view Trace File showing selected Option

[BeezerBry]

Excellent! That's perfect. And bimmergeeks is where I download these things? I want to be sure to get the download from a reputable source since I'm going to be using it on my car.

[robthewrench]

You will be better off in the long run to set the charging profile to the correct capacity of the battery to extend the life of the battery, but in the short term you probably will see no difference. The difference in capacity is very small.

[Sayek]

Until AGM battery was introduced I never heard of registering a battery. You just fitted a Lead Acid battery and forget about it.

Forgive me if I misunderstood here. Quick read on google tells its very important to register AGM battery as they have complex charge cycle and you can damage by overcharge.

I appreciate modern BMW have IBS but older BMW never had IBS and and was fit the acid battery and forget about it.

I would lose sleep if you upgraded from acid to AGM battery as that would need different charge cycle.

[BeezerBry]

Ok, first off a big thank you to everyone! I really appreciate all the info. What I ended up doing was buying the bimmergeeks pro tool and replacing the battery and coding it properly. I didn't see any way to "register" the battery but I'm assuming that was automatic when I coded it. Battery history shows it was the original battery and now shows current battery at current mileage. I've been playing with the pro tool and it's awesome, I'm looking forward to doing much more with it. I also downloaded the software (ncs, etc) on my computer, it's a bit intimidating and I don't think I'll ever need it now that I have the pro tool but I'm going to get familiar with it anyway. Again, thank you all!!

[John 070]

Does Bavarian Technic change the profile, or simply reregister? I have it, but the version that can do it does not work with my car, only the older version. Way back when I didn't realize their pro version did coding.